Director Student Success

New Leaders Inc

8d • Remote

About The Position

The Director, Student Success ensures the success of students in the Aspiring Teachers Accelerator program by providing guidance and support to students throughout each phase of their student journey in the program. In addition to direct support, the Director designs and manages scalable systems for onboarding, mentoring, pacing, and academic planning. This role
is responsible for
implementing data-informed engagement strategies, tracking progress toward key milestones, and coordinating interventions that promote persistence, mastery, and
timely
completion. The Director also serves as the primary liaison between students, instructors, and institutional partners to ensure a cohesive and student-centered experience.

This position reports to the Executive Director, Product Management & Content Development.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in counseling, education, psychology, student affairs, or a related field preferred.
• At least 7 years of overall work experience.
• 2-3 years of previous experience in academic advising, coaching, counseling, student services, or related areas.
• Knowledge of higher education policies, procedures, and resources.
• Demonstrated success navigating CRM Systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Slate)
• Experience using Learning Management Systems (e.g., Canvas)
• Team-Driven: Proven ability to collaborate effectively with individuals across a variety of backgrounds and experiences; must be results-driven while maintaining a collaborative and inclusive leadership style.
• Mission Alignment: Passionate belief in academic excellence for every student, aligned with New Leaders' mission.
• Ability to use information from student profiles, learning behaviors, and interactions to identify individual student needs.
• Experience using trauma-informed, student-centered, or wrap around support approaches to address non-academic barriers to student success.
• Ability to facilitate synchronous student interaction in a virtual environment.
• Knowledgeable ofadult learning principles and best practices.
• Flexibility in supporting students in multiple education courses (as needed).
• Flexibility to adjust approach depending on individual student needs and preferences.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with diverse student populations.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Solid understanding of coaching strategies to support personal, academic, and professional development in adult students.
• Willingness to engage in regular self-reflection and re-evaluation of beliefs, perspectives, and approaches to improve equity.
• Strong active listening skills and emotional intelligence with the ability to build relationships with adult students.
• Skilled at implementing relationship-building activities for online student communities.
• Available to support students during evening or weekend hours

Nice To Haves

• Experience in case management, community health, social work, behavioral health/counseling, family services, crisis intervention, substance abuse recovery preferred.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the admissions and program implementation teams to support a comprehensive onboarding process for students.
• Work with students to craft and finalize personalized learning degree plans based on transcript evaluation, baseline assessment data, and student goals.
• Offer regular office hours and one-on-one sessions to support students throughout their program lifecycle, including serving as a liaison for academic matters.
• Analyze and address student concerns promptly, ensuring effective solutions, including thorough outreach to and thought partnership with university partners.
• Recognize and respond to trauma-related behaviors (e.g., avoidance, shutdown, missed deadlines, emotional reactivity) with professionalism and without judgment, providing supportive interventions for students who may be overwhelmed or unable to articulate their needs.
• Connect students with essential services (e.g., Disability Services, Career Services, financial aid support, counseling resources, and community-based organizations), ensuring students understand how to access and use those supports)
• Serve as a liaison between course instructor and students, alerting course instructors when students are challenged academically.
• Create and execute support structures and intervention plans to help students stay on track and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• Establish and maintain efficient processes for guiding students through key program milestones, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and program best practices.
• Work closely with the team to enhance the onboarding experience for students and incoming faculty and reduce student attrition.
• Support the design and facilitation of in-person orientation experiences, ensuring students are prepared, connected, and motivated as they launch their academic journey.
• Create regular newsletters and maintain a feedback loop for service improvement.
• Conduct annual communication plan audits for accuracy and consistency.
• Execute surveys to gauge student satisfaction and experience.
• Monitor onboarding progression data to ensure students complete early-stage milestones and begintheir academic journey successfully.
• Facilitate individualized learning plan development for each student, incorporating pacing guidance, goal setting, and course sequencing tied to degree completion.
• Maintain and update learning plans in coordination with institutional advisors to ensure students meet registration and academic progress criteria.
• Use active listening skills to identify underlying emotional or situational factors (e.g., stress, fear, shame, burnout) influencing student concerns and respond with empathy and appropriate support without prematurely moving to problem-solving.
• Identify and respond to non-academic barriers to student success (e.g., basic needs, financial stressors, caregiving responsibilities, wellness concerns) by coordinating referrals to institutional and community-based support services and ensuring follow-through.
• Advocate for students dealing with academic and non-academic challenges, coordinate referrals to appropriate internal and external social, wellness, and support services, and partner with instructors and advisors to implement aligned interventions that address both academic and life barriers to persistence.
• Use coaching practices to support students in academic planning, goal setting, study skills, and time management.
• Support students in setting goals, working through challenges, and staying motivated; build trusting relationships and encourage progress without lecturing or pressure.
• Develop and refine processes to standardize and improve student coaching practices, ensuring consistency and scalability across student support efforts.
• Facilitate workshops on key skills for student success, including time management.
• Maintain open lines of communication with the team about student progress and potential dropout risks.
• Provide strategic input to program leadership on ways to enhance retention strategies, using insights from retention data and monitoring trends.
• Work with stakeholders to craft and implement approaches that enhance student persistence.
• Regularly review student progress, intervening as necessary to support graduation goals.
• Take ownership of student outcomes by actively assessing the impact of coaching strategies and implementing improvements as needed.
• Build frameworks for monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to student success and retention outcomes, ensuring accountability and alignment with program goals.
• Maintain retention metrics and suggest approaches to improve retention.
• Use data to analyze and diagnose root causes of student concerns, bringing closure to concerns with efficiency and effectiveness.
• Monitor risk indicators and lead escalation protocols in coordination with instructors, institutional partners, and leadership to respond to disengagement, pacing issues, or academic barriers.
• Maintain a risk flagging system and ensure follow-through on intervention outcomes.
• Maintain detailed records of student interactions, advising sessions, and progress reports.
• Assist with semester needs including rostering, registration, and advising on academic procedures while maintaining accurate records.
• Serve as a primary contact point between New Leaders and support offices, facilitating issue resolution with university partners.
• Participate in team and cross-functional meetings, including training and professional development opportunities.
• Stay informed on current trends in inclusion and student success strategies.
• Use Salesforce, Canvas, and other tools to enhance student support services.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week are eligible to participate in the New Leaders Health Benefits and Wellness Program.
• Medical plan options, dental care, and vision
• 401K plan for eligible employees
• Generous paid-time-off (PTO) benefits

What This Job Offers

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