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POSITION SPECIFICS

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 6000 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. The 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.

Primary Duties

Strategic Leadership

• 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.

Team Leadership

• 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.

• Policies and Procedures 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.

Collaboration and Outreach

• 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.

The successful candidate will have:

• Masters 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.

MINIMUM EDUCATION WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

SALARY & BENEFITS

Salary Structure - Information on Penn States salary structure

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional 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. For more detailed information please visit our Benefits Page.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988 Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security such as those concerning alcohol and drug use crime prevention the reporting of crimes sexual assault and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

EEO IS THE LAW

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race color religion age sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability please contact .

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