Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence (SAIE) is the central student affairs division of the University of Denver.
SAIE supports students in their holistic development through advocacy, collaboration, and education, and we strive to be full partners in students’ learning experience. SAIE values student centricity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; collaboration; adaptability; and accountability. The Division’s strategic priorities are:
- Enrich the holistic student experience
- Elevate & Embed diversity, equity & inclusion
- Engage purposeful partnerships
- Enhance staff development, learning & wellbeing
- Enact sustainable practices & operations
SAIE includes Housing and Residential Education, Health and Counseling Center, Student Engagement and the 4D Experience, the Dean of Students Office, and Budget, Operations, and Divisional Resources.
Departments within the above areas include Student Engagement and 4D Experience; Fraternity and Sorority Life; Social Justice Education; Health and Counseling Services; AccessibleDU Student Disability Services; The Cultural Center; First@DU; Learning Effectiveness Program; Veterans and Military Resources; Student Outreach and Support; Student Rights & Responsibilities; New Student and Family Programs; Driscoll and Community Commons; and more.
The Department of New Student and Family Programs provides comprehensive onboarding and transitional support to students and their families in addition to year-round parent and family engagement for all University of Denver families. This office exists to create community and assist students as well as their families to learn, develop, and persist during their college experience in collaboration with campus constituents, faculty, staff, and students.
Position Summary
The Assistant Director for Family Experience is responsible for supporting the design and implementation of family engagement experiences and new student programs for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Denver. This position focuses on engagement strategies rooted in departmental goals, outcomes, and assessment that support student retention and persistence.
The Assistant Director will:
- Support new and returning parents, families and support systems in as aspects of their student’s DU experience.
- Oversee and manage events, programs, and services for parents and families.
- Manage the logistics of the orientation and transition experience for parents and families and support new student programs as needed.
- Serve as the primary department office manager including oversight of call center.
- Supervise department student staff.
- Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the values of inclusion, equity, and diversity.
- Co-create, implement, and provide results of a comprehensive assessment plan.
- Build and maintain positive relationships with families of students.
- Respond to department communication needs in a timely manner.
- Effectively interact with University staff, faculty, and administration.
- Oversee management of parent and family data.
Additionally, the Assistant Director supports the planning and execution of engaging programs which cultivate a vibrant/active 4-Dimensional Student Experience (promoting character development, intellectual growth, the pursuit of careers & lives of purpose, and well-being), through collaboration with the 4D Experience Team and embedding the 4D experience into programs, initiatives, and leadership development within New Student & Family Programs
The Assistant Director for Family Experience reports to the Director of New Student & Family Programs.
Essential Functions
Office Management
- Oversee daily operation of unit through customer service management and supervision of office assistants
- Oversee the day-to-day operations of the call center, ensuring smooth call flow, and efficient resolution of customer inquiries or issues.
- Monitor call center metrics, including call volume, response times, and customer satisfaction, and implement strategies to improve performance.
- Collaborate with other departments to identify areas for improvement, implement training programs, and enhance customer service standards.
- Handle escalated complaints or complex issues, demonstrating strong problem-solving skills and maintaining a professional demeanor.
- Administer the departments purchase card, including issuing card, setting spending limits, and maintaining accurate records.
- Monitor and reconcile purchase card transactions, ensuring accurate coding and appropriate documentation.
Family Engagement
- Create programs and outreach for family engagement including advertising, event social media marketing, presenter organization, event logistics, program implementation, and assessment.
- Educate and assist families of students to identify resources available to support their students’ academic success, and their social, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
- Marketing of major campus events to parents and families such as Discoveries, Homecoming, Family Weekend, and other events as appropriate.
- Manage DU Family Experience portal (CampusESP) by acting as liaison for campus content admins, approving posts, and adding content to platform.
- Manage email and social media communication to families in consultation with the director and other University staff.
- Create an engaging social media content calendar, design original posts, and respond to comments on social media platforms with guidance from the director.
- Gather and maintain demographic data of parents and families of incoming students.
- Collaborate with the director to analyze assessment results.
- Develop an informative and engaging Parent and Family Calendar.
- Create online registration for Family Orientation and Family Weekend, manage payments and refunds, and report attendee and financial data.
- Communicate with families proactively and reactively in a timely manner via email, phone, and on social media.
New Student Programs
- Aid in the development and execution of all new student programs including Discoveries Summer Experience, Discoveries Orientation, First Ascent and First Year Programs
- Support the Discoveries Orientation program goals and outcomes by participating in program planning and implementation.
- Attend First Ascent experience at our Kennedy Mountain Campus as support staff.
- Manage room reservations and allocation for Discoveries Orientation
- Coordinate and host Summer Webinar Series for incoming families with key campus partners.
- Build Family Orientation schedule for Discoveries Orientation week.
- Assist in supervising 4D Peer Mentors throughout the week.
- Assist in the planning and instruction of peer leadership course, Introduction to 4D Mentorship.
Supervision & Leadership Development
- Supervise, train, and develop 100+ student staff including our Office Assistants, Student Coordinators, and 4D Peer Mentors.
- Provide guidance, support, and training to a team of office assistants responsible for operating the call center.
- Assign tasks, set priorities, and ensure all responsibilities are completed promptly and accurately.
- Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to enhance individual and team performance.
- Foster a positive and collaborative work environment, promoting teamwork and employee engagement.
- Ensure accurate and timely entry of timecards for all student employees.
- Collaborate with HR or payroll departments to maintain employee records and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.
- Review and verify timecards for accuracy, resolve discrepancies, and address any issues related to employee attendance or hours worked.
- Generate reports on employee attendance, hours worked, and other relevant data as required.
Other Duties as Assigned
- Serve on University, division, area, and department committees.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Excellent communication, customer service, and interpersonal skills with the ability to present effectively to a variety of audiences, including faculty, administrators, students, and student affairs staff.
- Strong organizational, planning, and program development abilities including attention to detail.
- Ability to collaborate with departments across the university, ability to problem-solve and work with parents and families in crisis.
- Ability to work effectively with students and families.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- Demonstrate a commitment to the principles of inclusion, diversity, and equity through involvement and participation in university/division-wide projects and initiatives.
- Experience with large event planning and execution in higher education
- Experience working with college students
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree related to higher education
- Experience with programming with college students with preference to related fields of orientation, transition, retention and parent and family engagement
- Experience in goal setting and execution of planning
- Leadership in higher education
- Experience with website and social media administration
- Experience with conflict resolution
- Experience advising or supervising student staff
- Experience with crisis management and diplomatic communication with families
- Experience with strategic visioning, planning, and assessment
- Experience with strategizing and problem solving in a complex organization
- Experience with the life cycle of print publishing
- Experience with website editing, HTML and CMS
- Experience with digital marketing
Working Environment
1. Standard office environment.
2. Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
3. Noise level is quiet to moderate.
Physical Activities
1. Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
2. Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs.
Work Schedule
This position requires employees to work onsite 8:00am-4:30pm with some weekends, evenings, and holidays. Some remote and flexible work arrangements. (Schedules vary by department and position.)
Attend and support up to 5 overnight Kennedy Mountain Campus programs such as First Ascent, 4 Dimensional Experience, or Student Leadership retreats throughout the year.
Application Deadline
For best consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) August 22, 2023.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 8.
Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $55,000-$58,000.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver .
Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age (40 years and over in the employment context), religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, veterans status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the university’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in 2008; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For the university’s complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please see non-discrimination-statement .
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.
Advertised: August 08, 2023
Applications close: