Student Government Leadership Manager

Job Description

Job Description:\n\n Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; varying work hours may include early morning, evenings, and weekends; hybrid work eligible. Must be available for any emergency situations as determined by the ASI and the UniversityOVERVIEW\n Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) employs student-focused professionals with equity-mindsets. Established in 1963, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) is a non-profit corporation led by a 14-member board of elected student leaders. ASI is an auxiliary organization authorized by the California State University Board of Trustees to perform Student Life functions for Cal Poly Pomona students. ASI provides opportunities for student engagement, student leadership and employment, and a multitude of Student Life programs and services e.g., recreation and wellbeing, student union and activities, student government, clubs and organizations, food pantry, and childcare. The administrative and student support areas of ASI include human resources, financial services, information technology, facilities management, and marketing. ASI employs approximately 500 part-time students and 60 full-time staff members. ASI accepts the responsibility for conscientiously managing mandatory student fees and state-owned facilities: $18M annual operating budget, $5M annual debt service, approximately $24M in reserves, and 294,253 square feet of student space (student union, recreation center, and pool). ASI is in the Cal Poly Pomona Division of Student Affairs with a dashed reporting line to Administrative Affairs. ASI serves the entire campus population, including over 28,000 students.\n As an evolving learning organization, ASI is human-centered and strives to live its values of care and growth. The purpose of ASI is to transform lives by engaging every student. With a commitment to learning, continuous improvement, and innovation, ASI employs dynamic team members who support team learning, co-creation, radical candor, psychological safety, growth mindset, and live out equity, diversity, and inclusion practices.\n POSITION DEFINITION\n Under the general supervision of the Director of People, Culture, & Governance, the Student Leadership & Governance Manager is a student affairs professional who advises, coaches, and develops ASI’s elected and appointed student leaders, including the ASI Board of Directors. Student leaders hold real authority, and this role guides and facilitates their learning as they exercise it, helping them reach sound decisions grounded in ASI and CSU policy, governing documents, and legal compliance while respecting their autonomy as elected and appointed representatives. The Manager has full oversight of the Student Government unit, including the leadership curriculum, student leader onboarding and advising, election education and logistics, nonpartisan civic and advocacy education, and assessment of outcomes in leadership learning, participation equity, and candidate pipeline and turnout.\n The Manager directly supervises the Senior Coordinator, provides indirect oversight of the part-time student support team, and is responsible for unit strategy, budget, and compliance. The role partners with University Government Relations, the Office of Success and Early Support Programs, the Bronco Leadership Center, Marketing, and other campus partners to support student leaders’ success as both leaders and students.\n ESSENTIAL DUTIES\n Student Leader Advising & Development\n \n Serves as primary advisor and guide to the ASI Board of Directors and other elected and appointed student leaders; facilitates their learning and decision-making so that actions align with ASI bylaws and governing documents, ASI and CSU policy, and applicable law, while respecting their authority and fostering their ownership of decisions\n Provides regular one-to-one advising and ongoing coaching to student leaders throughout their term, supporting goal-setting, reflection, and the balance of academic and leadership responsibilities\n Provides oversight for the design, sequencing, and implementation of the student government leadership curriculum, including onboarding, orientations, workshops, and advanced seminars aligned with ASI’s values and governance competencies\n Instructs and facilitates retreats and trainings for student leaders; implements and sustains a peer-mentor and coaching model\n In collaboration with key stakeholders, co-develops the student leader advising model, including selection, invitation, training, and support of ASI and University advisors who serve individual leaders or committees\n Partners with the Office of Success and Early Support Programs, the Bronco Leadership Center, and other campus partners to support student leaders who experience academic challenges, eligibility concerns, or other barriers to participation\n Reviews progress reports, early-alert information, and other student-success indicators as authorized through CPP Connect or designated university systems, consistent with FERPA and institutional procedures; conducts timely, supportive outreach, develops follow-up plans with students, and documents referrals and outcomes\n Maintains the distinction between developmental coaching and academic advising, counseling, or eligibility determinations; refers students to the appropriate campus offices for specialized support or formal decisions\n \n Governance, Policy, & Elections\n \n Educates student leaders, advisors, and staff on, and ensures compliance with, ASI and CSU policies, bylaws and governing codes, and the Gloria Romero Open Meetings Act of 2000 (California Education Code §§ 89305-89307.4)\n Applies parliamentary procedure (RONR) in advising the Board of Directors, its committees, and presiding officers before and during meetings, coaching student leaders to use procedure with confidence and make their own decisions\n Provides oversight and direction for the development, review, and maintenance of governing policies, codes, and processes\n Guides student leaders in the ideation and co-development of the annual action plan; coordinates assessment and reporting of outcomes\n Leads the education, outreach, and logistics of student government elections; does not adjudicate election complaints, appeals, or disputes\n Provides oversight of nonpartisan civic and advocacy education in policy literacy, ethical campaigning, and constructive dialogue; coordinates advocacy touchpoints with CSSA and campus, local, and state partners in alignment with elections education and timelines\n Serves as primary liaison with University Government Relations and key campus and community partners; supports student leaders in navigating sensitive or high-visibility campus, local, state, and national matters through a nonpartisan, policy-compliant approach, including briefings, talking points, and interest-based problem solving; documents agreements and escalates per established protocols while protecting confidentiality\n In partnership with the Senior Coordinator, aligns governance readiness work across University Government Relations, campus stakeholders, and external partners to support cohesive communication and shared priorities\n \n Assessment, Participation, & Outreach\n \n Provides oversight for defining learning outcomes and equity metrics for student leadership, civic, and advocacy programs\n Leads the candidate pipeline and turnout strategy, including orientation and information sessions, office hours, peer panels, and digital content that demystify elected and appointed roles, time commitment, responsibilities, and growth paths\n Oversees tracking and reporting of candidate awareness, intent-to-run, and yield by constituency; uses findings to refine outreach and programming\n Provides oversight for dashboards on competency gains, participation and retention by subgroup, candidate pipeline diversity, turnout, and advocacy outcomes\n Publishes term and annual summaries and leads after-action reviews to drive continuous improvement\n Co-leads communications campaigns with Marketing to increase leadership participation, civic engagement, and candidate interest\n \n Unit Leadership & Administration\n \n Directly supervises the Senior Coordinator, including recruitment, hiring, training, coaching, evaluation, and development; provides indirect oversight of the part-time Lead (1) and Office Support staff (3) through the Senior Coordinator\n Provides oversight for the development, management, and evaluation of unit standard operating procedures (SOPs), related documentation, and policy alignment; provides supporting detail for training integration\n Prepares, presents, and administers the unit budget, including cost estimates, forecasts, and budget justifications\n Advises student leaders on scholarship design, structure, and related budget discussions\n Oversees student government scholarship awards, including eligibility verification, coordination of disbursement with Financial Aid, and compliance with ASI and institutional requirements; leads development and maintenance of the scholarship memorandum of understanding with key stakeholders\n Develops, presents, and implements short- and long-term unit goals in collaboration with key stakeholders\n \n General\n \n Participate in campus-wide collaborations that serve the overall mission of the department, ASI, the division of student affairs and the university\n Attend all trainings, meetings, and workshops as required\n Perform other related duties to support the mission of ASI, as assigned \n \n QUALIFICATIONS\n Education & Experience\n \n Master’s degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs, Student Leadership Development, Public Administration, or a closely related field\n Minimum four years of progressive leadership experience, including leading programs, processes, or operations\n Minimum two years of supervisory experience, including recruitment, performance management, and evaluation, and oversight of multiple functions or projects\n Minimum two years of experience facilitating, training, and coaching college students or student leaders, including designing and delivering leadership curriculum and civic or advocacy education, equity-minded assessment, and partnership with campus stakeholders to connect students with academic, wellness, leadership, and other campus resources\n Intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint\n \n Preferred Qualifications\n \n Experience advising student government, a governing board, or elected and appointed student leaders in higher education\n Familiarity with the Gloria Romero Open Meetings Act or other California open-meeting requirements\n \n Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities\n \n Knowledge of college student development theory and the ability to apply it in one-to-one and group advising, coaching, and mentoring of student leaders\n Knowledge of parliamentary procedure (e.g., RONR) and the ability to apply it in a meeting setting.\n Ability to guide student leaders toward sound decisions aligned with policy and law while honoring their authority and building their ownership\n Political acumen, diplomacy, and discretion in a higher education setting; ability to engage senior administrators, elected and appointed officials, and community partners on sensitive or contentious issues\n Advanced facilitation, interest-based negotiation, and conflict de-escalation skills; able to convene diverse stakeholders and reach workable agreements under time pressure\n Exceptional judgment with confidential and sensitive information, including protected student records; sound issue-management and crisis-communication awareness\n Ability to translate complex policy into plain-language guidance for student leaders\n Knowledge of assessment and evaluation methods; ability to set indicators, analyze data, and report results to guide improvement\n Ability to synthesize information and write clear reports and briefings\n Commitment to equity and inclusion and experience working with culturally diverse populations\n Ability to build partnerships and influence without authority across campus and community\n Ability to oversee projects, manage multiple priorities, make independent decisions and recommendations, and solve problems\n Ability to participate as a positive team player and maintain an appropriate professional appearance and work conduct\n Ability to satisfactorily complete a background check (including a criminal records check)\n \n POSITION SENSITIVITY \n Based on the duties and responsibilities of this position, this position has been designated to be a sensitive position.\n BACKGROUND CHECK\n A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can begin employment with Associated Students, Inc., Cal Poly Pomona. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current ASI employees who apply for this position.\n WORK ENVIRONMENT\n While performing duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk and hear; manual dexterity, and eye hand coordination, and verbal communication; use of office equipment: telephones, calculator, copier and fax. Must be able to walk, stand, bend and lift up to 25 pounds.\n MANDATED REPORTING REQUIREMENT\n \n In compliance with the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), each ASI employee is designated as a mandated reporter and is required to sign an Acknowledgment of Mandated Reporter Status and Legal Duty to Report Child Abuse and Neglect.\n SYSTEMWIDE SMOKE AND TOBACCO FREE ENVIRONMENT EO 1108\n Cal Poly Pomona is a smoke and tobacco-free campus. Please refer to the link below for policy information. COVID-19 VACCINATION \n CSU, along with Associated Students Inc., strongly recommends all staff who are physically accessing campus facilities or programs to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which includes obtaining a COVID-19 booster dose. See policy at