Director of Student Fellowships

Hamilton College•Clinton, NY

About The Position

The Director of Student Fellowships provides overall administration of Hamilton’s national fellowship advising program, and oversees all operations in the Office of Student Fellowships. The Office of Student Fellowships helps Hamilton students and recent alumni connect with transformative experiences and opportunities. The Director helps students explore their academic and co-curricular interests and make informed decisions regarding applying for fellowship opportunities, and guides them through the pre/post-application process. The current portfolio of fellowship opportunities includes overseas and domestic study and research, extended leadership opportunities, teaching opportunities, graduate studies, study abroad, and critical languages study. Awards include, but are not limited to: Beinecke, Boren Awards, Critical Languages Scholarship, Freeman-ASIA, Fulbright US Student Program Award, Gaither, Gates Cambridge, Gilman, Goldwater, Humanity In Action, Knight-Hennessy, Marshall, Projects for Peace, Rhodes, St. Andrew’s, Schwarman, Truman, Udall, Watson, and the Hamilton College Bristol Fellowship. Hamilton College is a charter member of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors (NAFA), and the Director of Student Fellowships position is designed on the NAFA philosophy that the exploration, application, and interview processes are developmental and rewarding to students, whether or not they receive an award. Consideration of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Requirements

Master’s degree and experience working with nationally-competitive fellowships and scholarships at liberal arts colleges.
An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
Comprehensive understanding of the objectives, eligibility requirements, and nuances of individual national awards
Ability to advise students through the complexities of the application process, and to complete applications that are cohesive narratives and competitive at the national level
Ability to explain to students the value of the scholarship application process, fit between student and award, and factors that influence competitiveness
Organizational skills: ability to prioritize work, and manage concurrent and time-sensitive tasks, ability to meet concurrent internal and national deadlines
Oral and written communication skills, close reading and editing of documents, attention to detail
Familiarity with academic and co-curricular opportunities, and resources at Hamilton
Computer skills: ability to navigate many different external web-based systems and online applications; proficiency in MS Office (including Word, Excel, and Power Point), Adobe Acrobat Pro, and Zoom
Ability to take initiative, and work independently and collaboratively
Ability to work effectively and diplomatically with national foundation directors and award managers
General awareness of current world events

Responsibilities

Manage the procedures for all internal and external fellowship processes.
Promote and advertise opportunities to students (all class years) and alumni through programs, information sessions, guest speakers, outreach events, and webinars; conduct outreach to individual students and to student organizations
Assess students’ academic profiles, interests, strengths, commitments, and professional trajectory to match students with relevant fellowship/scholarship opportunities
Provide comprehensive advisement and support to students and recent alumni on all aspects of the application process, including: feedback on writing compelling proposals and personal statements; pre-writing consultations regarding content choice, and how to emphasize fit between student’s skill set and scholarship criteria; close reading of application materials and feedback about organization and proposal feasibility; discuss, in-depth, strategies for highlighting strengths, skills, and qualifications; help applicants to identify strong recommendation writers (and foreign language evaluators, when applicable); and prepare for national interviews
Advise a rotating six-member Committee regarding application procedures for UK, Fulbright, and Watson awards, and others ad hoc; manage all committee application review and interview arrangements
Organize and participate in fellowship interviews and selection/nomination process
Write campus committee evaluations and draft letters of endorsement/nomination
Manage final nomination process and the submission of all applications
Conduct ongoing recruitment to identify students for whom fellowship opportunities may be viable pursuits
Develop pipelines to identify students through partnerships across campus, including: Faculty, Student Life, Communications, Career Center, Financial Aid, Opportunity Programs, Global Learning, Levitt Center, COOP, Office of Experiential Learning, Academic Resource Centers
Cultivate relationships with faculty and staff colleagues to identify promising students, mentor students, and write recommendation letters
Study award requirements to understand the nuances, including what makes a competitive applicant, and the application processes
Attend workshops and participate in webinars and online information sessions for continued education on best practices for fellowship advising
Track scholarship applications and outcomes, and manage student-related data
Manage all details for Hamilton’s Bristol Fellowship
Serve as liaison to national fellowships and scholarships foundations
Invite foundation representatives to campus to conduct information sessions
Coordinate campus interviews for Watson Foundation representatives; and coordinate campus interviews for Bristol family representatives; arrange Bristol Fellowship dinner to recognize most recent returned Bristol Fellow(s)
Work with Communications office to manage fellowships website, and to recognize students receiving awards
Coordinate stipend disbursement and reporting processes for Watson, Bristol, and Projects for Peace
Serve on College committees and perform other duties as assigned.