The Office of Undergraduate Studies seeks a Director of Foster Youth Futures who will provide leadership, management, and coordination of two programs: First Star Academy and Impact Scholars. The person in this position will join an equity-centered suite of community engagement and access programs, including prison education, Native and Indigenous engagement, rural programming, and the College Advising Corps. Applicants should have extensive knowledge of, experience with, and commitment to student access, success, completion, and equity in higher education.

Reporting to the Assistant Dean of College Access Initiatives, the Director will be responsible for managing, growing, and providing vision for First Star Academy and Impact Scholars. These two programs provide academic and co-curricular support for youth experiencing foster care and postsecondary students with experiences in foster care throughout the state of Utah. The incoming Director will be charged with growing the overall participation in these programs, developing a comprehensive recruitment and referral strategy, providing guidance for and mentoring of staff, and pursuing external funding. This position is contingent upon future funding, with the initial period being two (2) years.

Pay Rate Range

$68,000/yr. to $80,000/yr

Responsibilities

The Director will join a team of knowledgeable and dedicated practitioners and will be responsible for the following:

• Manage and provide leadership for two programs and at least 4 full-time staff, with additional part-time staff during the summer
• Collaborate with Program Managers to leverage experience for decision-making processes.
• Identify, build, and strengthen partnerships throughout the state
• Resolve problems of inefficiency and remove unnecessary obstacles that prevent the elevation of more effective pathway efforts
• Develop a plan for evaluating the impact of foster youth pathway efforts in consultation with Undergraduate Studies Analytics team
• Write and edit program-related publications and reports, deliver presentations, and communicate with invested stakeholders about programming
• Identify, apply for, and manage extramural funding to support programs and future growth.
• Collaborate on efforts to design the overall vision, mission, and strategy for Foster Youth Pathway success
• Manage all aspects of program’s budgets, including makes spending decisions within budget guidelines
• Ensure that all relevant policies and procedures are followed by programming staff, with attention toward requirements for working with minors
• Oversee all aspects of staff resource management including recruitment, development, performance evaluation, and retention

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a related area, or equivalency (one year of education can be substituted for two years of related work experience); eight years of progressively more responsible management experience; and demonstrated leadership, human relations and effective communications skills required.

Master’s degree in a related area preferred.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

The Director will bring many of the following qualifications, professional experiences, and personal attributes:

• A demonstrated commitment to educational equity and a clear and sophisticated understanding of the relationship among systemic oppression, opportunity, and access to quality higher education in the United States for foster youth
• At least three years’ experience with management of college access and success programming.
• Deep understanding of and preferred working experience with Utah’s Division of Health and Human Services
• Experience with successfully overseeing a diverse group of people, including, direct supervision of staff and providing effective leadership and mentorship to professionals.
• Effectiveness in managing operating budgets, forecasting, and spending
• Experience and success in identifying and securing extramural funding
• Knowledge of and experience with evaluation of college access programs, including empirically based effective practices
• The ability to articulate and lead the discourse and branding around pre-collegiate access efforts for the Office of Undergraduate Studies
• Experience with successful collaboration with multiple units on and off campus
• Evidence of successful fundraising and budgeting for a similarly complex organization with advanced familiarity and success in grant cycle processes
• Excellent attention to detail and timelines, the ability to see the bigger picture, and build new and orient current efforts toward larger goals

Special Instructions

The following documents are required: Cover letter, Resume or CV, Philosophy Statement, two letters of recommendation that specifically speak to qualifications.

• Cover letter addressing the following (no more than 2 pages): Desire for the position, relevant qualifications, and approaches to decision-making.
• Writing Statement (no more than 1 page): Provide an educational vision for foster youth access and success in Utah.
• The names and contact information for two references who can speak to professional qualifications.

Questions about the position can be directed to Erin L. Castro, PhD: erin.castro@utah.edu.

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