[Hiring] Director of Academic Advising @Excelsior University

Role Description

Reporting to the Executive Director of Student Affairs, the Director of Academic Advising is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of an assigned academic advising team and actively contributing to continuous enhancement of the Excelsior student experience across a variety of platforms. The Director collaborates with a broad range of executive- and frontline-level staff across the University to ensure extraordinary Excelsior student-service experience. The role requires someone who is strategic and creative, inclusive and decisive, disciplined, and innovative. The skills and knowledge required for this position include:

• Strong team- and relationship-building skills
• Exceptional judgment and problem solving
• Expertise in the Excelsior student body, online adult distance learner engagement trends, and student success models

This position is based out of the university’s home office in Albany, NY with the option of considering remote candidates. Remote employees will have mandatory occasional travel for meetings, conferences, and professional development opportunities. Remote employees are expected to be available during work hours 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Eastern time. The University will supply necessary equipment to perform the essential functions of this job (e.g., Laptop, docking station). Employees are responsible for having a workspace where they can participate in virtual meetings without multiple interruptions and noise.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development of annual strategic work plans for the Academic Advising Center; help to inform the Executive Directors goals, timelines/schedules for deliverables, resource needs, and plans for assessment.
• Continuously assess Academic Advisor performance and skillsets to evaluate student engagement, efficacy, and address opportunities for additional advisor growth and development.
• Monitor workflow across the team and proactively address strategies to overcome pain points.
• Assist the Executive Director in ensuring consistency in service quality and operational expectations across Student Affairs using best practices.
• Ability to plan and implement policy or procedure changes at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.
• Serve as consultant on issues related to the Excelsior student experience, including specialized populations of students.
• Assist Executive Director in maintaining an understanding of relevant research on online adult distance learner engagement, persistence, retention, success, and support models; attend and/or present at conferences to stay current in the areas of student-centered practices in higher education; contribute to scholarship in the field.
• Interpret and provide timely, accurate information about university policies, procedures and curriculum to students, faculty, staff, and other constituents.
• Participate in continuous quality improvement activities to ensure extraordinary Excelsior student experience.
• Demonstrate advanced skills in successfully balancing multiple competing priorities with accuracy and agility amid frequent interruptions and demands for time.
• Ability to prioritize based on strategic needs of the unit and the institution.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required.
• Minimum of five years working as an Excelsior University Academic Advisor.

Preferred Qualifications

• Leadership experience in any or all of the following; hiring, training, coaching or serving as a project lead.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills; commitment to collaboration and partnership; ability to diplomatically build strong cross-departmental relationships.
• Strong written and spoken communication skills with a diverse body of Excelsior students, faculty, staff, and other constituents.
• Effective public speaking and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead decisively while allowing space for frontline feedback and ideas; keen instincts on when to build consensus and when to move swiftly to achieve desired outcomes.

Salary

The hiring salary range for this position is $74,000.00 - $77,000.00. The hiring salary range above represents the University's good faith estimate at the time of posting.