The Boston University Director of Student Success is a member of the Undergraduate Affairs team in the Office of the Provost. The Director leads a team of professional staff members who provide holistic advising and student support to first-year students, incoming transfer students, and other designated student populations. Together with the team, the Director develops programming designed to integrate incoming students into the university community and to introduce all students to the high-impact academic experiences available to them at BU. In collaboration with the Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Advising and Student Success, the Director of Student Success runs How to BU, an Orientation Program (serving 5000 students annually) that focuses on setting up incoming students for success, and the Director coordinates multiple sections of a BU Hub cocurricular that introduces students to habits and skills that foster academic and personal success.

Essential Function 1: (80%) Student Success Initiatives
Supervise the Assistant Directors of Student Success, who together work with approximately 5,000 students from designated populations, including first-year students and transfer students

• Orchestrate coordinated communications and outreach to incoming students throughout their first year (including the Incoming Student Questionnaire and the How Are You Doing Survey)
• Collaborate with 12 undergraduate schools and colleges as well as central units to provide a seamless web of holistic advising and student support to first-year and transfer students
• Oversee the development and implementation of programming designed to integrate incoming students into the university community and to introduce all students to the high-impact academic experiences available to them at BU. Programming currently includes September Connections events open to all first-year students, faculty and student lunches, end-of-semester study breaks, and a Spring Welcome/Welcome Back event for incoming and continuing first-year students.
• Work with the undergraduate schools and colleges and Undergraduate Affairs to enhance the first-year experience at Boston University
• Track student engagement data

Essential Function 2: (5%) Onboarding Students

• Collaborate with the Dean of Students Office to run Orientation programming (How to BU) for all incoming students that encourages students to reflect on their values, their purpose in pursuing an undergraduate education, and how they will contribute to and thrive within a diverse residential education community. Tasks include keeping the curriculum updated and aligned with current research on student success; training and supporting the student facilitators who deliver the program; coordinating assessment of the program; and managing complex logistics involved in a program of this size
• Coordinate Fall Academic Fair for all incoming undergraduate students. Event involves 12 schools and colleges and 24 central units, and is open to all incoming students

Essential Function 3: (5%) Coordinate multiple sections of an incoming student co-curricular course that introduces students to skills and habits that foster academic and personal success and helps students explore academic opportunities available to them at BU

Essential Function 4: (10%) Special Projects

• Support emerging initiatives that facilitate undergraduate students’ engagement with high-impact educational practices such as common intellectual experiences, community-based learning, and undergraduate research.

Required Skills

Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in a relevant discipline
• 5-8 years of work experience in a higher education setting
• Excellent leadership and managerial skills
• Experience supervising academic advisors, student success coaches, or other student support staff
• Understanding of the national landscape of student success and familiarity with relevant literature and best practices
• Strong interpersonal communication skills, including well-honed writing and presentation skills
• Excellent organizational, time-management, and multi-tasking skills
• Ability to help staff set priorities and achieve goals
• Demonstrated ability to work with students, faculty, and staff with diverse identities and from a range of backgrounds
• Enthusiasm for increasing engagement of historically underrepresented groups in high-impact learning practices
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate successfully with other campus units
• Event planning experience preferred

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Required Experience

Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in a relevant discipline
• 5-8 years of work experience in a higher education setting
• Excellent leadership and managerial skills
• Experience supervising academic advisors, student success coaches, or other student support staff
• Understanding of the national landscape of student success and familiarity with relevant literature and best practices
• Strong interpersonal communication skills, including well-honed writing and presentation skills
• Excellent organizational, time-management, and multi-tasking skills
• Ability to help staff set priorities and achieve goals
• Demonstrated ability to work with students, faculty, and staff with diverse identities and from a range of backgrounds
• Enthusiasm for increasing engagement of historically underrepresented groups in high-impact learning practices
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate successfully with other campus units
• Event planning experience preferred

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.