Director of Advising and Holistic Student Supports
Position Details:
Position Type:
Full Time, Exempt
Salary Grade:
9 ($128,000 - $138,000)
Reports To:
Executive Director, Program Development
Work Location:
Remote
Mobile First Work Policy: Upon hire, employees are notified of their work location (Silver Spring or Remote). Fully remote may not be appropriate for all positions at ATD. ATD wants to ensure that both employees and ATD will benefit from these arrangements.
Level of Travel Required:
Moderate
Job Overview:
Reporting to the Executive Director of Program Development, the Director of Advising and Holistic Student Supports (HSS) is responsible for the leadership and implementation of ATD's advising redesign and HSS strategy. This position oversees the creation, implementation, and scaling of comprehensive advising and HSS services leading to transformative change, inclusive practices and increased equitable outcomes for diverse student populations. As the lead subject matter expert in advising and HSS, the Director represents ATD at national events, elevates the organization's expertise in effective advising and HSS redesign practices and processes, and cultivates and maintains strong partnerships within the higher education ecosystem.
The Director develops and implements advising and HSS coaching strategies that build capacity for institutional transformation. This position also provides direct coaching services to colleges, including developing and delivering trainings, workshops, and professional development to assist colleges and states in building capacity to implement holistic student supports. This position includes supervisory responsibility for consultants and staff and works collaboratively across all departments within the organization to ensure successful outcomes of all initiatives.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Advising and Holistic Student Supports Program Leadership (30%)
- In collaboration with the Executive Director of Program Development, lead the strategic direction for advising and HSS innovation, programming and service design and delivery aligned with organizational goals.
- Lead development and delivery of programming to support ATD network colleges in implementing innovative advising practices, including personalized advising, career counseling, and the integration of technology in advising, such as AI-driven platforms and predictive analytics.
- Curate and adapt learnings and tools from grant-funded initiatives and lead the development of new advising and HSS services that support capacity building and institutional transformation.
- Develop and implement strategies to innovate and scale high impact advising practices that advance student success and equity, including identifying emerging trends in technology.
- Provide leadership and oversight for assigned grants to ensure compliance and strategic use of resources.
Coaching and Direct Support to Colleges (30%)
- Provide subject matter expertise to select colleges in HSS, academic advising redesign, flexible and high-impact course delivery, and shortened academic terms through a combination of on-campus site visits, engagement at learning events, and virtual support.
- In collaboration with the coaching team, design, facilitate, and train coaches on high-impact practices for academic advising and holistic student support.
- Support colleges in evaluating and improving the effectiveness of their academic advising and support services.
Thought Leadership and Content Development (15%)
- Execute and lead the strategy to develop field-facing resources such as toolkits, case studies, and formal presentations that inform the field on high-impact practices for advising and holistic student supports.
- Lead the design and delivery of ATD Advising and HSS events and convenings and provide expertise for peer learning events.
- Lead the curation of Advising and HSS content, tools, and resources for ATD’s Strategy Hub.
- Collaborate with the research and assessment team and marketing and communication teams to identify compelling narratives, promising practices, and lessons for the field.
- Represent ATD at national and regional conferences, webinars, and other public events to elevate the organization's thought leadership in academic advising and holistic student supports.
Management, Supervision, Operations, and Administration (15%)
- Manage budgets, grants, and contracts effectively, meeting deadlines and deliverables on time and within budget.
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight for staff responsible for developing and delivering programs, projects, and support services.
- Supervise and set priorities, responsibilities, and goals for all direct reports.
Business Development (10%)
- Work with organizational leadership to identify and pursue potential funding and partnership opportunities that support program development and sustainability of holistic student supports, academic advising redesign, and shortened academic terms.
- Contribute to the development of grant proposals and grant budgets in partnership with the development team.
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
- Knowledge of racial equity and inclusion principles: Understands ways that race, and other identities intersect and understands the historical context for racial inequity and its present-day implications.
- Highly organized and motivated: Able to create and maintain organizational systems and to juggle competing demands and prioritize without sacrificing quality, including planning backwards to meet deadlines, and asking for help when needed.
- Models and inspires accountability: Inspires and motivates others to act and meet goals.
- Has a coach and learning mentality: Helps others grow and uses coaching, training, and feedback to develop others and support problem-solving.
- Proficient use of Microsoft Office Suite Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint; experience with a project management tool is a plus.
- Detail-oriented and with demonstrated ability to analyze, produce, and present relevant information.
- Able to work in a collaborative, hybrid work environment.
- Strong organizational skills.
- Ability to diplomatically interact with employees on all levels in a professional manner.
- Ability to resolve complex issues and prioritize tasks.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent customer service skills.
- Knowledge of performance management and training and development best practices.
Qualifications/Experience:
Required:
- A master’s degree is required, MA/MS preferred in higher education, academic advising, public policy, or related discipline.
- Five or more years of related experience in academic advising in a collegiate setting, holistic student support practices, and enrollment practices to support increased student outcomes (i.e. shortened academic term implementation).
- Experience with program development and implementation within a higher education setting.
- Proven track record of successfully supporting institutions through equity-minded student success transformation.
- Demonstrated expertise and success in innovating and developing strategies for academic advising, including case management approaches and holistic student supports, as well as executing and scaling these initiatives.
- Demonstrated understanding of student information systems, data management practices in higher education, and knowledge of predictive analytics and its application in student advising and support services.
- Strong project management experience, including grant writing and grant management and expertise leading and executing
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks, details, and competing priorities efficiently.
- Superior written communication skills; excellent analytical, critical thinking, and organizational skills with attention to detail.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach working with internal and external stakeholders and funders.
- Exceptional presentation and facilitation skills.
- Ability to convey knowledge within areas of higher education relevant to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite and the ability to learn new applications and systems.
Preferred:
- Post secondary experience in leading student affairs or academic affairs teams, projects, and/or programs preferred.
- Experience as a consultant, coach, or facilitator.
- Experience with AI-driven advising technologies and platforms.
- Familiarity with Salesforce.
- Experience with leading equity and diversity initiatives on campus related to increasing student success outcomes.
Please include a cover letter along with your resume. In the cover letter please discuss the following:
- Why are you passionate about ATD’s mission?
- What qualities, experiences, or other considerations do you believe make you an ideal candidate for this position?
Physical Demands:
The physical demands 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. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Achieving the Dream believes that diversity, equity and inclusion is critical to its work and its mission. ATD takes meaningful steps to promote inclusion in its hiring, retention, promotion, and board recruitment, and supports equity work at the community colleges it serves.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Achieving the Dream is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse work environment. Employment policies and decisions are based upon merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally- protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.