Workforce Specialist

Workforce Specialist

NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) provides quality and affordable higher education to empower lives and strengthen communities within Northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas. As the largest community college in Arkansas, NWACC is recognized as a leader in education. NWACC offers a full range of associate degrees, certificates and workforce training programs that prepare students for rewarding futures and careers.

NWACC employees are dedicated to fostering a diverse educational community and cultural learning environment that supports student success.

The Workforce Specialist serves as the initial point of contact for the School of Workforce for all prospective and current students. This is an in-person student-facing role with a primary focus on apprenticeships, trades programs, and CDL training, and a secondary focus on connecting the community to Professional Skills training, Certified Retail Analytics, microcredentials, and other programs. This position is critical to outreach and recruiting efforts, with an expectation of collaboration with secondary education institutions and community and industry partners, supporting both the Bentonville and Washington County campuses. This role will assist students with all facets of enrollment, prior learning evaluations, course selections, etc. necessary for successful program completion. This role requires the ability to motivate and engage students and an ongoing commitment to promoting a positive learning environment.

Essential duties:

• Coordinates prior learning credit and appropriate documents, providing referrals to specific departments, schools, or employers as appropriate. Reviews academic records for all student types and proactively suggests completion criteria for eligible workforce Credentials. Utilizes Workday and other college-provided platforms to manage data efficiently and transparently
• Serves as point of contact for all Prior Learning Credit requests, emos, emails, documentation, conversion, and matriculation for student and the division. Provides developmental advising for new and continuing students. Retention-focus: identify and contact students not on degree plan; identify students enrolled in previous/current semester, but not enrolled for upcoming semester
• Advises students on programs and course selection by setting up and maintaining student appointments: transfer, newly-admitted, career, Transfer Agreements, providing advising at both Bentonville and Washington Co. campuses, traveling to Washington County a minimum of twice monthly. Conducts advising visits in person and alternative methods
• Assists with student orientation in coordination with Student Services, Distance Learning and Enrollment Support; Develops and maintains degree audits in coordination with the division deans, department chairs and coordinators, and Distance Learning. Resolves Workday/registration issues: remove holds, pre-requisite overrides, on-boarding, course substitutions, and minimum financial advising
• Coordinate with program or academic advisors for student notifications for class cancellations and re-registration. Works with Division Deans and Program Directors to perform and evaluate quarterly degree audits to contribute to scorecard metrics in leading indicators for program recruitment, persistence, retention, and completion
• Leads and/or attends community outreach events, such as division-sponsored events, recruitment fairs, and advisor board meetings. Internship communications with career services and other industry-related liaisons. Collaborates with Transfer Services on 2+2 Agreements
• Meets monthly with leadership and/or team members in Accelerated Skills Training, Construction & Trades, Bikes, and Trails. Archives reports, files, and notes using preferred institutional systems. Manages confidential information with tact, discretion, and in compliance with FERPA regulations. Exhibits excellent digital and interpersonal communication skills
• Develops and updates online resources, communication, and overall web presence for program areas supported; maintain contact with other colleges and universities; maintain a good working relationship with NWACC Referral Offices, and counselors at high schools in the NWA region and beyond. Collaborates with the Director of Trades, Apprenticeship, and CDL to market programs and enroll students; represents ALL programs in the School of Workforce at career fairs, job fairs, and other community events as needed or requested
• Regular, reliable, and non-disruptive attendance is an essential job duty, as is the ability to create and maintain collegial, harmonious working relationships; respond to other duties assigned by the AVP for Workforce or designee
• Additional duties may be assigned as necessary to support the goals and objectives of the department and college

Rate of pay: $46,150 annualized *Higher compensation may be considered based on qualifications directly related to position.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in counseling, workforce development education, education or related field
• Two years of experience in student advising, counseling, admissions, or related field

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree from accredited institution in counseling, workforce development education, or related field
• Three years demonstrated experience in: Student advising, counseling, admissions, transcript analysis, records management, financial aid assistance, or related field
• Experience working with WorkDay, Modern Campus, or other college-related enterprise software systems

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of student advising, counseling, admissions, and financial aid processes; ability to organize and prioritize work; excellent organizational, analytical, and planning skills; ability to positively participate as a team member; ability to plan, organize, and implement assigned responsibilities and to work well under pressure to meet deadlines
• Broad knowledge of postsecondary education and the NWACC School of Workforce credit, non, credit, and Accelerated Skills programs; knowledge of college policies, procedures, and practices (FERPA, Title VII, Title IX, ADA, etc.) and other applicable laws related to education and employment; ability to understand and interpret rules and regulations and ability to adjust to change; ability to handle confidential material judiciously
• Self-motivated and self-directed with the ability to prioritize work independently and meet deadlines; strong analytical and computing skills necessary; well-developed oral and written communication skills; experience with the facilitation of group planning efforts and facilitation strategies is important
• Computer literacy and a working knowledge of Microsoft products is important; ability to learn new software products and stay current with enterprise systems is critical
• Understanding the college's enrollment processes for credit, non-credit, and Accelerated Skills Training is valuable

Work Environment/Physical Demands:

Primary work location will be at the NWACC Bentonville campus with the occasional need for representation at the Washington County campus. Work hours are commensurate with ongoing work projects that may occasionally require hours outside the typical workday.

The physical activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and expectations. The following physical activities are associated with the position and will be performed with or without accommodation.

Occasionally:

• Feeling
• Grasping
• Reaching
• Standing
• Stooping
• Walking

Frequently:

• Driving
• Repetitive motion

Constantly

• Talking
• Hearing
• Sitting
• Manipulate items with fingers, including keyboarding

Environmental Conditions:

The following work environment characteristics are representative of those encountered by employees while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

The work environment typically consists of a professional office setting with a moderate noise level, including sounds from conversations, office equipment, and occasional movement of staff. Lighting is standard for office spaces, and the temperature is controlled to remain within a comfortable range. Employees may occasionally need to visit other areas, such as storage rooms, conference spaces, or outdoor locations, where environmental conditions may vary. Infrequently, exposure to louder noise levels or physical activities, such as moving lightweight materials, might be required.

NWACC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, please see our EEO policy.