About Simmons
Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.
You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You’ll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience.
As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.
JOB SUMMARY
Assistant Director will be responsible for managing the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Intern Fellowship Program, oversee the Pre-Law program, assist with data/assessment gathering for the department, coordinating special events, manage the SAMs, create/maintain external partner relationship with Law Schools, and advise a caseload of undergraduates while also supporting alumni with an interest in Pre-Law.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
Advising: 35%
- Serve as the primary academic advisor for a caseload of undergraduate students
- Actively connect students to faculty and academic department advising, support services, and programming, to help students make the most of their experience
- Utilize EAB’s Starfish early alert tool to schedule appointments, enter session notes, and manage flags for students
- Utilize Starfish to submit student notes from each advising session and manage flag alerts for at-risk student populations and students within your advising caseload
- Support undeclared students in your caseload with exploring major options
- Assist in the implementation of advising and registration for incoming undergraduate students during each orientation session, fall and spring registration months as well as June Advising Month for new students
- Participate in select open house and/or admitted student day events coordinated by Admissions
- Monitor and advise students in your caseload to ensure satisfactory grades and GPA requirements, students understand academic policies, as well as course planning/registration;
- Understand the institution's interpretation of FERPA rules for the release of student information to faculty, parents, students, etc.
- Stay abreast of changing institutional information including new programs, course changes, important dates, costs, and updates in university-wide initiatives and policies
- Contribute to the organization and delivery of general programming for undergraduate students
- Provide general guidance on “Simmons Edge” graduate program opportunities
Barbara Lee Fellowship & Pre-Law Program: 50%
- Collaborate with the Director of Undergraduate Advising and the Provost Office to manage the Barbara Lee Fellowship
- Primary point-of-contact for pre-law advising and application process to students and alumnae/i, coordinate with law schools for on-campus and virtual info sessions
- Partner with a faculty liaison to support the Barbara Lee Fellows.
- Advise students on opportunities in formal and informal political leadership through practical experiences in the area of public policy and practice.
- Conduct info sessions and do tabling to make students aware of the Pre-Law Program
- Conduct info sessions, do tabling and manage the application as well as selection process for the Barbara Lee Fellowship
- Maintain the Barbara Lee Fellowship and Pre-Law Program resource web pages
- Conduct a speaker series with a focus on women empowerment, women’s equality, political science, pre-law, leadership for social impact, legal ethics, global justice, and public policies
- Collaborate with the Career Education Center to provide resources around internships, resumes, and mock interviews to prepare pre-law application process, applying to graduate schools (Edge), and to the Barbara Lee Fellowship
- Develop relationships with Law schools and graduate schools to invite to campus for tabling, conducting info sessions, as well as establish potential partnerships with conditional acceptances for Simmons students and alumni
- Maintain and meet the assessment plan for the Barbara Lee Fellowship Internship Program and Pre-Law Program
- Meet with the Barbara Lee Family Foundation as needed about the program in collaboration with the Provost Office and Director of Undergraduate Advising
- Establish and maintain ongoing contact with students through a variety of communication methods, including telephone, email, hybrid workshops, e-newsletters, blogs, Zoom, and social media platforms
- Manage a Pre-Law resource library that has recommended readings for prospective law students such as law bibliography, biography, LSAT study resources, Law School admission guides, etc.
- Co-manage a programming budget for the Barbara Lee Fellowship in collaboration with the Director
- Participate in departmental and campus wide committees as assigned
- Collaborate closely with the Associate Director of Undergraduate Advising to assist with data/assessment gathering
- Support alumni interested research and applying for law school
- Stay up to date with best practices and trends in the field of pre-law
- Other duties as assigned.
Supervise, Leadership & Administrative: 15%
- Manage student office assistants and Simmons Academic Mentors (SAMs) program
- Hire, train, and supervise seven to ten undergraduate student workers
- Assist with brainstorming and implementing specialized programming for undergraduates around academic success
- Conduct 1-on-1 check-in with Sr. SAM and regular group meetings with all SAMs
- Starfish Administrative duties and member of the Starfish Team
- Represent the department on university committees as assigned by the Director
- Assist at Admissions/recruitment events for perspective and admitted students as needed
- This role may have additional supervisory responsibilities of an advisor or coordinator as the program grows
OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s Degree required
- At least two years of full-time professional experience working with students in an academic advising, career education, or student’s affairs department
- Experience in connecting and building rapport with students
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to successfully resolve student issues from request through resolution
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master's degree in a related field preferred.
- Experience with prior program management is preferred
- Experience utilizing Starfish or similar early alert tools is a plus
- Prior experience supervising student or running a peer advising/mentor program preferred
- Experience working with a diverse student body in a multicultural setting
- Experience with Google preferred
COMPETENCIES
- Proven problem resolution skills and experience
- Strong decision-making abilities
- Demonstrated ability to create rapport and build academic advising relationships
- Commitment to Inclusive Excellence and Social Justice
- Strong Communication (Written, Verbal, Presentation) skills
WORK ENVIRONMENT & CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS
- Full time (40-hours/week) position
- Typical office setting
- Work weekends and nights as needed for special events.
- Travel requirements as needed for conferences
- Eligible for a hybrid in office/ remote work schedule, up to 2 days remote
- Prolonged periods of sitting or standing at a desk and working on a computer.
- Frequent fine manipulation required to operate a computer keyboard, grasp papers, write and take notes, and operate office machinery.
- Occasionally required to lift up to 15 pounds.
Required Application Materials:
Salary Grade
S07
Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).
Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.
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