Manager Undergraduate Student Success Initiatives - Student Success Administration - UTK

University of Tennessee•Knoxville, TN

23h•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager of Undergraduate Success Initiatives provides project management, operational leadership, and executive coordination for the Senior Associate Vice-Provost of Student Success. This position is responsible for project leadership and execution on divisional priorities that enhance the ability to remove barriers to undergraduate student success, strengthen collaboration within the division and with institutional partners, drive data-informed practices, and institutionalize effective and efficient processes and procedures. The ideal candidate will independently prioritize and sequence multiple high-stakes initiatives, adjusting timelines and deliverables as conditions change. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice-Provost for Student Success, the Manager serves as a confidential, strategic partner, overseeing complex projects, managing executive priorities, and ensuring alignment, accountability, and execution within the Division of Student Success (DSS). This position operates with a high degree of independence, exercising significant discretion and independent judgment in managing executive priorities, resolving complex operational issues, and advancing divisional initiatives. This position has no formal supervisory responsibility but may provide functional guidance to student employees, interns, or project team members as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in education, business administration, public administration, communications, organizational leadership, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education administration, student affairs or student success, academic colleges, enrollment management, project management, or university operations.
Demonstrated experience managing complex projects or initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
Experience creating and maintaining documentation, policies, and/or procedures.
Demonstrated ability to build collaborative partnerships and navigate complex organizational structures.
Ability to manage executive-level priorities with a high level of professionalism and confidentiality.
Exceptional organizational skills, exercising autonomy, discretion, and independent judgment.
Proven ability to prioritize responsibilities, providing prompt execution of competing priorities and emergent divisional needs.
Demonstrated ability to make sound, independent decisions in ambiguous situations and to recommend strategic options to senior leaders.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, especially in preparing executive-level materials and reporting.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in higher education administration or leadership, adult and continuing education, business administration (MBA), public administration (MPA), organizational leadership, or a related field.
Experience using productivity and planning technology tools in daily work responsibilities.
Experience with change management or organizational improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

Serve as the lead project manager for divisional and institutional initiatives sponsored by the Senior Associate Vice-Provost, including the Vol Success Teams, Academic Course Communities, the Academic Advising Career Path and Access & Engagement Success Grants.
Translate executive priorities into actionable implementation plans with defined timelines, regular status updates, deliverables, KPIs, and communications plans.
Manage project progress across multiple workstreams, assessing risks, identifying barriers or delays, and initiates corrective actions, elevating high-impact issues to executive leadership.
Synthesize complex inputs into executive-level status reports with decision-ready recommendations.
Responsible for timely execution and follow-through on strategic initiatives aligned with divisional and institutional goals.
Coordinate initiatives with key stakeholders from across the University, including the Academic Colleges, Enrollment Management, Student Life, Finance & Administration, Marketing & Communications, and/or Information Technology.
Regularly facilitate divisional and cross-university meetings and working sessions; set agendas, document decisions, assign action items, and ensure follow-through.
Strengthen cross-divisional collaboration and reduce operational silos through intentional communication, increased transparency in operations, and shared accountability.
Identify and implement opportunities to streamline workflows, optimize resource allocation, improve communication processes, and enhance operational efficiency across DSS.
Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation and resources to ensure consistent, transparent, and timely practices for DSS executive priorities.
Partner to drive the adoption of systems and tools, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Planner, TDX, and/or Asana, that strengthen project tracking, reporting, and executive workflow management.
Ensure initiatives and operational practices align with system, state, and federal policies and guidelines, as well as the expectations of divisional, institutional, and state leadership.
Prepare and deliver executive-level briefings and presentations (e.g., project updates, KPI/assessment findings, annual report content) for senior leadership and strategic partners.
Provide divisional and campus partners with relevant and accurate data on project implementation, status, and effectiveness.
Design and deliver regular program assessment on key executive priorities in partnership with Student Success Analytics.
Translate complex data analysis into clear, actionable insights to inform executive strategy and operational decisions.
Produce executive project summaries and annual reports, as well as strategic updates for senior leadership and institutional partners within and external to the University.