Job Details

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

Reporting to the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Assistant Vice President (AVP) serves as a generalist committed to supporting the holistic success of LSU students. The AVP provides leadership and support for the Student Health Center, University Recreation (UREC) and Disability Services. The AVP will also provide strategic leadership by executing mission critical initiatives and programs for the Division of Student Affairs. The AVP is a key member of the Student Affairs central leadership team that includes the Vice President for Student Affairs, Associate Vice President & Dean of Students, and the Chief of Staff.

General Responsibilities for This Position:

• Provides leadership and support for the LSU Student Health Center (Medical, Mental Health, Wellness, Operations), Disability Services, and University Recreation and their 120+ full-time staff members.
• Helps lead the use of data to assess the quality of programs and services, ensures efficient use of institutional resources, and facilitates divisional continuous improvement efforts.
• Executes key Student Affairs initiatives and serves as a primary representative for divisional and cross divisional initiatives in support of institutional objectives.
• Grow and foster partnerships across the university that are crucial to helping the Division of Student Affairs execute its mission critical work.
• Serves as a key member of the Student Affairs leadership team.

Opportunities for Leadership:

• Drive Meaningful and Wide-Ranging Impact: LSU is a fast-paced environmentno day, and no hour is the same. In keeping pace with institutional culture, Student Affairs constantly seeks to capitalize on the ways in which we can better support students and uplift institutional objectives. To align with this philosophical approach to our work, the AVP will operate as a generalist to engage in an array of projects, initiatives, and collaborations for the purpose of maximizing impact in the community.
• Improve Student Affairs' Ability to Integrate Wellbeing into Practice: While our goal is to support student success as measured by first to second year retention and graduation. Embedded in this larger objective, we also have the chance to help students develop healthy habits around wellbeing that will benefit them at LSU and for the rest of their lives. Although this effort is underway, the AVP will help recalibrate and hone our strategies for ensuring that elements of wellbeing are appropriately integrated throughout students' co-curricular experience. The growing complexity of concerns students are bringing to college makes this work more important than ever.
• Establish an Approach for Divisional Continuous Improvement: Every year, Student Affairs strives to make some aspects of our work better than the previous year. Doing so requires a data-driven and informed approach rooted in honest assessments of programs, services, events, and experiences to ensure quality, effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and alignment with divisional and institutional objectives. The AVP plays a key role in helping the Division of Student Affairs conceptualize and establish an approach to continuous improvement that maximizes our impact while we strive for excellence.

Attributes of the Successful Candidate:

• Is a collegial team-player who is an energy-giver to the spaces they occupy, actively builds authentic and mutually beneficial relationships, can influence others without positional authority. A professional who also puts institutional priorities before their own interests, and who is unconcerned with receiving credit for accomplishing institutional objectives.
• Is a skilled administrator with a high degree of self-awareness who has a history of effective leadership and management that includes the professional development of staff, the ability to articulate clear expectations and provide timely feedback, and the willingness to redirect behaviors, practices, or attitudes that are misaligned with institutional or divisional objectives, or that are inconsistent with the maintenance of an enriching work environment.
• Has a demonstrated history of cross-institutional, holistic approaches to solving challenging problems and believes in and embraces the notion that progress over perfection helps an organization achieve its goals. Is committed to "getting things done" and moves fast enough to make meaningful forward progress, yet slow enough to ensure things are done right and with a high degree of quality. Embraces the fact that no day is the same and thrives on the ability to switch gears in their work.
• Maintains a strong appreciation for the educational and social value of a broad-based community and a demonstrated commitment to accessible and welcoming programs, services, events, and experiences. Is guided by a solid philosophical and ethical foundation, respecting tradition while thoughtfully considering practices most relevant to LSU students in the present moment, recognizing that needs and perspectives may evolve over time.

About the Division of Student Affairs Priorities:

• Three priorities guide our work in the Division of Student Affairs. Foremost, we maintain a commitment to quality which is rooted in the belief that LSU students deserve our best effort. Every interaction we have with students should communicate care, relevance, polish, and attention to detail. We work to ensure every space, place, and staff-to-student interaction communicates a sense of home to students. Finally, we design programs, services, events, and experiences with everyone in mind.

Job Responsibilities:

• 40% Leadership & Administration: Provides strategic leadership and oversight for the LSU Student Health Center (Medical, Mental Health, Wellness, Operations), Disability Services, and University Recreation and their 120+ full-time staff members. Executes key Student Affairs initiatives and serves as a primary representative for divisional and cross divisional initiatives in support of institutional objectives. Demonstrates divisional attitudes and priorities in all aspects of work.
• 30% External Relations: Maintains active and strong cross-campus relationships with faculty and staff in support of student affairs and student wellbeing to advance collaborations. Serves as a primary representative for internal and external stakeholders. Sets the expectations for how the departments supervised engages with departments across campus. Responsible for setting and leveraging external relations in order to advance the goals of the division.
• 10% Assessment & Continuous Improvement: Leads the use of data to assess the quality of programs and services, ensures efficient use of institutional resources, and facilitates divisional continuous improvement efforts. Facilitates divisional assessment efforts including SACSCOC accreditation, research efforts, and data management. Uses data to assess the quality of programs and services and ensures efficient use of institutional resources.
• 10% Quality Control: Is accountable for ensuring reporting departments outputs including human resource decisions, administrative tasks, programs/services/events/experiences, and all communication exudes a high degree of quality. Sets and evaluates quality expectations for the department. Embraces and executes the marginal gains approach and seeks to increase level of all services, events, programs, and experiences in department for continuous improvement every academic year.
• 10% Other Duties as Assigned: Other duties as assigned by the Vice President for Student Affairs. This includes but is not limited to: efforts that support broad division/institution efforts including at least 40 hours per year spent helping divisional initiatives such as Move-In Day, Welcome Week, Family Weekend, Career Expo, Disability Services Finals Testing, other special projects etc.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Masters degree from an accredited institution of higher education and 8 years of experience.
• Progressive experience in higher education, including at least 7 years of significant supervisory experience.
• LSU values skills, experience, and expertise. Candidates who have relevant experience in key job responsibilities are encouraged to applya degree is not required as long as the candidate meets the required years of experience specified in the job description.

Desired Qualifications:

• Terminal degree from an accredited institution of higher education.
• Five or more years' management experience at or above the Director/Department head level.
• Demonstrated experience working on cross-institutional teams to solve problems.
• User experience (UX), design-thinking, or other program/organizational development expertise.
• Demonstrated group facilitation, curriculum/learning design experience.

Additional Requirements/Expectations:

• As with all LSU employees, due to this position title and/or responsibilities, this position has an obligation to assist students in the acquisition of necessary services. Should a student appear in need of or seek assistance with issues of an emotional, behavioral, or mental health related matter they should be referred to the proper service within the Student Health Center. In situations where the student creates an impression that they are a danger to themselves or others, the advisor should immediately contact the Care Team, the Dean of Students or the appropriate law enforcement agency. The employee outside of those rights contained within FERPA should create no impression of client or patient confidentiality.

Nominations, Applications, and Inquiries:

• Applications will be accepted online on the LSU Careers website. Please direct all nominations and inquiries for the position to Emily Hester at ...@lsu.edu or 225-