Assistant Director for Student Government

University of Maryland•College Park, MD

1d•$100,000 - $112,000

About The Position

Reporting directly to the Director of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union (STAMP), the Assistant Director for Student Government provides strategic leadership, advising, supervision, and administrative coordination for undergraduate and graduate student governance. The role serves as STAMP’s primary advisor to the Student Government Association (SGA) and Graduate Student Government (GSG), helping student leaders navigate governing documents, fiscal processes, elections, leadership transitions, and institutional relationships while fostering meaningful student agency. The Assistant Director establishes and manages a coordinated, multi-unit student-government advising framework across STAMP portfolios. The role directly supervises the Coordinator for Student Government Finance, keeps STAMP leadership informed about emerging governance matters, and leads cross-functional efforts supporting shared governance, effective fiscal stewardship, and organizational continuity. The position also provides administrative oversight for student-government finance support and student-fee allocation processes; coordinates advising across STAMP units; develops student leaders; builds institutional partnerships; and contributes to assessment, strategic planning, policy development, and departmental leadership. Other assigned duties may be performed as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Seven years of professional experience managing business operations.
Two years of experience supervising or managing professional staff.
Knowledge of business acumen, including key business drivers, organizational communications, and data.
Knowledge of organizational and unit performance measures.
Knowledge of the impact and implications of decisions on leadership objectives.
Oral and written communication skills.
Data analytics and negotiation skills.
Skill in using Microsoft Office and Google Suite products.
Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion.
Ability to develop and administer new policies and procedures.
Ability to interpret and apply policies, procedures, regulations, and laws.
Submit a cover letter, resume, and three references.
Complete a background check as a condition of an employment offer.
Complete employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) within the timeframe required by federal immigration law.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, education, public administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.
Seven or more years of progressively responsible direct experience in higher education, student affairs, student activities, or student-government advising.
Substantial experience serving as a primary advisor to student governments, governance bodies, or complex student-led organizations, preferably with both undergraduate and graduate student leaders.
Three or more years of experience supervising professional staff, managing performance, and leading cross-functional teams.
Deep knowledge of student development theory, leadership education, shared governance, and student advocacy.
Direct experience with student-government constitutions, bylaws, parliamentary procedure, legislation, elections, appointments, governance boards, and elections commissions.
Proven ability to build advising relationships that support student agency, communicate institutional policy, maintain viewpoint neutrality, and navigate organizational conflict or sensitive campus matters.
Experience designing, facilitating, and evaluating orientation, onboarding, leadership training, and annual transition programs for student leaders.
Experience advising student-fee allocation boards or finance committees, or administering student-funded programs and services.
Comprehensive understanding of budgeting, fiduciary responsibilities, financial compliance, and the relationships among student governments, registered student organizations, resource centers, and university administration.
Demonstrated experience coordinating work and managing priorities across multiple departments, functional areas, and primary reporting lines.
Experience partnering with registered student organizations, student organization resource centers, academic units, and administrative leadership.
Familiarity with current institutional and national trends in student governance, student rights, campus expression, student fees, and higher education policy.
Exceptional oral, written, interpersonal, negotiation, and facilitation skills across diverse student, staff, and leadership populations.
Experience using program assessment, student feedback, learning outcomes, and strategic planning to drive continuous improvement.
Strong organizational abilities to manage annual governance timelines, maintain institutional records, and handle competing priorities with sound judgment.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, or comparable digital collaboration platforms.

Responsibilities

Serve as STAMP’s primary advisor to SGA and GSG and meet regularly with executive, legislative, and committee leaders.
Advise student leaders on constitutions, bylaws, parliamentary procedures, election cycles, budget development, and university policy while respecting student self-governance.
Design and facilitate student-leader orientation, training, transitions, and continuing education focused on governance, advocacy, ethical leadership, fiduciary duty, and organizational management.
Support student leaders through governance disputes, organizational conflict, and sensitive campus issues, and help them build productive relationships with university administrators and campus partners.
Maintain viewpoint neutrality and fairness across candidates, legislation, and internal governance matters; support student agency and communicate the institutional impact of student decisions.
Keep the Director informed of major governance actions, emerging issues, and matters requiring institutional coordination.
Directly supervise the Coordinator for Student Government Finance, including recruitment, onboarding, performance evaluation, workload management, and professional development.
Coordinate STAMP’s multi-unit student-government advising framework, including shared advising principles, communication pathways, operational milestones, and regular coordination meetings among cross-portfolio staff.
Identify advising gaps or duplication, support advisor backup and continuity, and maintain historical records across leadership transitions without replacing primary supervisory structures.
Provide administrative oversight for student-government finance support and ensure student-fee allocation processes for registered student organizations are transparent, timely, and policy-compliant.
Supervise the Finance Coordinator in educating student leaders and Finance Committee members about fiduciary responsibilities, funding policies, deadlines, and university accounting standards while preserving student decision-making authority.
Strengthen operational coordination among SGA, GSG, Student Activities, the Student Organization Resource Center (SORC), the Student Involvement Suite, and STAMP Business Services.
Partner with the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Assistant Director for Student Engagement to document and maintain student-government funding relationships for Undergraduate Legal Aid and Graduate Legal Aid, respectively.
Partner with STAMP Assessment and Research to evaluate leadership training effectiveness, fee-allocation access, advising quality, and framework performance, and use data for continuous improvement.
Build relationships with university administrators, academic units, and governance bodies, and represent STAMP on university committees concerning student governance, fees, and campus organizations.
Participate in STAMP leadership team meetings, strategic planning, policy development, emergency and critical-incident response, and broader divisional initiatives.
Perform other assigned duties as needed.