Director of Graduate Academic Success (Hybrid) - McKelvey School of Engineering

Washington University in St. Louis • Hadley, MO

44d • $75,200 - $128,800 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Graduate Academic Success will be responsible for engaging and leading a team of individuals in support of master’s and PhD students’ academic success. This role will engage heavily with faculty leadership in each of the graduate programs, ensuring timely student progression through their programs, and ensuring clear alignment and adherence with academic policies. The Director will be responsible for oversight of a range of services, including individual student support, co-curricular academic programming, and mentor and mentee conflict management, among others. Overseeing a student-facing support team, the Director ensures that graduate policies, procedures, and processes are communicated and applied consistently to both students and faculty. The Director is a key member of the leadership team in the Office of Graduate Programs and serves as a project manager for strategic initiatives prioritized by the Associate Dean related to the graduate academic experience. The Director also leads assessment efforts around student success, satisfaction, and outcomes to guide recommendations for change and improvement to graduate education procedures, processes, and policies. The Director serves on a variety of university and school-wide committees, acts as a liaison with key units such as Student Affairs, the Center for Teaching and Learning, OISS, and acts as a primary mentor and liaison to AGES.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.
• Relevant Experience (5 Years)
• Skills: Not Applicable
• Driver's License: A driver's license is not required for this position.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in higher education and working with international students, faculty, and a highly multi-disciplinary team of students and mentors.
• Ability to navigate a complex, decentralized University.
• Knowledge of best practices in graduate advising and supporting adult students.
• Working knowledge of Workday Student.
• In-depth knowledge of relational databases and an ability to develop data visualizations for stakeholder consumption.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated experience investigating, interpreting and communicating guidelines, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience, providing direction, support, and mentorship to team members, as a direct line of authority.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently to organize and track tasks/projects and to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating and communicating with individuals from varying cultures, backgrounds, or levels of authority.
• Demonstrated experience using databases or other electronic systems for tracking, managing, and analyzing information (e.g., accounts, data, forms).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite of applications (Word, Excel, Power Point, Access)
• Demonstrated conflict resolution skills. (Communicating clearly, empathetically, and patiently to lead to favorable outcomes and keeping relationships professional).

Responsibilities

• Leads a team of student-facing individuals in the management of student advising and programming for all McKelvey graduate students.
• Provides indirect support to coordinators within the academic departments with regards to monitoring student progress beginning with student matriculation through graduation.
• Assists students, faculty, and support staff with a wide range of questions, situations, and issues related to graduate students and programs in McKelvey.
• Serves as the school advisor to AGES.
• Develops and maintains data models to track student outcomes, identify areas of concern among the programs, and make recommendations for future improvements.
• Participates in the creation of reports and presentations surrounding the academic success of graduate students.
• Engage in and advise students who are experiencing academic concerns such as students placed on probation or suspension.
• Engage with students and mentors to resolve conflicts as needed.
• Advise faculty on school policy and procedure when students struggle academically.
• Direct signature graduate student events such as orientation.
• Develop and offer a suite of co-sponsored events focused on co-curricular topics in coordination with Student Affairs and other CFU Offices such as professional development, career readiness, research promotion and communication skills, etc to prepare students beyond the university.
• Serve as the project manager for strategic initiatives in support of the academic experiences of McKelvey graduate students, including but not limited to: mentorship resources and training, retention strategies for students, grievance procedures, and policy development that promotes equity in the student experience across departments.
• Work closely with McKelvey leadership including the Associate Dean, Vice Dean, and Department Chairs to develop communication and implementation plans to support these strategic initiatives.
• Build effective and fruitful partnerships with offices across the University to enhance and support the graduate student experience.
• Work closely with the Center for Career Engagement to track graduates’ career outcomes and ensure professional development and career exploration opportunities are developed and offered to McKelvey graduate students.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.
• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.
• Free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.
• Defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.
• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!
• 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child.
• Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs.
• Covers the cost of tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director