Assistant Director, Advising and Student Services - CALES Norton School of Human Ecology

University of Arizona•Tucson, AZ

38d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Director, Advising and Student Services, will manage daily operations of academic advising for the Norton School of Human Ecology (HECL) an academic unit in the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences (CALES). This role supervises professional advising staff, leads improvements in advising processes, supports unit-level student success initiatives, and collaborations with faculty and administrators on curriculum and policy implementation. The Assistant Director serves as a liaison between advising and academic leadership, using data to guide practice and ensuring alignment with college and institutional standards. Student caseload will consist of supporting all majors within HECL, mainly with complex cases and designated cohort of students' contingent on needs. The manager will report directly to the CALES Senior Director of Advising and Student Services. Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required. Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more! The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
Minimum of 3 years of related work experience or equivalent combination of education and work experience
In-depth understanding of academic advising theory, student development, and university systems.
Strong team leadership and supervisory skills, including managing change and performance.
Proficiency in analyzing student data and applying insights to improve advising outcomes.
Ability to interpret and implement academic policy in collaboration with faculty and administrators.
Effective written and verbal communication, with demonstrated success building partnerships across functions.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.
8 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
Data assessment or data analytics experience.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the unit's day-to-day advising operations, ensuring timely, student-centered, and policy aligned advising.
Provide direct advising to students as needed, especially in escalated or complex cases. Will be familiar with all standard duties of CALES advisors.
Act as primary resource for advisors regarding interpretation of academic policies and procedures.
Oversee communication strategies, caseload management, and workflow consistency across the team.
Coordinate unit-level student outreach and programming, in alignment with college advising goals.
Supervise a team of professional academic advisors, including performance management, onboarding, and ongoing development.
Set team goals and provide regular coaching and feedback to ensure advisor growth and effectiveness.
Promote a positive team culture rooted in support and shared responsibility for student success.
Collaborate with other Assistant Directors to support consistent practices and shared learning across advising teams.
Represent advising in department- and unit-level curriculum and planning conversations.
Use institutional and advising data to assess student trends and inform advising practice.
Support development and assessment of unit-specific advising goals and outcomes.
Partner with faculty and leadership to identify and address systemic barriers to student progression.
Mentor junior and mid-level advisors on complex advising practices and university systems.
Facilitate or contribute to advisor training within the unit and college-wide.
Share effective strategies and promote professional learning within the team.
Represent the advising function in college or university committees focused on student success.
Serve as a liaison between the advising unit and college or university partners.
Represent the unit on advising councils, curriculum committees, or student support initiatives.
Coordinate with student support offices and instructional staff to streamline referrals and align student resources.
Use systems like Trellis and UAccess Analytics to support strategic decision-making.
Supervise team of Norton school academic advisors.
Provides academic advising for all students in the Norton School as needed, which can include advising for Retailing and Consumer Sciences (RCSC), Personal and Family Financial Planning (PFFP), Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), and Fashion, Industry, Science and Technology (FITS) majors, minors and certificates.
Provide ongoing support and availability for student services team members' questions, concerns, and escalated student issues.
Lead weekly team meetings.
Serves as main point of contact for student services/advising concerns that may come from students, parents, or community members.
Hire and train new advising team members.
Provide training and development opportunities for all advising team members.
Shadow advisors and provide feedback about advising practices.
Create vision for CALES and Norton School academic advising and ensure team members are working together toward common goals.
Complete monthly, biweekly, or weekly individual meetings with student services staff members.
Review career conversations with student services staff members.
Review student petitions, review requests for unit increases, and release academic advising holds.
Lead and coordinate Student Services Events & Initiatives such as student appreciation events, advising in the lobby, in-class advising presentations, etc.
Lead and coordinate Student Services proactive outreach initiatives that focus on student retention (e.g., CALES Pulse outreach, mid-semester progress check-ins, academic eligibility outreach, etc.).
Work collaboratively with Norton School Experiential Learning Coordinator to integrate internship exploration and career development steps into undergraduate advising experiences.
Provide leadership and project management for CALES college level advising team and coordinates special project at college level (examples include academic advising assessment, analytics and first year academic advising).
Serves as point of contact for Norton and CALES leadership regarding advising matters and student perspectives.
Serves on school, college-wide, and university-wide leadership committees.
Facilitate CALES Agvisors meetings (twice a month).
Facilitate Advising Manager Meetings (twice a month).