Director of Advising & Student Engagement

General Summary: 

Reporting to the Assistant Vice Provost of Student Equity, Access, and Success (SEAS), the Director of Advising & Student Engagement serves as a member of the Pathways & Student Success Programs leadership team. The Director collaborates with Pathways & Student Success Programs colleagues to design, implement, and assess high-impact, culturally sustaining, and evidence-based advising programs and services that support students in achieving academic, career, and personal goals. The Director of Advising & Student Engagement will be responsible for the overall planning, development, and administration of advising programs and services for Pathways & Student Success Programs.

Additionally, the Director of Advising & Student Engagement is responsible for coordinating and supervising all aspects of the university’s Student Support Services program (SSS); preparing budgets and monitoring program expenditures; assuring successful interaction of the project with all academic and other student-related services of the university; maintaining complete records of program activities and participants; and following federal regulations and requirements and the program’s currently funded grant proposal.

Examples of Duties: 

Supervision

• Hire, train, and supervise Associate and Assistant Directors for advising, academic support, and student engagement.
• Support the Associate Director of Advising in recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, and supervision of all advising staff.
• Support advising staff in implementing and assessing culturally sustaining practices that engage students, facilitate relationship building, and help students to access campus services, such as opportunities for experiential learning (internships, study abroad, and research experiences). In addition, the Director ensures staff are conducting check-ins with each student in their advising caseloads at key times in the semester, monitoring progress benchmarks and key indicators, and intervening with students who are off track or at risk of falling off track.

Advising Program Management

• Provide leadership, vision, and administration for planning, developing, implementing, directing, monitoring, and reviewing advising and other wraparound support services for students participating in Pathways & Student Success Programs.
• Work cooperatively with directors of college-based advising offices to maintain up-to-date information about college-specific policies, processes, and procedures.
• Ensure alignment of advising/coaching philosophy and approaches across Pathways & Student Success Programs while simultaneously aligning practices and objectives within the unique context of each program.
• Collaborate with the Advising Leadership Team and the Advising Strategy Council to coordinate and align practices, policies, and procedures to create a seamless advising experience for students across campus.
• Work closely with the Executive Director of Programs and Partnerships, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, and Associate Director of Program Operations to ensure effective design and implementation of university success courses and advising curricula.
• In collaboration with the department’s directors, hold periodic meetings with staff and faculty to discuss pedagogy and student progress.
• Supervise the maintenance of student records and compiling statistics in collaboration with the Director of Data and Program Assessment.
• Partner with Enrollment Management and select external scholarship partners to provide advising and other wraparound support services for students receiving scholarships from those external partners.
• In collaboration with the Assistant Director for Academic Support and Student Engagement, coordinate campus visits for students affiliated with external partners and programs.

Federal Grant Management and Project Direction

• Supervise all aspects of the Student Support Services Program, including but not limited to:
  • Informing the institutional community of the goals and objectives of the project.
  • Working to establish and maintain understanding of and respect for the project in the university community and as part of the continuing effort to foster a supportive campus climate for SSS-eligible students.
  • Implementing the project’s evaluation plan, as outlined in the currently funded grant proposal, to determine whether program goals and objectives are being met.
  • Preparing and submitting to the U.S. Department of Education the annual performance report (APR) for the program and to the Associate Vice Provost the internal annual report on the project.
  • Working cooperatively with the Senior Director of Programs and Initiatives and SEAS Program Manager in the design, writing, and submission of the program’s competitive continuation proposal to the U.S. Department of Education on supplemental funding proposals as needed/available.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Programs and Initiatives to facilitate seamless transitions from high school to college for UMass Boston TRIO students.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

• Master's degree in Applied Linguistics, Education, Human Services, or another relevant field;
• At least 5-7 years of teaching and administrative experience, in higher education (preferred), focusing primarily on culturally and linguistically diverse urban students in an accredited post-secondary institution;  
• Demonstrated experience in faculty and staff recruitment, training, and supervision;
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with faculty, professional staff, administrators, and students;
• Experience reading and assessing student writing for appropriate placement into college-level writing and critical analysis courses;
• Successful experience in academic support services;
• Demonstrated experience in grant-funded programs;
• Demonstrated strong skills and training in advocacy, career development, academic advising and support and retention strategies;
• Demonstrated experience in preparing reports;
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills; 
• Demonstrated organizational ability;
• Proficiency with office and database software, social media, learning management systems (LMS), and web conferencing platforms;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as collaboratively as a member of a team;
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with faculty, student services professionals, and other key constituents. 

Application Instructions: 

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date. 

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting.  All other candidates will be considered after that period. 

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: 

Grade:34              

This is an exempt union position.

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact Show email View phone number on employmentopportunities.umb.edu.