Academic Professional - Director of Graduate Advising Operations & Engagement (Open Rank Faculty Position - Academic Professional or Senior Academic Professional)

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our strategic plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.

2. We strive for excellence.

3. We thrive on diversity.

4. We celebrate collaboration.

5. We champion innovation.

6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.

7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.

8. We act ethically.

9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Atlanta, GA

The Georgia Institute of Technology seeks a Director of Graduate Advising Operations and Engagement to implement and maintain cross-campus advising initiatives. This individual will be a tech-savvy professional with a background in advising and administration. They will lead efforts to continue the strategic deployment of EAB Navigate360 as a resource to align best practices in a decentralized advising system. This opportunity will reward professionals who can bring a vision to reality by cultivating buy-in and collaboration from a variety of stakeholders. This is a full-time position that reports to the Executive Director of Graduate Student Success, a unit within the Office of Graduate Education (OGE).

We seek an academic faculty member, at either the Academic Professional or Senior Academic Professional level, for this role. The Director of Advising Operations is responsible for the strategic planning and operational management of graduate advising services within the institution. This leadership role involves overseeing the implementation and maintenance of advising initiatives, managing advising technology platforms, and ensuring that advising practices align with the institution's goals for graduate student success. The Director acts as a key advisor to senior leadership on issues related to academic advising, retention, and student progression. Additionally, the Director facilitates cross-departmental collaboration to enhance student support services.

This position is responsible for setting employee goals, assessing performance, providing feedback, and making pay recommendations.

This position will report to executive leadership, interact with leadership, faculty, and staff, vendors and technology providers, when necessary.

This position will supervise: Assigned Staff.

Establish new and maintain existing advising tools, procedures, and resources

Serving as the campus administrator for Tech's graduate student advising technology platform (EAB Navigate), providing training and support for advisors, administrators, and others.

Leading the implementation and related updates of EAB Navigate360 student success technology and serving as the subject matter expert.

Working closely with the Office of Information Technology, serving as the main point-of-contact for EAB Navigate360.

Developing strategies for robust platform utilization across advisors, faculty, and other units.

Coordinating, implementing, and assessing student success campaigns based on data from Navigate360 in collaboration with colleges, schools, and academic support resources.

Serving as lead trainer for Navigate360, conducting training and workshops for faculty advisors, professional advisors, administrators, and other campus partners.

Working with colleagues at other institutions to further the use of advising technology and to collect and contribute to best practices utilizing advising technology for graduate student success.

Developing and maintaining central academic advising resources that include website/hub for both students and advisors, academic advising listserv, and an academic advising handbook to be updated annually.

Implementing a professional development and training program for graduate academic advisors across all academic units, including an onboarding training program for new advisors, a certificate program, the annual best practices conference, and other workshops and programming as needed.

Conduct research, assessment, and other studies to inform advising practices

Developing and implementing assessment tools for graduate academic advising.

Initiating and preparing annual and ad-hoc reports and documentation on graduate academic advising (including an annual report) and utilizing this data and information to enhance advising practices.

Using data and analytics to monitor student progress, track student progression, and identify potential barriers to student success and related outcomes (such as retention and time to degree completion).

Regularly reviewing research from the EAB, NACADA, CGS and other sources about best practices in student success, sharing information and utilizing research to inform recommendations.

Collaborate closely with OGE leadership, the Registrar's Office, Dean of Students Office, and other units on academic advising and related policies and processes

Serving as a primary leader in ensuring graduate student information and management systems align with Navigate360.

Meeting regularly with the Registrar (and other Registrar's Office staff) to review academic and related policies and processes, curriculum updates, and technology and resources that relate to retention and academic advising for graduate students.

Consulting with the Registrar on petitions to the faculty to determine if there are business or advising practices that could be better informed to enhance this process.

Working closely with the Assistant Registrar in the Registrar's Office to be aware of upgrades and further work on DegreeWorks, as they pertain to advising practices.

Serve as an ex officio/guest member of the Institute Student Rules and Regulations Committee.

This position vacancy is an open rank announcement. The final job offer will be at the Academic Professional or Senior Academic Professional level, dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Non-tenure Track Academic Faculty ranks as outlined in section 3.2.2 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook: https://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/faculty-handbook/3.2.2-non-tenure-track-academic-faculty-members-hiring-and-promotion-guidelines.

Academic Professional

This rank requires a terminal degree. The quality of performance and potential for development must be recognized by peers.

Senior Academic Professional

This rank requires a terminal degree. It also requires evidence of superior performance in the chosen field, recognition by peers (whether national, regional, or local), and successful and measurable related experience. At least 5 years of experience at the Academic Professional (or equivalent) level.

In addition to the required terminal degree and experience:

Experience with EAB Navigate360, providing training and support for advisors, administrators, and others.

Leading a technology implementation and serving as the subject matter expert.

Working in an academic advising leadership role.

Experience in extracting, analyzing, and compiling data using student information systems. Exhibits high initiative, attention to detail, and strong organizational skills.

Proven background in academic advising and student support.

Demonstrated ability to set operational goals from strategic plans and lead teams in achieving these goals and initiatives. Capable of anticipating next steps and executing tasks independently.

Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders at all organizational levels.

Excellent oral and written communication abilities.

Skilled in summarizing, compiling, and interpreting student data and reports.

Able to collaborate with a wide range of student support professionals and leaders to promote a more integrated approach to student retention.

Experienced in managing complex, concurrent projects, with a natural ability to quickly identify obstacles and work collaboratively to find solutions.

Proven success in leading high-performing, cross-functional teams to support ongoing projects.

Understanding of issues facing graduate students in master's and doctoral programs.

When submitting the application please include:

Cover Letter: that addresses your qualifications for this position

CV

All documents in a single PDF file save as your lastname_firstname

ABILITIES
The job requires occasional travel up to 10% or more of the time

Demonstrated ability to set operational goals from strategic plans and lead teams in achieving these goals.

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders at all organizational levels

KNOWLEDGE
Experience with EAB Navigate360 is preferred

Leadership experience in academic advising roles

A proven background in academic advising and student support

Expertise in leading technology implementations and serving as the subject matter expert

Experience in managing complex, concurrent projects with the ability to quickly identify obstacles and work collaboratively to find solutions

SKILLS
Excellent oral and written communication skills

Proficiency in extracting, analyzing, and compiling data using student information systems, with strong attention to detail and organizational skills

Skilled in summarizing, compiling, and interpreting data and reports, with the ability to work with a wide range of student support professionals to promote a more integrated approach to student retention

For additional information about this job opening, please contact Jaydale C Poyotte at vpgefd@gatech.edu

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia ("USG") and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

A successful candidate must be able to pass a background check. Please visit: https://usg.policystat.com/policy/19298143/latest