Director of Student Success and Academic Initiatives

University of Massachusetts•Lowell, MA

4d•$94,293 - $122,581

About The Position

The Francis College of Engineering seeks a Director of Student Success and Academic Initiatives to provide college-wide leadership, coordination, and operational support for initiatives that advance student success, enrollment growth, retention, persistence, graduation, experiential learning, assessment, accreditation, and continuous improvement across undergraduate and graduate programs. Reporting to the Dean of Engineering and collaborating closely with associate deans, departments, professional advising staff, Admissions, Institutional Research, International Programs, and other university partners, the Director will serve as a primary coordinator and project manager for academic initiatives that strengthen the full student lifecycle, from recruitment and enrollment through graduation and post-graduate success. The Director will use data-informed approaches to monitor enrollment, retention, persistence, graduation, engagement, and academic progression; develop reports and dashboards in collaboration with college leadership; coordinate student success and advising strategies; support recruitment, yield, retention, experiential learning, student leadership, and career readiness initiatives; coordinate accreditation, assessment, and continuous improvement activities, including ABET-related support; and lead cross-functional academic projects with clear timelines, deliverables, milestones, and progress reporting. The role also coordinates signature college events, supports the Engineering Ambassadors Program, and contributes to academic operations, enrollment management, committee work, petitions, documentation, and graduation clearance in accordance with university policies.

Requirements

Master's degree required. Candidates with a bachelor's degree and ten (10) or more years of directly related experience may be considered.
Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in higher education administration, student success, project management, academic affairs, assessment, strategic planning, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience coordinating complex projects, translating priorities into action plans, managing timelines and deliverables, tracking milestones, identifying risks and barriers, and preparing progress reports and recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to use data systems, dashboards, reports, benchmarking, and analysis to support planning, assessment, continuous improvement, and decision making.
Evidence of progressive professional achievement and leadership in project management, educational administration, student success, academic initiatives, or strategic initiatives.
Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, staff, leadership, university partners, and external partners.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, projects, stakeholders, and confidential information simultaneously.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and experience using technology to support data analysis, reporting, project management, and communication.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, staff, students, and external partners and to maintain a welcoming, service-oriented environment.
Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and travel or work across campuses as needed.

Nice To Haves

PhD degree is preferred.
Experience in higher education, preferably in an engineering college or STEM academic environment.
Experience with enterprise educational and analytics systems such as SIS/student information systems, Tableau, Salesforce, Summit or similar reporting systems, and other analytics or student success platforms.
Experience supporting accreditation, assessment, ABET or other specialized accreditation processes, student learning outcomes, program effectiveness, and continuous improvement.
Experience developing, implementing, and assessing student success, advising, recruitment, yield, retention, engagement, experiential learning, leadership development, or career readiness initiatives.
Experience coordinating signature events that support recruitment, enrollment, student engagement, or community building, such as open houses, welcome days, preview days, transfer events, Ph.D. recruitment activities, engineering week activities, competitions, or similar programs.
Experience with inclusive programs or initiatives with relevance to engineering or STEM education.
Demonstrated ability to conduct bench marking studies, special analyses, and long-range planning to support academic and operational effectiveness.

Responsibilities

Provide college-wide leadership, coordination, and operational support for initiatives that advance student success, enrollment growth, retention, persistence, graduation, experiential learning, assessment, accreditation, and continuous improvement.
Serve as a primary coordinator and project manager for academic initiatives that strengthen the full student lifecycle.
Use data-informed approaches to monitor enrollment, retention, persistence, graduation, engagement, and academic progression.
Develop reports and dashboards in collaboration with college leadership.
Coordinate student success and advising strategies.
Support recruitment, yield, retention, experiential learning, student leadership, and career readiness initiatives.
Coordinate accreditation, assessment, and continuous improvement activities, including ABET-related support.
Lead cross-functional academic projects with clear timelines, deliverables, milestones, and progress reporting.
Coordinate signature college events.
Support the Engineering Ambassadors Program.
Contribute to academic operations, enrollment management, committee work, petitions, documentation, and graduation clearance.