Fast Facts

The Associate Director of Holistic Student Supports will lead and implement innovative advising and support systems aimed at enhancing equitable student success across the ATD Network. This remote role emphasizes project management, collaboration, and sharing best practices in holistic support services.

Responsibilities: Develop and execute holistic student support initiatives, provide expert coaching to colleges, manage project timelines and grants, foster partnerships, and represent ATD at various events.

Skills: Strong project management and communication skills, experience in higher education or non-profits, with a focus on equity and culturally responsive practices.

Qualifications: Master’s degree and a minimum of five years' experience in relevant fields, preferably in community college settings.

Location: Remote, moderate travel required to support organizational needs.

Compensation: $105000 - $115000 / Annually

Associate Director, Holistic Student Supports 

Position Details: 

Position Type: 

Full Time, Exempt 

Reports To: 

Director, Advising and Holistic Student Supports 

Work Location: 

Remote 

Level of Travel Required: 

Moderate travel per department and organizational needs 

Job Overview: 

The Associate Director of Holistic Student Supports (AD HSS) plays a pivotal role in advancing student-centered advising and holistic support systems across the ATD Network and beyond. This position is responsible for developing and implementing high-impact practices in advising and holistic student support services. The AD HSS will support the development and implementation of innovative holistic student support initiatives and services, equipping colleges with tools and resources to enhance advising and basic needs supports to drive equitable student success. This role involves managing projects, providing expert coaching, fostering partnerships, and sharing insights through publications and presentations to advance holistic student support across the ATD Network and beyond. The AD HSS reports to the Director of Advising and Holistic Student Supports and serves as a key member of the Network Engagement team, contributing to ATD’s growth and impact. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

Develop ATD’s Holistic Student Supports Portfolio (30%) 

• Assist in shaping and executing the strategic direction for holistic student support programs, driving innovation and enhancing impact across ATD Network colleges and the broader educational field. 
• Develop and curate a robust suite of holistic student support services and assets, ensuring colleges have access to research-backed strategies that drive equitable outcomes for diverse student populations. 
• Design, implement, and evaluate holistic student support tools and resources, ensuring data-driven improvements that enhance advising, wraparound services, basic needs, and equitable student success strategies. 
• Advance ATD’s leadership in holistic student supports by publishing articles, blogs, grant-related publications and delivering presentations at in-person and virtual events to share insights and best practices in the field. 

Direct Support to Colleges (30%) 

• Provide expert coaching and capacity-building support to colleges, empowering institutions to implement innovative and inclusive student support models that foster engagement, leadership, and institutional transformation. 
• Support assessment efforts to understand the needs of ATD Network colleges, identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen institutional capacity in holistic student supports. 
• Support the strategic direction and dissemination of holistic student support best practices across the Network and the broader field. 
• Foster cross-team collaboration within ATD and ensure holistic student support efforts are seamlessly integrated into broader organizational initiatives to support colleges in their transformation journeys.

Project Management (20%) 

• Manage project timelines, budgets, contracts, and deliverables, ensuring full compliance with operational, financial, and reporting requirements while proactively addressing challenges to maintain progress with grants and contracts. 
• Coordinate technical assistance on assigned grant initiatives and projects, including cataloging reports and evaluations, synthesizing findings, drafting compliance reports, and collaborating with the ATD communications team to share insights and results widely. 
• Assist in planning and providing on-site support to project-related events, including college site visits and other face-to-face convenings. 
• Support the team in planning, execution, and facilitating holistic student support convenings and institutes, including dedicated sessions at the annual DREAM conference, to foster knowledge-sharing and professional learning. 

Partner Management (10%) 

• Lead and coordinate external grant and contract relationships, ensuring seamless implementation and measurable impact while aligning with organizational goals and funding requirements. 
• Develop and maintain partnerships with key organizations and vendors, leveraging collaborations to enhance ATD’s holistic student support services and expand its reach in the field, particularly as it relates to grants and contracts. 
• Represent ATD as a thought leader in holistic student supports, sharing expertise at national, regional, and local convenings to elevate best practices in advising, retention, and equitable student success models. 
• Create and maintain strong partnerships with internal and external partners to align HSS service delivery with the strategic goals of the organization.

Additional Responsibilities (10%) 

• Actively serve on internal committees/teams to contribute to ATD’s strategy implementation. 
• Enhance ATD Network engagement by supporting key initiatives and fostering collaboration.
• Design, organize, and facilitate high-quality sessions at the annual DREAM conference, driving thought leadership and engagement.
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Skills/Qualifications/Experience: 

• Master’s degree required, preferably in field related to education, social sciences, instructional design or public policy. 
• Minimum five years' experience in program and project management, grant management, higher education, or non-profits. 
• Experience working in a community college environment is preferred.
• High-level project management skills including problem-solving abilities, facilitation, analytical thinking, and ability to drive resolution.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and ability to communicate crucial information up, down, and across. 
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and culturally responsive practices.
• Ability to work productively in both team and independent settings; ability to build strong and trusting relationships among ATD colleagues, external partners, and others to achieve buy-in and shared understanding. 
• Self-motivated and disciplined with capacity to be highly productive working under pressure and within time constraints. 
• Flexibility and a tolerance for ambiguity. 
• Strong technology skills, particularly in Microsoft Office 365 Suite, Salesforce, and Canvas, with a capacity to quickly learn new platforms.

Core Competencies: 

Collaboration: Demonstrates respect, humility, and willingness to collaborate when seeking to understand others and making decisions. 

Equity Mindset: Demonstrates capacity to recognize and address racialized structures, policies, and practices that produce and sustain racial inequities. 

Learning Orientation: Embraces challenges, new ideas and different perspectives as an opportunity to learn; continually seeks out and applies new learning to activate change or improvements. 

Systems Thinking: Defines the system and one’s role in the system. Sees relationships and the dynamic elements of the holistic system and executes work accordingly. Influences the system and maps connections to ATD’s external landscape. 

Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. 

Equal Opportunity Employer: 

Achieving the Dream is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse work environment. Employment policies and decisions are based upon merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally- protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.