Job Description
Department: University Life
Classification: Administrative Faculty
Work Schedule: Full-time
Location: Fairfax, VA
Workplace Type: On-Site Required
Salary: Salary range starting $100k's; commensurate with education and experience
Criminal Background Check: Yes
About the Department: The Division of University Life's Student Success Coaching unit is a hub for student engagement and support for all first-year freshman and transfer students. The Student Success Coaching unit promotes increasing the retention rate of incoming students by connecting students to campus resources and helping students set and achieve academic, career, and personal goals. The Student Success Coaching unit provides incoming students access to ongoing coaching from professional and student staff that maintain university-wide and college-specific knowledge to ensure the success of Mason's incoming student populations.
About the Position: Reporting to the Assistant Vice President within the Division of University Life, the Director of Student Success Coaching specializes in the coordination, implementation, and assessment of the Division of University Life's Student Success Coaching (SSC) unit. The Director supervises the SSC team, which is a vital component to increasing the retention rate of incoming students at Mason. With a commitment to continuous improvement, the Director collaborates closely with numerous university partners-including Admissions, Academic Affairs, Academic Advising, Colleges and Schools, Auxiliary Services, Enrollment Management, and University Life division colleagues-in setting the vision, marketing the program, implementing a broad spectrum of program initiatives, and conducting outcomes assessment for a comprehensive organization serving the needs of a diverse population of incoming first-year and transfer students.
Responsibilities: Supervision and Leadership - Provides strategic, active management of the department consisting of 30+ full-time staff with the overall development, implementation, and management of the professional coaching program at George Mason University, including strategic partnerships and native Mason students;
- Creates professional development plans promoting skill acquisition and leadership capacity of both full-time and student staff;
- Serve as a member of the University Life management team and coordinates projects, programs, and initiatives as appropriate;
- Assists with the implementation of institution-wide CRM;
- Manages an annual budget of $3M (inclusive of salary/fringe), including short- and long-term fiscal planning;
- Directs the development of new initiatives for SSC and other key strategic investments; and
- Attends professional meetings and maintain active memberships in salient professional organizations.
Strategic Partnerships - Creates and maintains relationships with academic colleges, Academic Affairs, Registrar, Admissions/Enrollment Management, etc. necessary to run a comprehensive student success program;
- Develops and manages internal and external partnerships such as ADVANCE, DC-CAP, STEP, EIP, Dream US, Mason Korea, and online students;
- Attends regular meetings with key stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the program; and
- Contributes to key institutional programs and initiatives related to the transition and success of transfer students.
Assessment and Operations - Provides leadership for long-term division-level assessment and evaluation plans related to retention and student success;
- Develops and manages program evaluation and assessment processes, including tracking of retention and completion metrics, student satisfaction and net promoter score, and other key metrics;
- Oversees Mason's quality assurance program by leading the evaluation and review process and maintaining coaching records;
- Assists with on-going benchmarking and best practices research of coaching programs at other institutions; and
- Conducts retention indicator and outcomes assessments for a comprehensive organization serving the needs of a diverse population of incoming first-year and transfer students.
Performance and Goals - Responsible for setting goals for performance and deadlines in ways that comply with the university's plans and vision and communicate them to subordinates;
- Organizes workflow and ensure that employees understand their duties or delegated tasks;
- Monitors employee productivity and providing constructive feedback and coaching;
- Receives complaints and resolves problems;
- Maintains timekeeping and personnel records;
- Passes on information from upper management to employees and vice versa;
- Prepares and submits performance evaluations;
- Decides on rewards and promotions based on performance;
- Hires and trains new employees; and
- Ensures adherence to legal and university policies and procedures and undertaking disciplinary actions if the need arises.
Other duties as assigned by Vice President/Assistant Vice President Required Qualifications: - Master's degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience;
- Must have progressively responsible professional experience and leadership typically obtained in 7+ years, working closely with staff and undergraduate students;
- Experience with leading a unit or a functional area, supervision, assessment/evaluation, training and development, leadership and student programs are necessary;
- Prior experience in academic advising or working with student coaching programs;
- Experience with educational database management systems and customer relationship management systems (CRM);
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service;
- Demonstrated skills in leadership, communication, program development, and administrative operations and procedures;
- Advanced working knowledge of student transitional issues;
- Exceptional interpersonal, oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate with a variety of constituents and departmental stakeholders;
- Ability to meet deadlines, work accurately and quickly with attention to detail and be able to manage multiple complex programs, projects, and high-level, intricate student cases simultaneously;
- Ability to manage conflicting and competing situations;
- Ability to competently interact with a culturally and ethnically diverse population of students, faculty, and staff;
- Ability to work evening and weekend hours, particularly in the summer;
- Demonstrated working knowledge of student transitional issues, specifically around transfer and first-year student populations;
- Demonstrated commitment to the practice of open and effective communication with students, staff, and faculty to build and maintain collaborative relationships; and
- Success Coaching Certification (if not currently certified, must obtain institutional approved certification within one year of employment).
Preferred Qualifications: Terminal degree in a related field
Instructions to Applicants: For full consideration, applicants must apply for
Director of Student Success Coaching at and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent and Resume for review.
Posting Open Date: July 16, 2024
For Full Consideration, Apply by: August 26, 2024
Open Until Filled?: Yes
Mason Ad Statement Mason is currently the largest and most diverse university in Virginia with students and faculty from all 50 states and over 135 countries studying in over 200 degree programs at campuses in Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William, as well as at learning locations across the commonwealth. Rooted in Mason's diversity is a campus culture that is both rewarding and exciting, work that is meaningful, and opportunities to both collaborate and create.
If you are interested in joining the Mason family take a look at our current opportunities and catch some Mason spirit at jobs.gmu.edu/!
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Equity Statement George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.
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Job Tags
Full time, Temporary work, Summer work, Weekend work, Afternoon shift,