Position Title: Director of the Office of Social Work Student Services, Operations, and Finance
Position Summary:
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Social Work prides itself on having richly talented student-centered staff and faculty comprised of teacher-scholars dedicated to support diverse students in growing as future social work scholars, practitioners, and leaders. The BSSW program (est. 1996) and MSW program (est. 2011), respectively, have a complex and well-developed curriculum in place. Each teams’ goals are nestled into a larger departmental strategic plan. Over the past 10 years, MSW enrollments have tripled and BSSW continues to steadily grow. The Department of Social Work employs 49 full-time faculty and staff members, and approximately 60 part-time employees. The Department serves close to 1,000 students each academic year. The Director of the Office of Social Work Student Services, Operations, and Finance (OSWSS-OF) serves in a vital role of supporting the strategic enrollment, integrity of our programming, and success of our students.
The Director of the Office of Social Work Student Services, Operations, and Finance (OSWSS-OF) works in a complex and demanding environment to provide strategic and flexible solutions that are student-centric while advancing and securing the financial advancement and well-being of the Department of Social Work. This person oversees strategic enrollment management strategies, effective student support services models, supervision of OSWSS-OF team members, and the continued development of a strong administrative structure. The Director works in concert with the Department of Social Work leadership team, collegiate, and university leaders to develop systems and processes that advance undergraduate and graduate education and programs on campus and online.
Duties/Responsibilities:
Graduate & Undergraduate Enrollment Management (40%)
The OSWSS-OF Director supports annual and long-range graduate and undergraduate enrollment goals and recruitment initiatives by providing leadership in the development, management, and execution of enrollment goals at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Director and his/her/their staff will collaborate with departmental leadership and university enrollment staff to implement student-centric scheduling, staffing, and delivery of courses and understands the university and department’s larger goals. This person provides and interprets data and forecasting tools that are essential to both short- and long-term planning of the cash-funded/self-sustaining graduate program and the state-funded undergraduate program, managing the complex individual needs and resources of both. The Director will establish and continuously advance metrics-based delineation and cyclical enrollment benchmarks in graduate enrollment efforts to inform resource management decisions and future strategies. The Director maps out the history of past enrollment, gathers market research for future growth, and studies and implements through the team the opportunities for maximizing graduate enrollments.
Budget and Resource Development and Management (35%)
The Director is an active member on the departmental leadership team, guiding analysis of financial status of the Department and participates in resource allocation and strategic growth initiatives and goal setting. The Director provides consultation and recommendations to the Chair and Director team on the development and needs of student services, operational, and fiscal aspects of the Department (Master of Social Work Program, the Bachelor of Science in Social Work Program, and other developing program initiatives as well as OSWSS-OF and the Office of Field Education).
The OSWSS-OF Director strategically manages and forecasts revenue for the department, connecting enrollment management strategies and data to departmentally informed growth and development goals. Managing the complex intricacies of a department, with a cash-funded graduate program and a state-supported undergraduate program, the director tracks all expenses, with the support of the team, to ensure an accurate reflection of two distinct program costs and providing recommendations for optimizing available resources. The Director supports the department and university in advancement of policy and processes for cash-funded graduate programs at an institutional level to find effective ways to optimize departmental resources where state funds, cash funds, and grant funds are present.
Leadership of Graduate & Undergraduate Student Services (15%)
The OSWSS-OF Director supervises and continually develops a strong operations team of higher education professionals who support graduate and undergraduate students throughout the entire student lifecycle – from recruitment through alumni engagement. The director will provide leadership by directing a team on graduate and undergraduate recruitment, admissions, advising, retention, completion, and alumni engagement efforts. The Director will identify the important demographics of students MSU Denver serves, unique differences between graduate and undergraduate students, with consideration to the varying services on campus for each group, and create systems and processes that are distinct, when necessary, and combined, when possible, to create efficiencies while advancing the student experience.
Administration (10%)
The OSWSS-OF Director provides leadership in the development and implementation of a strong administrative structure, polices and systems that can support the strategic goals and direction of the Department. The OSWSS-OF Director appraises college and university policy and culture to offer solutions and recommendations for the administrative staff, technology, space, facilities, and other resources needed to achieve success as a large department with multiple foci. These aspects include but are not limited to a graduate and undergraduate program, an Office of Field Education, an Office of Student Services, Operations and Finance, fully online graduate and undergraduate programs, and the development and implementation of grants, from smaller contracts and grant projects to those with several million dollars in external funding. The OSWSS-OF Director provides initial consultation to weigh strengths and challenges of new projects, grants, and/or initiatives. The Director provides supervision to administrative staff that are in the Office of Social Work Student Services, Administration, and Finance and oversees functions related to that team.
Supervision: The Office of Social Work Student Services, Operations, and Finance is comprised of 10 team members in addition to the Director. There are three direct reports under this position: Marketing and Admissions Coordinator, Associate Director of Student Services, and the Associate Director of Operations and Finance.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Positive results-oriented and student-centric in approaches
- Success in partnering and developing rapport with multiple stakeholders; ability to instill trust and confidence
- Effective leadership skills to manage a team that implements effective, student centric services at all stages from prospective students, current students, and alums
- Thorough understanding of tools of enrollment and marketing for recruitment, admission, and yield of the desired students
- Ability to understand current and emerging graduate enrollment trends inside and outside the university
Required Qualifications:
- An advanced degree. Note: a bachelor’s degree in a related field and minimum of 3 years administrative experience in higher education may be substituted for a master’s degree
- Two years of related experience in higher education enrollment management for both undergraduate and graduate programming
- Demonstrated experience providing leadership to a student service advising team
- Demonstrated experience managing budgets with state, cash, and/or grant funds
- Experience in the recruitment and/or retention of first generation, underrepresented, and ethnic minority students
Successful applicants will ensure their resumes clearly demonstrate that their work experience describes how they meet all required qualifications.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Proficiency with Technolutions Slate CRM and Ellucian Banner, and Workday
- Experience in social work education and accreditation standards
- Marketing and/or communications experience
- Fundraising experience
- Grant writing experience
To view the full posting and apply, visit https://www.msudenverjobs.com/postings/22115
