Director for Advising/Rural Projects – HigherEdJobs

Salary: $80,821.00 Annually

Location: Aberdeen, WA

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Number: 00757

Department: Student Services

Closing Date: 4/6/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Description

Grays Harbor College is now accepting applications for a Director of Advising/Rural Projects. The Director will join a team of professionals making transformative moves to improve college access, academic success, and graduation of rural students for the community. The Director will take a lead role in ensuring the successful implementation of our approved 4-year federal grant, which includes leadership for the Advising & Counseling Center along with the coordination of outreach and recruitment activities to rural communities. The focus of the grant is to serve rural students located throughout the college services district, which includes both Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. The Director will be responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating all project activities and personnel and providing direct services to participants. This position reports to the Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management.

This is a full-time, grant-funded position. Continued employment will be contingent on the availability of grant funds. Grays Harbor College has an excellent benefits package to include medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, primary and supplemental retirement programs and long-term disability insurance. Full-time employees will also receive 15.34 hours of vacation leave per month, 8 hours of sick leave per month and 4 personal leave days a year. Washington state also observes 11 paid holidays per year. This position at Grays Harbor College has been designated as a bargaining unit position represented by the Grays Harbor College Federation of Teachers, Local 4984. The union and the college have a collective bargaining agreement (referred to as the contract) that is posted on the GHC website at https://www.ghc.edu/hr/labor-relations

Grays Harbor College serves the communities of Grays Harbor and Pacific counties on the Pacific coast of Washington. Located in Aberdeen, Washington at the base of the beautiful Olympic Peninsula, the College is less than an hour away from scenic Pacific Ocean beaches and close to both the Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks. Grays Harbor provides the perfect landscape to enjoy an abundance of excellent outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, biking, fishing, clam digging, surfing, boating, and various kayak/canoe paddling opportunities. Grays Harbor College is located on the ancestral lands of the Chehalis, Chinook, Quinault and Shoalwater Bay Peoples. For more information about working for the college and living in Grays Harbor visit https://www.ghc.edu/hr

Grays Harbor is committed to providing excellent educational opportunities. We prioritize student learning, promote student and faculty success, foster an inclusive environment, manage our resources, and connect with the community. We strive to create a culturally relevant environment on campus and in the community by learning and practicing equity-mindedness and promoting faculty, staff, and student diversity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

General Duties:

• Develop and maintain positive relationships and collaborations with community organizations, educational organizations, and campus units.

• Lead in the development, implementation, and evaluation of grant related events.

• Assists in the coordination and development of student success and educational access initiatives

• Submit purchase requests for budget and signature approval following local (campus), state and federal grant regulations.

• Give regular presentations on services and topics related to the position for internal and external stakeholders.

• Overnight travel, evening and weekend work may be required.

• Supervision of advising, counseling, placement testing, disability services, and outreach/rural grant staff.

• Active participant in the Student Services Administrative Team (SSALT).

• Assume additional duties as needed to further the College mission and meet the operational demands of the department.
• Administers federal grant and ensure the program(s) achieve their approved objectives by developing, implementing, supervising, and evaluating the strategies employed to meet each programs’ objectives in compliance with their approved proposal, federal legislation, regulations, and guidance; campus policies, and department protocols.

Supervision:

• Ensure student-centered scheduling and accuracy of services.

• Provide training on developing, implementing and monitoring policies and procedures that ensure compliance with institutional, state, and federal guidelines (e.g., ADA, FERPA).

• Oversee mental health and disability services to ensure availability, accessibility and appropriate referrals for students in crisis or in need.

• Develop strategies to improve retention, and completion rates through coordinated advising.

• Remain updated on state and institutional guidelines related to placement testing; delegate the management of placement testing to ensure proper administration.

• Oversee compliance with ADA and Section 504, including appropriate documentation, reporting and provide staff with sufficient training.

• Participate in the leadership team for EAB/Navigate, the advising tool used by the College

• Facilitate ongoing training for staff, address and resolve conflicts, maintain a student-centered approach within the department

• Recruit, train and supervise staff, ensuring clear role definitions, and performance expectations

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in counseling, education administration, student personnel, or related discipline

• Experience working with disadvantaged students and diverse populations

• Three (3) years of experience in an educational setting

• Project administration to include managing staff and budgets

• Knowledge of strategies for assessing the academic needs of rural limited-income and/or first-generation students.

• Experience working with first-generation students.

• History of developing and facilitating presentations to groups.

• At least two (2) years of supervising full-time staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in counseling, education administration, student personnel, or related discipline.

• Implementation of new projects.

• Five (5) years of experience working in an educational setting.

• Experience designing projects for high school populations.

• Experience with designing, managing and implementing federal programs.

• Knowledge of computerized databases.

• Experience with virtual tools for distance delivery education and Zoom and social media applications.

• Grant management experience.

• Fluent in Spanish (reading, writing, and speaking)

Supplemental Information

In addition to the GHC online Application you will need to submit the following materials. Incomplete applications will not be accepted or considered.

• Letter of application addressing your qualifications for the position.
• Resume
• Contact information for 3 professional references.
• Transcripts of all college work completed. Unofficial copies are acceptable, official copies will be required at time of hire.

Background checks – Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position. Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington State Law.

Grays Harbor College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or use of a trained guide dog or service animal, as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and ADA Amendment Act, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and Washington State’s Law Against Discrimination, Chapter 49.60 RCW and their implementing regulations. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Title II/Section 504 – Erin Tofte, Associate Vice President of Human Resources

Title IX Coordinator – Ashley Bowie-Gallegos, Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management

For further information on notice of non-discrimination, visit https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr for the address and phone number of the office that serves your area, or call 1-800-421-3481.