Job Details

Assistant Director of Advising, Retention, and Equity

Position Number: 6390305
Location: Danvers, MA
Position Type: Academic Advising

Assistant Director of Advising, Retention, and Equity Location: Danvers/Lynn, MA Category: Administrative Posted On: Thu Jul 17 2025 Job Description:
Assistant Director of Advising, Retention and Student Equity

Non-Unit Professional position, 37.5 hours/week

Campus Location: Lynn/Danvers Campus

SALARY: The salary range for this position is $78,000.00 - $88,000.00. The offered salary will be commensurate with experience and education, but will not exceed the stated range. Full time benefited employees at North Shore Community College are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package offered through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Click HERE for a highlight of these benefits.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Assistant Director of Advising, Retention, and Student Equity plays a key leadership role in fostering student success and equity-driven advising practices at North Shore Community College (NSCC), a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). This position will assist the Director in leading a large and diverse advising team, currently consisting of 7 General Advisors, 4 RISE Advisors, 4 Part-Time Advisors, 1 Coordinator, and 1 Administrative Assistant.

As part of NSCC's commitment to equity and student-centered success, the Assistant Director will oversee critical student onboarding and retention initiatives with a focus on removing barriers for multilingual students, first-generation college students, and students from historically underserved communities. This role will lead the coordination of registration events, academic standing processes (including probation and suspension appeals), and early alert systems, ensuring that advising practices advance the college's mission of inclusive excellence and servingness.

The Assistant Director will also work collaboratively across departments to design and implement retention strategies that support students through key transitions, strengthen their sense of belonging, and improve persistence and graduation rates.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Equity-Centered Advising Leadership & Staff Development
- Assist the Director in supervising, coaching, and developing advising staff through an equity-minded lens, ensuring that advisors are trained to provide culturally responsive and asset-based advising to NSCC's diverse student population.
- Support onboarding, training, and ongoing professional development of advisors, with a focus on inclusive advising practices that affirm students' cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds.
- Serve as a resource and advocate for advisors in addressing student challenges and ensuring adherence to best practices that foster student belonging and success.
- Contribute to performance evaluations and promote professional growth among the advising team.
Student Onboarding & Registration Equity Initiatives
- Plan and execute Fall and Spring Registration events for new and continuing students, working closely with the Orientation Coordinator, Admissions/Enrollment, and Placement/Testing to provide holistic onboarding experiences.
- Work collaboratively with the Placement and Proficiency Specialist to ensure students?particularly multilingual learners and those from diverse educational backgrounds?are equitably placed in appropriate courses using multiple measures of assessment.
- Lead high school completion registration events, expanding access for students returning to complete their education and removing procedural barriers to enrollment.
- Partner with Faculty Advisors and other campus departments to strengthen registration outreach, ensuring multilingual and first-generation students receive the guidance they need to persist and succeed.
Academic Standing & Student Support Coordination
- Oversee and manage academic standing processes, including:
  - Suspension appeals (processed in December, May, and August).
  - Probation appeals (processed at the start of Fall and Spring semesters).
- Serve as a key member of the Student Outreach and Support (SOS) team, leading the early and midterm alert system to identify and support students at risk of disengagement.
- Ensure that appeals, early alerts, and academic standing interventions are holistically designed to retain and support students, rather than penalize them.
- Maintain accurate records and reporting related to appeals and student interventions.
Advancing NSCC's HSI Mission & Student Success Efforts
- Support the implementation of retention-focused initiatives that align with NSCC's HSI-servingness framework, focusing on culturally affirming student engagement strategies.
- Collaborate with the Director and advising team to monitor and evaluate retention strategies that specifically address the needs of Hispanic, multilingual, and first-generation students.
- Partner with institutional research and student success teams to assess the impact of advising interventions on persistence and degree completion.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration & Institutional Communication
- Act as a liaison between Advising, Enrollment, Orientation, Faculty Advisors, and Student Support Services, fostering a coordinated approach to student retention.
- Develop and implement communication strategies that ensure students?especially those from multilingual, first-generation, and underrepresented backgrounds?are aware of key deadlines, policies, and academic success resources.
- Work closely with counseling and wraparound support services to strengthen interventions for students facing barriers related to academic progress, financial hardship, or personal challenges.
Process Improvement & Data-Driven Innovation
- Identify and implement equity-focused improvements to registration, academic standing, and early alert systems, ensuring that policies promote student retention rather than unintentionally hinder persistence.
- Utilize data and student feedback to refine workflows, removing institutional barriers that disproportionately impact students of color, multilingual learners, and low-income students.
- Leverage technology (such as Banner and EAB Navigate) to streamline advising processes and improve student tracking and communication.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Director of Advising & Retention

Why This Role Matters:

As an HSI institution, NSCC is committed to serving not just enrolling Latinx, multilingual, and underrepresented students as well as all students. This position will ensure that advising and retention strategies are rooted in equity, belonging, and the removal of systemic barriers, supporting the college's broader mission of student success and degree completion.

By embedding servinginess advising strategies into academic standing policies, registration processes, and retention programming, the Assistant Director of Advising, Retention, and Student Equity will play a critical role in shaping a student-centered, equity-driven advising culture at NSCC.

Job Requirements:

Master's degree in Higher Education, Counseling, Student Affairs, or a related field.
3-5 years of experience in academic advising, student success, or a related role, with a focus on equity, first-generation students, and multilingual learners.
Demonstrated commitment to social justice and equity in higher education.
Experience planning and executing large-scale student engagement and retention events.
Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
Proficiency in student information systems, such as Banner and EAB Navigate.
Ability to work effectively with diverse student populations, including students of color, low-income students, first-generation college students, and multilingual learners.
Candidates will be required to pass a CORI/SORI and/or National background check as a condition of employment.

Additional Information:
North Shore Community College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy or related conditions, gender identity, sex characteristics, sex stereotypes or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and college policies. The College prohibits Sex-Based Harassment. Inquiries or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, or retaliation shall be referred to the College's Title IX Coordinator, Affirmative Action and Compliance Officer, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights: TitleIX@northshore.edu

Prospective employees are encouraged to review the College's Annual Security Report (ASR), in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistic Act, which can be found on the disclosure page of the College's website by clicking here.

In alignment with our mission to provide accessible, affordable, and rigorous educational and employment opportunities, NSCC is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment and employment process, and to support fulfilling essential job functions. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to our ADA/504 Coordinator: Employee_Accom@northshore.edu
Closes:

To apply, visit http://nscc.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=190523