Career Center

Posting Summary:
The Division of Student Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University is seeking an experienced and collaborative Director of Student Support & Advocacy who will serve as the College lead on non-clinical student support and advocacy initiatives. The Director will work as part of a student-centered, student-facing team that is committed to providing student support and advocacy . The ideal candidate will be grounded in student affairs practices and student development theory.

Job Summary/Basic Function:
Reporting to the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, the Director of Student Support and Advocacy will serve as a member of the leadership team in the Division of Student Affairs and will provide strategic oversight focusing priorities that advocate and support students through challenging and complex situations.

The Director will serve as a non-clinical and non-confidential independent resource for student support concerns and issues; interface and connect students to the necessary support resources in order to be successful while studying at TC. This position will also be responsible for student case management, while utilizing best practices to coordinate overall care and well-being strategies, responses and support to students.

The incumbent will be a first responder to student-crisis issues and circumstances that require immediate attention and response. The Director will be responsible for identifying, liaising and coordinating student support efforts with on-campus resources such as the TC CARES Team (Communicate, Ask, Reach, Engage), the Psychological Emergency Response Team (PERT) and the Behavior Intervention Team (BIT). The Director will also connect students to additional support resources at Columbia University as well as external support resources.

Characteristic Duties & Responsibilities:

Student Advocacy/Outreach 

• Serve as first responder to any student of concern, deploying necessary student support resources to student crises cases.
• Serve as an independent resource for student concerns and issues; and student advocate providing support and possible resolutions to foster a sense of self-advocacy in students to help them manage their overall well-being
• Manage and create student-centered communications and strategies surrounding student success and support that utilizes print, web, and social media
• Provide student self-help tools and resources during advising sessions and new student orientation activities
• Develop proactive strategies to support students in need
• Provide ongoing support, guidance, problem solving for students in need
• Assist and collaborate with the Graduate Student Life & Development team on student wellness programming, education, awareness and promotion.
• Identify emerging concerns, trends, and issues for current students and adjust student outreach based on student history and overarching campus culture shifts
• Design, collaborate and support programming to engage with students to plan and execute events that support their overall student success
• Use data to assess and enhance processes and report student behavioral trends and emerging themes

Student Case Management

• Serve as point-of-contact with medical teams as needed to best support a student hospitalized or returning to campus who may be in need of additional support
• Provide, lead and support effective case management for students
• Utilize and manage student support cases in the Maxient Case Management system for intake, follow up and communication
• Deploy necessary staff members and resources when a student issue arises (assigning cases of care)
• Follow up as necessary with students who have been provided support and care
• Liaise with key stakeholders at Teachers College and CU for Student Case Management
• Facilitate the safe return and support to students returning to campus from hospitalization or leave of absences
• Liaise with key campus stakeholders and students before, during and after the leave of absence process
• Serve as a point of reference and support for students taking and returning from leave of absences

Management 

• Supervise staff which includes student employees and peer ambassadors
• Assist with Division of Student Affairs functions as needed

Collaboration and Partnership

• Partner with TC and CU Health stakeholders on education, awareness, advocacy and programming effort to support  TC Student Support initiatives 
• Work collaboratively with staff as needed both at TC and CU to provide referrals and support resources for students
• Collaborate and coordinate with the Office of Residential Services (ORS) team  to provide support for students in the residence halls
• Lead campus-wide workshops, training and programs  on student support  such as peer to peer training , TC CARESand other training initiatives
• Provide recommendations, tools and resources for faculty and staff to assist them in how to support a student in crisis 
• Serve as a member of the Student Affairs Stakeholders Group, the Psychological Emergency Response Team (PERT) and Behavior Intervention Teams (BIT)
• Develop, cultivate and sustain collaborative and effective working relationships with key stakeholders outside the Division of Student Affairs
• Other duties as assigned

*This position requires evening and weekend hours and accessibility as student needs arise

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in education, training and experience
• 4-6 years of experience with student support initiatives in higher education or a similar setting
• Experience providing support in a non-clinical environment
• Must be able to build relationships with CU Health staff members as well as local hospital personnel when necessary to support student needs. Strong interpersonal, analytical, critical thinking, professional judgment, oral and written communication
• Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse and inclusive student population
• Self-directed; self-motivated individual who has the ability to work autonomously while managing multiple student situations
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize, follow through, meet deadlines and make professional decisions
• Ability to work independently, collaboratively across multiple offices and in a team environment
• Flexibility and accessibility particularly as it relates to responding to and attending to student needs
• Must be able to work evenings and weekends as necessary to respond to student crisis needs in order to serve as a first responder when there are student situations that require student support in the residence halls after regular working hours.
• Demonstrated work ethic that illustrates integrity, ethics, sound professional judgment and an appreciation for diversity, equity and inclusion
• Competent and comfortable with technology and ability to utilize data to inform decisions
• Strong writing, editing, and presentation skills
• Ability to handle sensitive matters with exceptionally good judgment and discretion
• Experience supervising employees, including hiring and evaluation

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Counseling, Public Health, Health Education, Higher Education, Student Affairs, Social Work or a related field
• 7-10 years related experience
• Ability to build knowledge base of national trends and best practices
• Knowledge of a student affairs framework as it relates to student care and support.
• Knowledge and experience with professional organizations and best practice models (NASPA, ACPA)