Senior Director of Academic Advising, Smeal College of Business
About The Position
The Smeal College of Business at Penn State is seeking a strategic and student-centered leader to serve as the Senior Director of Academic Advising. This position leads all academic advising operations and related programs supporting over 6,000 undergraduate students. The Senior Director plays a critical role in fostering student engagement, success, and retention through strategic oversight of advising, student support, and engagement initiatives. Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, the Senior Director is a key member of the Undergraduate Education Leadership Team. This position directly supervises the Director of Engagement and Outreach, the Director of Student Success, the Assistant Director of New Student Orientation and two Advising Supervisors that manage a total team of more than 30 professional staff. The position also collaborates with campus partners and represents Smeal on University-wide committees.
Requirements
- Master's Degree with 10+ years of academic advising experience, including 3+ years as a manager hiring, training and completing performance evaluations for full-time employees.
- A strong background in academic advising and managing people with a proven track record and commitment to serving students with varied life experiences and educational needs.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, strong attention to detail, commitment to honor and integrity, sensitivity to the needs of others.
- Efficiently manage time, balance multiple responsibilities, and adapt to change.
Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight for key initiatives across the Academic Advising, Student Engagement, and Student Success teams such as New Student Orientation, First Generation Programs, and The Smeal Ethical Leadership Challenge.
- Develop and implement plans to enhance the overall undergraduate experience.
- Advance student engagement, foster a sense of belonging, and support holistic development through a diverse portfolio of established programs within Smeal Undergraduate Education.
- Lead and contribute to strategic planning and policy development as part of the Smeal Undergraduate Education leadership team.
- Supervise and support a team of professional staff across three functional areas; Student Success, Student Engagement and Academic Advising.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement in a large high performing unit.
- Lead recruitment, onboarding, and professional development efforts.
- Establish performance expectations and conduct evaluations of Direct Reports.
- Promote staff excellence, engagement, and innovation across a multi-functional, highly diverse unit.
- Oversee daily operations of the Smeal Undergraduate Advising Center.
- Interpret and apply University and College policies related to undergraduate education.
- Collaborate on budget planning and resource allocation.
- Manage escalated student and parent concerns.
- Evaluate study abroad courses and review special case admissions.
- Build strategic partnerships across the University to enhance advising and student success.
- Represent Smeal on the University Advising Council and other committees.
- Support outreach to Penn State campuses.
- Collaborate with academic departments to align advising with curricular changes.
- Engage with external stakeholders and alumni to support student development initiatives.
Benefits
- Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Industry
Educational Services
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
