Director of Student Activities & First Year Experience

SUNY Delhi•Delhi, NY

About The Position

The Director of Student Activities and First-Year Experience provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for programs supporting students’ transition to college and engagement throughout their first year. The position develops, implements, and assesses orientation programs and year-round first-year initiatives that foster belonging, social connection, retention, and academic success. The Director collaborates with colleagues across the College and serves a diverse student population by creating welcoming, accessible programs and leadership opportunities for students of varied backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. The Director oversees campus activities and programming, including entertainment, student communications, and the department website. The role supervises and supports professional, office, and student staff; advises Student Senate; oversees clubs; develops student activity policies; and recruits and trains faculty and staff club advisors. The Director develops student leaders, promotes representative participation in leadership roles, provides cultural competency training, and partners with Career Services to help students connect co-curricular experiences to career-ready skills. The role also supports major campus events, including admissions programs and commencement, and pursues ongoing professional development. For First-Year Experience, the Director plans and coordinates orientation for first-year and transfer students, supports orientation for other student populations, and works with campus stakeholders to create inclusive programming that integrates academic and co-curricular elements. The Director oversees orientation staff, planning, budgets, and assessment; develops tools to evaluate outcomes and inform improvements; leads a year-long FYE program and new-student transition pathways; and partners with the Provost’s Office to create faculty engagement opportunities. The Director also serves on departmental and College committees as assigned. This is a 12-month position. The schedule is Monday through Friday, with some evenings and weekends. Salary is $85,000. The position offers full New York State UUP (FT) benefits. It reports to the Vice President of Student Life.

Requirements

Master’s degree in higher education administration, student affairs, college student personnel, counseling, or a related field.
At least three years of professional experience in student activities.
At least two years of work experience with new student orientation and/or first-year experience programs.
Demonstrated cultural competency and experience serving a diverse student population, including effectiveness working across differences with students, families, faculty, and staff.
Experience developing student leaders and advising student organizations or student government.
Experience supervising, training, and evaluating staff.
Experience with program planning, budget management, and assessment.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed to support student programs and events.

Nice To Haves

Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in student activities, orientation, and/or first-year experience.
Experience supervising full-time professional staff.
Demonstrated success increasing underrepresented students’ participation in student leadership positions.
Experience partnering with campus stakeholders on career readiness, retention, or student success initiatives.
Experience advising student government and managing student activity fee budgets.
Experience planning and executing large-scale campus events and managing related contracts and vendors.
Experience using assessment data to improve programs and support retention.
Experience with student engagement and event management software.

Responsibilities

Lead campus activities and oversee campus programming, including entertainment, student communications, and the department website.
Supervise, train, develop, and support professional, office, and student staff, including the Assistant Director of The O'Connor Center for Community Engagement and Coordinator of Student Basic Needs Services, and the Coordinator of Student Leadership Initiatives & Greek Life.
Advise Student Senate and oversee student club activities in collaboration with faculty and staff.
Create and maintain student activity policies aligned with SUNY guidelines and campus input.
Develop and implement assessment strategies to measure program effectiveness and student outcomes.
Assist with organizing and managing large-scale events such as Family Weekend, Welcome Week, and Winterfest.
Recruit faculty and staff club advisors and coordinate their training and support.
Develop student leaders through training, mentoring, and hands-on opportunities, and foster academic integration where possible.
Promote representative student leadership through broad outreach, inclusive recruitment and selection, and removal of participation barriers.
Design programs, events, and services that reflect and respond to students’ varied cultures, identities, and needs; model cultural competency and provide related training.
Partner with Career Services to help students connect leadership and co-curricular experiences to career-ready skills.
Support major institutional events, including admissions programs and commencement.
Plan, coordinate, and execute orientation programs for first-year and transfer students and support orientation programs for other student populations.
Collaborate with campus stakeholders to design inclusive orientation content integrating academic and co-curricular components.
Oversee orientation staff, general planning, budgets, and assessment.
Use assessment data to improve programming and support retention and student success.
Work with campus stakeholders to design, implement, and lead a year-long First-Year Experience program promoting academic success, social integration, and personal development.
Lead development of new-student transition pathway programs.
Partner with the Provost’s Office to create opportunities for faculty engagement in students’ holistic development.
Serve on departmental and College committees as assigned.
Engage in ongoing professional growth and development.