Assistant Director First-Year Success Inaugural Position
Mesa Community College invites applications for and seeks a strategic student-centered leader to serve as its first inaugural Assistant Director of First-Year Success. This inaugural leadership role will design, launch, and institutionalize a comprehensive first-year program that supports students from entry through the completion of their first year.
This position represents a critical investment in the colleges long-term student success and enrollment stability strategy. The position will build the program from the ground up-coordinating multiple first-year initiatives and new student orientation, supporting early alert and intervention for first-year students, and supervising retention coaches-while aligning academic and student support services to ensure a strong, equitable start for all students.
Position Overview
Reporting to the Director of Academic Advising or designee, the Assistant Director of First-Year Success provides college-wide strategic and operational leadership for first-year experience, new-student orientation, early academic momentum, and retention initiatives. As an inaugural role, this position requires a leader who can translate vision into operational reality, build cross-functional partnerships, and establish sustainable structures, processes, and assessment practices.
The Assistant Director will collaborate closely with Academic Affairs, faculty leadership, Enrollment Services, Institutional Research, Information Technology, and Student Affairs units to ensure first-year success is embedded as a shared institutional responsibility. The role has a substantial impact on the success of college-wide first-year initiatives and provides oversight and management of signature first-year programs and leading a team of retention specialist positions.
Key Responsibilities
Design and implement a comprehensive first-year success framework, including vision, goals, new-student orientation, onboarding, early-term retention milestones, and strategies, and measurable outcomes aligned with guided pathways principles.
Build program infrastructure from the ground up, including staffing models, workflows, communication strategies, and assessment processes.
Coordinate and continuously improve new student orientation and related transition programming.
Lead and align first-year programming, such as success workshops, seminars, learning communities, and engagement initiatives.
Support the operationalization and scaling of retention and early alert systems for first-year students, integrating academic progress monitoring, case management, intervention escalation protocols, and coordinating timely outreach and intervention with faculty advisors and support services.
Partner with academic leadership and faculty to embed first-year success strategies into gateway courses and programs.
Lead cross-functional collaboration across divisions, Academic Affairs, Student Services, Enrollment Management, Institutional Research, to align onboarding, advising, and support services for new students.
Use quantitative and qualitative data dashboards and KPIs to assess first-year outcomes and guide continuous improvement.
Develop and produce assessment reports, accreditation evidence, and executive-level summaries demonstrating institutional effectiveness.
Supervise, train, and evaluate retention coaches, ensuring consistent proactive and equity-minded coaching practices to support first-year and new-student success initiatives while fostering accountability, consistency, and professional growth.
Ensure first-year programs are equity-minded, student-centered, and scalable, with attention to diverse student populations, including first-generation adult and historically underserved students.
Represent first-year success initiatives in college-wide planning, enrollment management, and accreditation activities.
Essential Functions
All Student Affairs positions require consistent full-on-site attendance and engagement as an essential job function, in order to provide in-person student affairs services, including but not limited to student advising, support services, case management, programming, student walk-in services, daily operational support, and collaboration, etc.-which precludes remote or hybrid work options for any Student Affairs role, regardless of position classification.
Leadership
Participate in developing departmental strategic plans based on department goals.
Develop, implement, assess, and manage student engagement and transition programs, policies, and procedures for MCC students, first-year student success initiatives.
Manage activities related to the first-year academic advising program, including determining and overseeing advisor-advisee caseloads, ratios, and student assignments, re-assignments in PeopleSoft.
Work closely with the Dean and Director to develop impactful resources to support academic, social, and professional development of first-year students.
Create, deliver, and evaluate quality first-year programming activities for students in both seated and online modalities.
Develop and lead retention-based outreach programs to currently enrolled students in coordination with division leadership.
Compile and present data-informed proposals and recommendations regarding immediate and long-range planning for advising and retention efforts.
Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of advisement delivered by first-year undergraduate advisors to students, conducting data analysis projects, implementing assessment initiatives, and enriching advising and case management.
Work across divisions to engage key constituents to design and deliver programmatic content in support of student success, retention, and meaningful faculty-student engagement.
Create effective ongoing planning and relational partnerships to support first-year student success initiatives with academic units within the college.
Partner with internal and external stakeholders to deliver value-added programs and services to support the delivery of exceptional experiences to first-year students.
Collaborate with faculty regarding the First-Year Experience (FYE) courses to ensure relevant learning objectives and outcomes are as expected.
Collaborate with faculty to address first-year experience courses, orientation, summer bridge programming, and similar initiatives.
Demonstrate assessment technique and continuous improvement efforts through the development and submission of an annual assessment plan and report for the Office of First-Year Experience in accordance with the Institutional Effectiveness Policy.
Interview, hire, train, and supervise retention coach positions, developing and implementing onboard training, cross-training, professional development opportunities, and continuous feedback to advisors through the evaluation process.
Ability to act in the absence of the Director of Academic Advising and assist with projects and program quality improvements.
Program Operation Implementation
Design and implement a comprehensive first-year success framework, including vision, goals, new-student orientation, onboarding, early-term retention milestones, and strategies, and measurable outcomes aligned with guided pathways principles.
Build program infrastructure from the ground up, with continuous improvement strategies, including staffing models, workflows, communication strategies, and assessment processes.
Coordinate and continuously improve new student orientation and related transition programming.
Lead and align first-year programming, such as success workshops, seminars, learning communities, and engagement initiatives.
Support the operationalization and scaling of retention and early alert systems for first-year students, integrating academic progress monitoring, case management, intervention escalation protocols, and coordinating timely outreach and intervention with faculty advisors and support services.
Partner with academic leadership and faculty to embed first-year success strategies into gateway courses and programs.
Lead cross-functional collaboration across divisions, Academic Affairs, Student Services, Enrollment Management, Institutional Research, to align onboarding, advising, and support services for new students.
Use quantitative and qualitative data dashboards and KPIs to assess first-year outcomes and guide continuous improvement.
Develop and produce assessment reports, accreditation evidence, and executive-level summaries demonstrating institutional effectiveness.
Supervise, train, and evaluate retention coaches, ensuring consistent proactive and equity-minded coaching practices to support first-year and new-student success initiatives while fostering accountability, consistency, and professional growth.
Ensure first-year programs are equity-minded, student-centered, and scalable, with attention to diverse student populations, including first-generation adult and historically underserved students.
Represent first-year success initiatives in college-wide planning, enrollment management, and accreditation activities.
Compliance
Monitor compliance with all unit, department, college, and government standards, policies, and procedures.
Ensure compliance and follow understand and adhere to federal, state, District Office, and institutional regulations, laws, policies.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by accreditation agencies, school policies, and administrative regulations.
Utilize relevant, appropriate, and approved systems to communicate and monitor student interaction and progress.
Monitor compliance and reporting standards and remain abreast of district, state, and federal regulations. Maintain student confidentiality, including accurate and confidential records.
Manage complex and sensitive issues with compassion and confidentiality.
Contribute toward creating a positive and respectful workplace.
Use access to sensitive and/or not yet public college-related information only in the performance of the responsibilities of the position and exercise care to prevent unnecessary disclosure to others.
Prepare accurate reports and documentation as required and requested.
Track and monitor federal grants, prepare and monitor department budgets, and other related budgets and operations.
Ensure students have equal access to MCCs curricular and co-curricular activities. Support students and counsel them to better understand their MCC experience.
Other
Serve on various executive boards, college, and district committees, including locally, regionally, and nationally, as designated, and participate in meetings and conferences.
Responsible for other reasonable, related duties as assigned, commensurate to the grade level of the position.