Director of Orientation and and Transition Programs

Stony Brook University•Stony Brook, NY

3d•$99,000 - $107,000

About The Position

The Director of Orientation and Transition Programs plays a key leadership role in welcoming, transitioning, and building a sense of belonging and community for new students and their families, with a primary focus on new first year, international, non-traditional, and transfer students who join the University each fall and spring. The Director is a visionary leader who brings together all areas of campus -- including students, faculty, and staff – and works collaboratively in creating, implementing, and evaluating all onboarding and orientation activities for undergraduate and graduate students. The Director is expected to bring strong knowledge of best practices in orientation and student transitions to their work, and be able to effectively develop and implement small and large-scale strategies that foster student identity, connection, spirit, and pride in being a Seawolf. The Director is a high energy, student-centered individual who is innovative, collaborative, proactive, and solution oriented. The Director models the divisional focus on diversity and inclusion, respect, caring, collective engagement, accountability, and professional growth. The Director will lead staff in planning and implementing a variety of signature programs including but not limited to New Seawolves Welcome Week, Summer and Winter Orientation, and other first year and transition programs. The Director will partner with the Admissions, Family Services, Student Life teams, and other campus colleagues to participate in major campus programs such as Admitted Students Day, Admissions Pre-College events, Family Weekend, and Siblings Weekend. The Director in partnership with the Student Life Engagement and Transitions Strategist will organize and conduct workshops, focus groups, and other strategies to strengthen students’ affinity with and sense of belonging at Stony Brook. The Director will provide tools for co-curricular engagement, and assist with assessment and outreach efforts, including working with students identified as at-risk based upon their level of campus engagement. The Director reports to the Associate Dean of Students and partners with many administrative units and academic departments. Incumbents should have strong written and oral communication, presentation and facilitation skills.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher).
Five (5) years of full time progressively responsible experience in higher education which may include student affairs administration, new student orientation and programming, or student retention strategy.
Experience supervising professional staff.
Experience developing and leading strategic initiatives that support student engagement and success.
Experience organizing and implementing large-scale events.
Experience managing a complex budget.
Experience implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher) in Student Affairs, Higher Education Administration, Counseling, or a related field of study.
Additional years (6+) of full time progressively responsible experience in higher education which may include student affairs administration, new student orientation and programming, or student retention strategy.
Experience supervising, training, and developing student leaders.
Experience working in a large public or large private college/university setting.
Experience managing data and implementing technology improvements/solutions.
Experience building partnerships with academic affairs units.
Project management experience.

Responsibilities

Lead campus-wide efforts to onboard new students and their families from diverse geographic backgrounds, including New York State residents, out-of-state students, and international students.
Design, implement, and evaluate programs for special undergraduate populations, including first-year, transfer, non-traditional, commuter, resident, and first-generation students.
Develop and share campus traditions and encourage student involvement in campus life.
Onboard new students through online opportunities, in-person visits, pre-orientation and off-campus, and implementation of a comprehensive new student welcome week program.
In partnership with the Family Services team, CRAFT (Communications, Research, Assessment, Fundraising, & Technology team, and the Student Life team, create a seamless and effective communication strategy for new students and their families from the point of admission to the first day of classes.
Additionally, in partnership with the Family Services team, develop family orientation and engagement activities that promote a successful onboarding and transition into college life.
Establish a Transition Year Experience program that celebrates the achievement of students completing their first year and focuses on the development and facilitation of engaging programs that prepare students for a successful transition into their second year of college.
Connect with students throughout their second year at Stony Brook with campus resources, programs, events, and outreach that support their success.
The Director will utilize best practices, trends, and technologies in college transition programs to establish/adjust policies, processes, and protocols to best serve students, their families, campus partners, and other relevant stakeholders.
Create structured opportunities for students to engage with each other in small and large groups.
Continue efforts to build community, sense of belonging, identity, and pride as a Seawolf through the transition year experience process.
Supervise professional staff members, graduate interns, peer assistant leaders (PALS), and orientation leaders (OLs) and international student ambassadors (ISAs).
Oversee recruitment and hiring of orientation leaders and volunteers.
Provide high quality training to student staff to best motivate and prepare them to welcome new students and provide programmatic support and outreach throughout their first year at Stony Brook.
Develop annual staff performance programs that align with unit and division goals.
Manage funds generated by the undergraduate orientation fee, a budget of approximately $1 million annually that supports academic and student life initiatives, orientation, programming, and major initiatives.
Oversee all departmental communication including but not limited to the department website and related printed publications.
Partner with the CRAFT (Communications, Research, Assessment, Fundraising, & Technology) team and the Student Engagement and Transitions Strategist to collect, catalog, and warehouse meaningful data and reports that demonstrate program effectiveness, outcomes, or other instrumental variables.
Develop and maintain student data and related outcomes metrics and models.
In collaboration with the CRAFT team, execute a strategy to identify, intervene, and connect with undergraduate students whose overall profile indicates a low engagement in the Seawolves Foundation and Required Orientation Makeup Experience.
Effectively build strong working relationships with a wide variety of campus constituents to create a well-organized new student orientation experience.
Oversee the Opening of the School Committee.
This includes collaborating with teams including Facilities, the Graduate School, Student Health, Wellness, and Prevention Services teams, Student Life, Career Center, Undergraduate Admissions, Undergraduate Colleges, Undergraduate Colleges, Visa & Immigration Services, Campus Residences and multiple academic advising, academic department, and student services areas.
Serve on the Undergraduate Student Success Committee, Student Affairs Leadership Council, and other appropriate campus wide committees as needed.
Participate in opportunities that promote your learning, growth, and development (i.e., classes, training, committees, webinars).
Contribute to the Division of Student Affairs and Stony Brook University by attending and/or supporting events, activities, and programs sponsored by areas within and outside of your department/unit (i.e., campus-wide traditions, events, programs).
Other duties or projects as assigned as appropriate to rank and departmental mission.
Evening and weekend work will be required at times.