Director, Student Support

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $115,000 - $125,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Wellbeing and Support, the Director of Student Support provides strategic leadership and support for students within the School of Professional Studies (SPS). This role supervises professional staff and leads a coordinated framework that ensures students receive consistent, timely, and holistic assistance across departments. The incumbent also leads new program development in response to evolving student needs and aligns support services with broader institutional goals related to retention, accessibility, and student success.

Responsibilities

Case Management & Student Support

• Provide high-level case management for students experiencing well-being-related challenges that include but are not limited to personal, financial, medical, mental health, and academic concerns.
• Conduct student support meetings, develop individualized support plans, and coordinate follow-up.
• Monitor at-risk student cases and ensure appropriate intervention and support.
• Collaborate with faculty, academic advising, student affairs, wellness offices and University partners to support student success.
• Identify gaps in student resources and expand access to financial and basic needs support.
• Develop and implement an interpersonal conflict management initiative that provides students with structured support, resources, and guidance for navigating conflicts with peers, faculty, or staff, while promoting constructive communication and a positive academic environment.
• Oversee the Yellow Ribbon program and provide support for Veteran Students.
• Maintain accurate and FERPA compliant records in accordance with institutional policies.

Disability Services & Accommodations

• Oversee the coordination and implementation of disability accommodations for SPS students ensuring compliance with institutional policies as well as federal accessibility guidelines..
• Ensure faculty are informed of approved accommodations and supported in implementing them appropriately.
• Develop procedures, training, and communication standards related to accessibility. Serve as the primary contact for students navigating disability-related support services.

Center for Student Success & Intervention (CSSI) Liaison

• Serve as SPS liaison for student conduct processes in partnership with CSSI.
• Connect students with academic, wellness, accessibility, and basic needs resources.
• Coordinate with CSSI and internal SPS stakeholders to support student success and timely resolution.

SPS Student Re-enrollment Support

• Design and implement a structured re-enrollment process for students returning from: Medical leave of absence, Voluntary leave of absence, Suspension, Interim suspension or disciplinary leave.
• Coordinate return approvals with academic departments and relevant university offices.
• Monitor post-return progress to support long-term success.

SPS Student Resource Center

• Lead the redesign and strategic development of the SPS Resource Center
• Design and implement student support events and programming initiatives in partnership with Student Wellness staff.
• Lead the cross-divisional working group to provide holistic support and engagement opportunities for online students.

SPS CARE Team

• Serve on the SPS CARE Team including weekly meetings and after-hours administrator on-call rotation.
• In partnership with the Assistant Dean, develop follow-up support plans for impacted students.

Data, Assessment, and Strategy

• Lead data collection and reporting across all performance areas, ensuring data integrity and consistency to support timely, data-driven decision-making, strategic planning, and continuous improvement.
• Participate and contribute to school-wide cornerstone events including but not limited to New Student Orientation, Admitted Student Events, Graduation/Commencement, and others.

Supervision and Other

• Supervise professional staff and support their training and development
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned/requested

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree desirable
• 5 years related experience
• A resume and cover letter must be submitted for consideration

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree from an accredited institution in social work, counseling, higher education and student affairs, public health, or related field
• 7-10 years of experience in a specific student personnel position at a college or university
• Previous experience working with student conduct, student case management, emergency/crisis response, and basic needs support
• Ability to assess services and learning outcomes
• Ability to identify problems, use sound judgment and reasoning to make crucial decisions autonomously; Understanding of the application of FERPA, medical privacy guidelines, and other applicable laws and policies
• Experience in a supervisory role including the training and development of staff is strongly preferred

Other Requirements

• 5 years of related higher education, student affairs, or social work/counseling/public health experience
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholder groups, in a fast-paced collaborative environment
• Ability to take initiative and manage a variety of tasks and projects simultaneously, with impeccable attention to detail
• Effective writing, editing, proofreading and presentation skills; ability to write evidence-based correspondence and reports
• Demonstrate technical proficiency with data management software, and website management
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Handle confidential information and adhere to policies and procedures

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.