Assistant Director, Master of Environmental Studies
Bulletin number: 2016-067SM
Opened: September 9, 2016
Closes: September 28, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. PST
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.
SPECIAL NOTE
There is currently one full-time, overtime-exempt Assistant Director, Master of Environmental Studies position available on the Olympia campus of The Evergreen State College. This is an “at-will” appointment, exempt from Washington State Civil Service rules and the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements. The candidate pool established from this announcement may be used to fill comparable permanent, full-time, part-time, and temporary vacancies in the future.
COLLEGE PROFILE
The Evergreen State College is a progressive, public liberal arts and sciences college located in Olympia, Washington, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Since opening its doors in 1971, Evergreen has established a national reputation for leadership in developing innovative interdisciplinary, collaborative and team-taught academic programs. The college has a vibrant undergraduate program, graduate programs, and public service centers that constitute a unique academic setting. The college values a student-centered learning environment, a link between theory and practice, and a multicultural community of diverse faculty, students and staff working together. For more information about Evergreen, please visit our college catalog or our website:http://www.evergreen.edu
COMPENSATION
- Salary is $4,244 to $4,796 per month of full time work.
- Experience and training may be considered in salary placement.
- A full state benefits package which includes: paid sick and vacation leave; paid campus holidays; a generous medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents; retirement; deferred compensation and optional supplemental retirement accounts. For more information about Evergreen’s excellent employee benefits, please viewhttp://www.evergreen.edu/payroll/benefits.htm
- Permanent status employees that work 0.5 FTE or more are eligible for the tuition waiver program.
POSITION PURPOSE
This position is responsible for 1) recruitment efforts and direct student service assistance for prospective and current students, including academic and career advising, internships, and financial aid; 2) administrative support for the program director and faculty; 3) community outreach and alumni relations; and 4) collaboration with Evergreen staff, especially colleagues in other graduate programs.
NATURE AND SCOPE
This position reports to the Director and works as a team with faculty and other Evergreen staff. This position provides continuity and institutional memory in the course of rotating Directors and faculty. This position typically supervises student and temporary employees.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree.
- Two years of experience in environmental program coordination, student services, or closely related activities.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in environmental studies, student services, or related field.
- Experience in administering graduate/professional school programs, including developing graduate/professional school outreach, admission, and recruitment programs.
- Professional experience in the environmental field, such as program administration, natural resources management, or related activities.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Provide leadership on outreach activities for the Program
- Prepare and update program recruitment and retention plan.
- Collaborate with Evergreen communications and other graduate programs to develop print and electronic publications, identify advertising outlets, and place advertisements.
- Arrange venues for outreach activities and develop recruitment sessions, visits, and trips.
- Communicate with prospective students via email, over the phone and in person.
- Coordinate the tracking of initial inquiries that come to the Program from all sources and arrange suitable follow-up to initial contacts.
Provide services (or supervise student employees) to support prospective and current students
- Maintain and update MES webpage content to support recruitment and retention of students.
- Maintain currency in matters affecting financial aid, both within Evergreen and externally, and provide financial aid advice to students.
- Coordinate applications for financial aid, make decisions about financial aid award in consultation with the Director, and manage financial aid awards.
- Provide career development advice to students.
- Maintain list-serves and disseminate academic, volunteer, internship and career opportunities.
- Develop and implement internship and mentoring opportunities for students.
- Manage fall orientation for new students in collaboration with the Director.
- Manage graduation event(s) in collaboration with the Director.
- Track the status of students from admission to graduation, including admission requirements candidacy, internships, incompletes, leaves of absence, and eligibility for graduation.
- Track completion, binding, ordering and distributing of MES thesis publications.
- Develop and maintain the Program’s Student Policy Handbook and the Thesis Handbook in consultation with the Director.
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality of all student information.
Alumni affairs
- Collaborate with both the Advancement and the Registration & Records office to maintain a current list of alumni of the program.
- Provide lead staff support for activities and programs for improving alumni engagement.
- Coordinate production and distribution of MES Newsletter (electronic and print versions).
Collaboration with other staff
- Serve as the prime contact for collaborative efforts with other offices at the College relevant to recruitment and retention, including Admissions, Registration and Records, Financial Aid, Evening and Weekend Studies, and College Advancement.
- Participate in quarterly meetings with staff from other Graduate Programs, Admissions, Registration & Records and Financial Aid.
ADDITIONAL DUTIES
- In consultation with the Director, manage budget and approve expenditures.
- Recruit and supervise student staff needed to support duties of position.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
- Knowledge of appropriate methods for developing outreach and recruitment programs, including internet based outreach.
- High level of organizational, planning, and administrative skills.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Knowledge about higher education in general, and the MES program and its policies in particular.
- Ability to provide academic counseling and knowledge of college/program policies for advising students.
- Knowledge of Financial Aid policies, procedures, and opportunities.
- Knowledge of and skills in using computer hardware and software including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.), relational databases (Banner), web content management systems, social media, etc.; ability and willingness to learn new technology as needed.
- Ability to work under pressure and handle multiple tasks requiring a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail in a public, open office environment.
- Ability to conduct detailed internet research.
- Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain professional working relationships.
- Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with diverse individuals and groups, including current and prospective students, staff, faculty, and the public.
- Ability to manage time effectively and to place competing tasks in appropriate priority order.
- Excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
- Ability to effectively recruit and supervise a group of student and/or temporary assistants.
- Flexibility to work varied schedule, including evenings and weekends, and to assist with program events outside normal business hours.
- Ability to travel for recruiting purposes and remain in compliance with the college’s travel policy.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
- Must provide proof of identity and employment eligibility within three days of beginning work.
- May be required to pass a pre-employment background check.
- Ability to travel, work occasional evenings and/or weekends, and assist with program events outside of normal business hours.