Assistant Director of Programs - Laney Graduate School

Emory University•Atlanta, GA

1h•Onsite

About The Position

The Laney Graduate School seeks a dynamic, student-centered Assistant Director of Programs to support graduate student success, recruitment, and engagement. The role develops, implements, assesses, and improves programs that enhance the graduate scholar experience, including the REACH Framework, LGS-SOAR, Learning About Laney, peer mentoring, workshops, and recruitment events. It collaborates with faculty, students, alumni, and campus partners to advance recruitment goals, foster scholar success, manage programming, and use data-driven insights for continuous improvement. The position reports to the Associate Dean of Excellence, Recruitment and Opportunity, is primarily campus-based, and contributes to the Laney Graduate School’s mission of attracting, supporting, and developing outstanding graduate scholars. The Assistant Director leads assessment and continuous improvement of assigned Laney-AERO initiatives; plans and executes programs and events; and manages the annual cycles of Learning About Laney, LGS-SOAR, and the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. The work includes program administration, recruitment and prospective-scholar engagement, communications and outreach, event logistics, recordkeeping, budgeting and expenditure tracking, participant support, evaluation, and coordination with university and external partners. The role also develops scholar engagement, belonging, persistence, retention, professional development, and degree-attainment activities. It provides developmental advising, coaching, resource navigation, referrals, and follow-up to prospective and current scholars, escalating sensitive or high-risk concerns as appropriate. The Assistant Director recruits, trains, assigns, supervises, coaches, and evaluates fellows, ambassadors, liaisons, and other initiative personnel, makes routine program decisions within established goals and procedures, and refers significant concerns to the Associate Dean.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a field related to the program(s) and five years of program-related experience, or an equivalent combination of experience, education, and training.

Responsibilities

Assist in strategic planning, development, implementation, and assessment of programs.
Lead assessment and continuous improvement of assigned Laney-AERO initiatives by reviewing participation, feedback, outcomes, implementation challenges, and scholar needs; documenting lessons learned; and recommending improvements.
Execute events and program activities for Learning About Laney, LGS-SOAR, the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, and other assigned initiatives.
Manage the full annual cycle of Learning About Laney, including applications, participant administration, campus experiences, faculty and academic-program participation, travel, scholar liaisons, prospective-scholar guidance, recruitment follow-up, records, and assessment.
Manage the full annual cycle of LGS-SOAR, including applications, committee review, scholar-faculty placements, onboarding, orientation, training, workshops, research activities, scholar support, university partnerships, records, and evaluation.
Manage the Laney Graduate School’s Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society processes and activities, including applications, selection-process support, onboarding, scholar engagement, recognition, reporting, chapter activities, alumni engagement, and recordkeeping.
Develop and implement communications, marketing, outreach, and digital engagement for assigned initiatives and audiences, including presentations, program materials, websites, email campaigns, newsletters, social media, virtual programming, participant resources, templates, and FAQs.
Plan and deliver activities supporting scholar belonging, engagement, persistence, retention, professional development, and degree attainment, including workshops, networking, recognition, and community-building programs.
Provide developmental advising, coaching, program guidance, resource navigation, referrals, and follow-up to prospective and current scholars; document concerns and escalate sensitive, complex, urgent, or high-risk matters.
Recruit, train, assign, supervise, coach, and evaluate fellows, junior fellows, ambassadors, delegates, graduate scholar liaisons, and other initiative personnel.
Coordinate presenters, participants, faculty, academic programs, university offices, external partners, vendors, and volunteers; prepare materials and event spaces and technology; direct on-site implementation; resolve routine issues; and complete follow-up.
Maintain program data, records, and required documentation; track timelines and approved expenditures; and assist with travel and financial documentation.
Represent the organization at meetings, conferences, and other events, and may develop and present speeches or presentations to increase program awareness.
Provide technical support by evaluating processes, conducting training, attending operational meetings, and networking with affiliated groups.
Monitor progress toward objectives and deadlines, participate in planning and monitoring program budgets, conduct research, design initiatives, and collaborate to ensure program viability.
Oversee or assist in developing operational and statistical reports for management and regulatory agencies.
Make routine decisions for assigned programs, guide special projects, provide organizational support and coverage as needed, and refer significant issues or decisions outside the role’s authority to the Associate Dean.
May serve on, hold office in, or chair committees; may write publishable articles and papers; and may supervise staff.
Perform related responsibilities as required.