Assistant Director of Student Engagement

Search:	#1218
Date Posted:	08/28/2023
Type/Department:	Administrator in Student Affairs
Search Status:	Search Suspended
Apply Now:	Currently we are not accepting resumes for this position.

Hampshire College

Department: Residence Life and Student Engagement     

Job Title: Assistant Director of Student Engagement

Position Type: Full Time

Schedule:  35 Hours a week

Pay Range/ Status: $47,000 - $50,000/ Exempt

Location: Hampshire College Campus in Amherst, MA

Reports to: Senior Director of Student Affairs

Anticipated Start Date: Immediately

 

Hampshire College, an independent, innovative liberal arts institution and member of the Five College consortium, is located on a beautiful rural campus in Amherst, Massachusetts. We provide residential undergraduate education to nearly 700 students. Each department at Hampshire College contributes to the collaborative culture of the organization and plays an important role in the success of the College. As part of the student affairs team, you will be instrumental in the department achieving its mission and goals!

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES:

The assistant director of student engagement is a full-time, 12-month, live-on professional staff member who supports the residence life and student engagement department in its mission to cultivate and enhance student involvement. This position closely supports student organizations, providing structure, training, processes, guidance, and oversight. The assistant director designs and implements co-curricular and extracurricular activities which create an environment that encourages its community members to take personal responsibility in building a community that is fun, happy, vibrant, socially and civically engaged; and a community that values and contributes to each other’s safety, health, and wellness. Co-curricular and social activities designed should facilitate students’ engagement in meaningful experiences at different times of the week, however, particularly during evening and weekend hours.

The assistant director is a student development practitioner who cares deeply about forming strong relationships and engaging in meaningful experiences with students, open to new and challenging experiences directed toward professional growth, and committed to creating and contributing to an inclusive campus community. This position needs to be highly visible, maintain strong connection, and work successfully with students, faculty, staff, parents and external constituents.

The assistant director supervises, mentors and evaluates two professional staff members as well as student staff, providing daily direction and on-going support. The assistant director of student engagement provides leadership, advice, supervision, and direction for emerging and seasoned student leaders who represent approximately 50 recognized student groups. Coordinates and negotiates contracts for outside vendor payments including performers, lecturers, campus safety and wellbeing, rental companies, media services, catering, and facilities. This position serves a pivotal role in advising student groups on logistical and risk management considerations for event and trip planning. The assistant director provides primary oversight of the student group recognition process including maintenance of the student group information database and communication with student leaders (Signers). Working in conjunction with other divisional and campus department staff, the assistant director is responsible for contributing to the semester calendar of activities produced for all students.

The assistant director is a creative, detail-oriented student development practitioner who forms strong relationships with campus partners and engages in purposeful experiences with students. This position is a collaborative member of the residence life and student engagement team, serving on a weekly on-call rotation several times each semester to provide support for students and assist with crisis management and response. In order to frequently carry out activities outside of business hours and serve on-call, this position lives on campus in college housing. The assistant director must be strongly committed to creating and contributing to an antiracist, inclusive campus community. It is important for the assistant director to have availability to work frequent night and weekend programs, as well as the ability to adjust their schedule to maintain typical office hours. Vital for this position is possession of a valid driver's license and good driving record to be certified to drive a college vehicle (for transporting students to off-campus trips and purchasing programming supplies).

The assistant director contributes to campus-wide educational initiatives and divisional projects, including but not limited to Community Day of Learning, and New and Transfer Student Move-In and Orientation that advances the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and a vibrant, welcoming, and safe community.

As a member of the residence life and student engagement team, this position is essential to student and community service and experience. The incumbent must feel comfortable working in an often fast-paced organizational framework with shifting and evolving responsibilities. This position collaborates with other residence life and student engagement staff, and a variety of other college offices to meet the department goals, and further the mission of the department and the College. This position participates as a committed member and leader of the residence life and student engagement team in college and division committee work, projects, meetings, events, and overall community development. Availability to work occasional nights and weekends may be required.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Experience in advising, event planning, and management;
• Supports and enhances a sense of belonging and success of students from traditionally marginalized populations;
• Experience in negotiating, preparing, and executing contracts;
• Strong creativity skills. In particular, experience designing marketing materials;
• Ability to function independently and complete projects with limited supervision;
• Ability to manage ambiguity as well as collaborative decision-making structures;
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse student population and individuals from diverse backgrounds;
• Ability to pay close attention to detail for budget tracking and procurement processes, grammatical errors, and designing high stakes emails and publicity materials;
• Passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.

Preferred:

• Understanding of student development theory, knowledge of higher education trends and best practices, administration and governance;
• Strong supervisory skills;
• Strong problem-solving skills;
• Strong collaborative skills;
• Strong advisory skills (student organization leaders and other volunteers);
• Familiarity with computer programs: Canva, Google Workspace, Adobe Creative Suite, social media applications, student activities platforms (Anthology Engage);
• Experience incorporating the perspectives of multiple communities, including communities of color and queer communities;
• On-call and crisis management experience;
• Experience presenting to groups.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATION, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE:

• Four-year college degree or equivalent
• Three years job-related experience

Alternatives to formal education and paid work experience may be considered as equivalent qualifications to include military service/training, volunteering, activism, and other non-traditional programs and experiences related to the position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced degree (e.g., MA, MS, JD, PhD) Preferred: Higher Education Student Affairs Administration

BENEFITS:

Hampshire College offers an excellent benefits program for eligible employees such as medical, dental, vision, life insurance, generous retirement plan contributions, flexible leave plans, and many other fringe benefits. For information on Hampshire College, including more information on employee benefits and our company culture, visit our website at www.hampshire.edu.

WHO SHOULD APPLY:

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity employer and deeply committed to a community of excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We’re particularly committed to revealing and combating the social and institutional structures

that support racism and white supremacy in all phases of employment and college life. We believe that the educational and employment environment is enhanced when diverse groups of people with diverse ideas come together to work and grow. We encourage applications from women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, sexual minority groups, veterans, and other candidates who will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives. Hampshire College is committed to removing barriers to employment faced by equity-seeking groups and encourages (but does not require) members of these groups to self-identify in their application materials. Applicants whose work incorporates a global perspective and a demonstrated commitment to issues of diversity in the work environment are particularly encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please submit your cover letter, resume and names/phone numbers of three professional references via our website at https://jobs.hampshire.edu/

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment.