Associate Director, Student Advocacy

About Bristol Community College:

Bristol Community College is an exciting place to work, learn, and grow! Bristol is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment with a rich diversity of beliefs, cultures, languages, abilities, and lifestyles. Committed to enriching its educational experience through a supportive community, Bristol actively encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply and achieve our vision of advancing a vibrant, diverse community through education, learner by learner. If you share a passion for helping students succeed and enjoy working in a community of innovative, inclusive, and collaborative colleagues, Bristol is the place for you!                                                                      

As a Commonwealth of Massachusetts employer, Bristol offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including health, dental, life, long-term disability, retirement and paid time off (vacation, personal, sick, and holiday pay). We also offer tuition waiver discounts at the Commonwealth's public higher education institutions. More information can be found on our Benefits website .

Job Description:

POSITION TITLE: Associate Director, Student Advocacy 

DEPARTMENT: Student Advising and Success/Student Services and Enrollment Management 

PRIMARY LOCATION: Fall River, with occasional travel to all Bristol campus locations. 

REPORTS TO: Director, Student Advising and Success 

POSITIONS SUPERVISED: Unit and non-unit staff including Student Success Coaches and Student Peer Mentors.  

STATEMENT OF DUTIES:  

The Associate Director, Student Advocacy provides various advocacy services to students encountering personal, educational, and cultural barriers that impact their ability to be successful. Providing support for any Bristol student, the Associate Director will focus on engaging in advocacy work that impacts economically disadvantaged students, first-generation college students, minoritized students, students with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ students. The Associate Director engages in active collaboration and problem-solving in partnership with institutional and community-based colleagues to support student persistence, retention, and completion. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

Strategy, Collaboration, & Student Success 

• Connect with students experiencing challenges to their success and provide appropriate emotional, educational, and cultural support. 
• Provide guidance, support, and advocacy to students involved in various college processes and procedures including, but not limited to, grade appeals; Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals; late withdrawal, late drop, and/or tuition appeals; student grievances; and student conduct proceedings. 
• Serve as a confidential resource and support person for students participating in complaints and/or investigations under the College's Policy on Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity & Diversity and federal Title IX regulations. 
• Utilize the College's student success platform and supporting technology (e.g., EAB Navigate, Maxient, DegreeWorks, etc.) to engage in proactive case management for students requiring support. 
• Interact with members of a student's support network including, but not limited to, faculty, Success coaches, learning specialists, tutors, family members, and external service providers, to provide advocacy for students within parameters dictated by college policy and/or local, state, and federal law and regulations 
• Develop, coordinate, and facilitate programming and services that support the representation, engagement, retention, or success of target populations, underrepresented groups, or those experiencing barriers to success   
• Collaborate with the Director, Wraparound services to develop diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) educational programs for students and SSEM staff. 
• Coordinate and develop educational programs for students, faculty, and staff related to various issues and processes including, but not limited to, student rights and responsibilities, grade appeals, student grievances, FERPA, and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) processes and appeals.  
• Serve on the Student Outreach, Advocacy, and Retention (SOAR) Team.  
• Foster collaborative relationships across the institution with key partners, including, but not limited to Academic Affairs, Advising and success, Financial Aid, and Student and family Engagement to promote student success and increase student persistence and retention. 

Assessment, Reporting, & Grant Management 

• Manage programmatic budgets for assigned areas. 
• Serve as the principal investigator (PI) for assigned grants. Collaborate with Strategic Analytics, Institutional Research, and Grant Accounting to compile all budget and outcomes reports related to assigned grants. 
• Support grant acquisition as requested by the Director. 
• Evaluate operational effectiveness and implement changes as required for continuous improvement. Support the Director in collecting data and generating reports to measure outcomes and benchmarks for improvement in service delivery. 
• Assist the Director with meaningful data analysis including disaggregation of student data to assess equitable outcomes for students. Provide timely reports and analysis. 

Leadership & Administration 

• Provide leadership and management to support personnel and staff including hiring and selection, subject matter training, support, coaching, performance evaluation, development, workforce planning, and identifying opportunities for growth and improvement, all while fostering a positive workplace culture. 
• Conduct regular staff and supervisory meetings, as well as opportunities for training and professional development for staff members. 
• Oversee and expand the Peer Coaching program, including curriculum development; recruitment, hiring, and supervision of peer coaches; budget management; assigning learners; program assessment, analytics, and recordkeeping; and other duties as needed. 
• Lead various student success outreach campaigns including, but not limited to, call and text message campaigns. 
• Maintain current professional knowledge about promising practices, emerging trends, and industry standards related to student advocacy and support; actively engage with professional organizations to stay current on professional development. 
• Serve on various leadership councils for Student Services and Enrollment Management; lead and serve on various college committees, as needed. 
• Use Bristol's digital communication tools, including but not limited to email, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media tools to advance Bristol's social media outreach and brand. 
• Demonstrate a sense of professionalism and consistently reflect Bristol's core values while interacting with members of the Bristol community.  
• Focus on the Commonwealth's Equity Agenda by applying related best practices throughout all job functions.  
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Requirements:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:  

NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, all required qualifications must be met by date of hire. 

• Minimum of a Master's degree in higher education, counseling, social work, or related field. * 
• Minimum of two to four (2-4) years of experience in student affairs, student services, or an enrollment management area within higher education. * 
• *An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience shall be considered. 
• Successful history of collaboration with other areas of the institution to build effective relationships, particularly with Advising & Success and Academic Affairs. 
• Demonstrated ability to hire, lead, manage, coach, support, train, and evaluate support staff. 
• Strong interpersonal, verbal/written communication, and organization skills that reflect inclusiveness, adaptiveness, and flexibility. 
• Demonstrated commitment to achieving equitable outcomes for all students through upholding the community college mission and serving the needs of first-generation and historically excluded populations. 
• Demonstrated commitment to embracing and serving the needs of a diverse community, including the ability to work effectively with a diverse student body, faculty, and staff. 
• Demonstrated proficiency with student information systems and Microsoft Office 365 applications. 
• Prior budget management experience. 
• Reliable transportation to travel to and from meetings, trainings, or campus and community locations as required. 
• Ability to work occasional nights and/or weekends. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:  

• Prior supervisory experience in a collective bargaining environment. 
• Prior experience working at a multi-campus community college. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of holistic case management model that supports student success. 
• Experience working with one or more of the following software packages: Ellucian Banner, Degree Works, Maxient, Slate, Blackboard, Argos, and EAB/Navigate. 
• Ability to communicate in a language in addition to English. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:   

The employee must meet the physical demands and work environment of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable those with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. 

POSITION STATUS: This is a full-time, non-unit position with benefits, some nights and weekends required.  

SALARY: Hiring salary Grade 8, $76,403.08 - $84,334.71, commensurate with education and experience.  

Additional Information:

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action

Bristol Community College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, TitleVII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and college policies. The College prohibits sexual harassment, including sexual violence. Inquiries or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or sexual violence shall be referred to the College's Title IX & Equity Compliance Officer, Emmanuel Echevarria at [email protected] or 774.357.2682; the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination; the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Application Instructions:

TO APPLY: Please complete our online application by clicking on the "Apply" button.   The position will be open to applicants until filled. Review of applications will begin 10 days from the posting date.

REQUIREMENTS TO COMPLETE APPLICATION PROCESS:

1) A completed Bristol Community College Employment Application.

2) A current resume/curriculum vitae.

3) A cover letter that demonstrates how your skills and experience meet the desired and required qualifications of the position (not limited in length).

All candidates must have legal authorization to work in the United States. Bristol Community College is an institution that does not sponsor work authorization.

A pre-employment criminal background check will be conducted for all positions.

The college will independently verify education credentials as provided on the application. For certain positions that require a college degree, the hired candidate must supply official transcripts upon hire. Transcripts must include your name and degrees conferred.