Senior Director of Student Success

Volunteer State Community College

Title:

Senior Director of Student Success

Institution:

Volunteer State Community College

Job Summary:

This position provides strategic leadership, program development, and operational oversight for key departments supporting student engagement, persistence, and completion. This role is responsible for advancing a coordinated student success agenda with a particular focus on adult learners and veteran affairs, career readiness, academic advising, and support for first-generation students. This position also leads the coordination of new student orientation, as well as high-impact engagement and retention aligned with institutional goals. This position plays a central role in translating broad student success strategy into actionable programs and services, ensuring an integrated and data-informed approach across multiple functional areas.

Job Duties:

• Provide leadership, direction, coaching, mentoring, and oversight for Advising, Adult Learners and Veterans Affairs, and Career Services.
• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive new student onboarding experience-including orientation, welcome week, and spirit week-by providing strategic direction and coordinating institution-wide efforts in collaboration with campus stakeholders; lead an orientation planning work group to ensure a seamless transition for all new students and alignment with broader student success strategies.
• Serve as the point person for guiding the College's initiatives to support first-generation student success (First-Gen Forward, first generation student celebrations, etc.), including the development of a work group to assist with executing all first-generation student initiatives.
• Conduct regular performance evaluations of direct reports which provides an environment of coaching and mentoring to maintain top performance and address any areas of improvement as they arise.
• Work to establish long-term student success goals and strategies.
• Collaborate with academic departments to identify and address barriers to student success, including course availability, prerequisite sequencing, and major-specific advising needs.
• Oversee the design, delivery, and assessment of programs that promote student success, retention, and academic success; utilize data to assess program effectiveness and inform continuous improvement.
• Foster a collaborative, student-centered programmatic and service delivery culture.
• Collaborate with Research, Assessment and Special Initiatives and academic partners to monitor student progress and develop proactive interventions.
• Ensure that Advising, Adult Learners and Veteran Affairs, and Career Services are aligned with retention and completion goals.
• Serve as a liaison to academic departments, faculty, and other administrative units to promote coordinated student success programs and services.
• Partner with departments considered to be in the area of Enrollment Services, Financial Aid, and Academic Affairs to support integrated student pathways.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree.
• Four years of related experience.
• Progressive supervisory and leadership experience managing staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, or a related field.
• Experience with the student success function or related programmatic areas.
• Knowledge of best practices specific to first-generation students and new student onboarding initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to use data and assessment to inform decision-making and improve student outcomes.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of student success initiatives and best practices.
• Must be a willing advocate of the mission of the college.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, including the ability to support and empower advising staff.
• Excellent communication and conflict resolution skills to facilitate collaboration between advisors, faculty, and administrators.
• Ability to develop and implement innovative advising models and processes.
• Understanding of student development theory and support strategies.
• Proficiency in technology integration to enhance student support (e.g., Slate, Banner, Teams for communication).
• Experience with data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Data-driven decision-making skills to assess and improve student support effectiveness.
• Commitment to student success.

Pay Rate:

$68,434 - $85,542 annual salary depending on experience

Volunteer State offers a comprehensive benefits package, including but not limited to the following:

• Insurance: Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability (long and short term), FSA/HSA
• Wellness Incentive Program (if enrolled in Health)
• Educational Assistance: Fee Waiver, Spouse/Dependent Discounts, Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program
• Longevity Pay
• Retirement Options: State of TN Pension (TCRS), 401a, 401K with up to $50/month match, 403b, and 457
• 14 Paid Holidays/Year
• Annual Leave (if applicable)
• Sick Leave
• Sick Leave Bank
• State Employee Discount Program with over 900 merchants

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the application process. Official transcripts will be required upon hire. Applicants may be subject to a background check.

To apply, please visit: https://careers.tbr.edu/jobs/senior-director-of-student-success-gallatin-tennessee-united-states