Director of Practice - Contemplative Sciences Center

The Contemplative Sciences Center is seeking a Director of Practice to strategically develop, manage, and oversee the Center's programs and events.

Established in 2012, the University of Virginia's Contemplative Sciences Center fuses contemplation, connection, and research to enhance flourishing. Situated within the Contemplative Commons, the center creates opportunities that center mind-body practices for well-being, insight, and compassion in all aspects of life-social, emotional, physical, and professional. An innovator in multidisciplinary collaboration, the center's CIRCL: Contemplative Innovation + Research Co-Lab, conducts research on initiatives that combine contemplative and experiential learning to generate novel solutions to a wide range of personal and global challenges.

As a pan-University center reporting to the Provost, the Contemplative Sciences Center supports the entire University. In 2024 the Center opened the Contemplative Commons, a 54,000-square-foot-building that is open to the public, UVA faculty, staff, and students. Its multi-model functionality supports movement-based practices, such as yoga and Tai Chi, seated meditation, academic courses, lectures, large-scale events and conferences, as well as intimate dinners and retreats. Since opening the Contemplative Commons, the Center has slowly increased its programming and availability. In the Spring of 2026, the Commons will extend its hours to include weekends and nights. The Director of Practice will play a pivotal role in this next phase, ensuring that the building is activated and utilized, and that the Center is successfully serving its mission as it relates to programs.

The Director of Practice will be a key member of the Center's leadership team, working collaboratively with the Executive Director, Director of Research, Chief of Staff, Director of External Relations, and other Center leads to direct the strategy and management of the Center's program and events. The Director of Practice will manage a team of program and event staff, including student staff, to provide engaging, educational and impactful programs and events. All Center staff, if interested and qualified, have the opportunity to participate in and/or lead contemplative practices as part of their employment with the Contemplative Sciences Center.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Strategy & Launch Readiness

• Drive early-stage program and event ideation and development in partnership with Center staff, UVA, and community partners
• Evaluate operational readiness prior to launch, ensuring that systems, processes, and teams are fully prepared
• Determine continuity of programs and events based on assessment of engagement and impact
• Manage a team to successfully complete end-to-end project and event planning, documentation, and reporting

Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate across teams and departments within the university and schools: finance, leadership, operations, instructional design, marketing, recruitment, student success, tech, etc.
• Provide real-time recommendations and hands-on support to address emerging issues
• Communicate program health and progress through updates and clear narrative, building positive relationships, trust, and transparency across all parties
• Lead the Center's efforts at expanding its work in engaging and supporting surrounding communities
• Collaborate with the Research team to create programming that is evidence-based, and determine opportunities for research to be applied to existing Center or partner programs

In addition to the above job responsibilities, other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree

Experience: 7+ years related professional experience, to include 3+ years of formal managerial experience required. Related experience includes strategic thinking and execution, developing and managing events, creative programming, and engagement with local communities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Excellent facilitation, collaboration, communication, and presentation skills
• Experience with creating, managing, and monitoring programs at a University or non-profit setting
• Ability to take a collaborative, partnership approach, uplifting the vital work of the UVA and Charlottesville communities while generating programs and events that are unique to the Contemplative Sciences Center
• Ability to understand the demands of programming a large, complex building, and the nuances of how the built environment influences the programmatic opportunities and vice versa
• Possess an understanding of contemplation, integrative wellness, and undergraduate student development
• Strategic planning, assessment, reporting and budgeting experience
• Willingness to create new policies, workflows, and operate within uncertainty

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The anticipated hiring range is $110,000-$135,000, commensurate with education and experience.

This is an exempt-level, benefited position. Learn more about UVA benefits.

This is a restricted position, which is dependent on funding and is contingent upon funding availability.

This position is based in Charlottesville, VA, and must be performed fully on-site.

To learn more about UVA and the Charlottesville area, visit UVA Life and Embark CVA.

Application review will begin after April 1, 2026. The ideal start date is July 2026.

Background checks will be conducted on all new hires prior to employment.

This position will not consider candidates who require immigration sponsorship now or in the future.

How to Apply

Please apply online, by searching for requisition number R0081689. Complete an application with the following documents:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

Upload all materials into the resume submission field. You can submit multiple documents into this one field or combine them into one PDF. Applications without all required documents will not receive full consideration.

Internal applicants:Search and apply for jobs on theUVA Internal Careers website.

Reference checks will be completed by UVA's third-party partner, SkillSurvey, during the final phase of the interview. Five references will be requested, with at least three responses required.

For questions about the position, please contact Kelly Crace, nrj7th@virginia.edu.

For questions about the application process, please contact Jessica Russo, Senior Recruiter, sxv9zv@virginia.edu.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA's commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.