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University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Assistant Director of Fellowships - Division of Student Success - UTK
Edtech.com's Summary
University of Tennessee, Knoxville is hiring an Assistant Director of Fellowships - Division of Student Success - UTK. The role advises undergraduates through nationally competitive fellowship applications, serving as the lead on the Fulbright US Student Grant process in the Undergraduate Research & Fellowships office. The assistant director works alongside the office's director, associate director, and faculty and staff partners to recruit, mentor, and prepare strong candidates.
Highlights
- Lead the Fulbright US Student Grant process by setting the strategy, timeline, and internal review process, and advise a large caseload of applicants from recruitment through submission.
- Manage a portfolio of additional awards, which may include the Goldwater, Knight-Hennessy, Schwarzman, and Marshall, working with applicants on their written application components.
- Teach a 1-credit course each spring on completing competitive applications, focused primarily on the Fulbright.
- Lead student review panels for nominations and give the associate director and director objective feedback on which candidates advance for top awards.
- Build Canvas sites that set uniform advising standards for the office, and design and run writing workshops and retreats for large applicant cohorts.
- Recruit candidates by building relationships with faculty, departments, and student-supporting offices across campus, including underrepresented colleges, and by speaking at campus events and class sessions.
- Supervise one URF Coach, contribute to the office's annual reports and data collection for several hundred fellowship applicants, and support peak-season events such as Discovery Day and EUReCA.
- Master's degree and 2-3 years of professional experience supporting the academic development of college or high school students, with experience teaching writing and superior written communication skills.
- Preferred qualifications include a doctoral degree and experience advising nationally competitive fellowship applicants; applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
- On-site position in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Assistant Director of Fellowships - Division of Student Success - UTK Full Description
Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (URF) is responsible for UT's centralized undergraduate research programming and nationally competitive fellowships student support services. URF's work is grounded in a belief that undergraduate research and the pursuit of competitive fellowships can activate, for all students, purposeful exploration through which they can develop key skills, cultivate strengths, and expand, clarify, and strategically pursue their goals and unique vision for improving their communities, from the campus to the global.
The Assistant Director (Fellowships) will work alongside the Assistant Director (Research), the Associate Director and the Director, as well as its numerous faculty and staff partners, in service of one of URF’s objectives: to identify, advise, mentor, and develop a robust pool of candidates for nationally and internationally competitive awards. The Assistant Director should possess a demonstrated commitment to working effectively with high-achieving students and faculty across academic fields and backgrounds, as well as superior skill in writing, rhetoric, and composition, as evidenced by literary, journalistic, or scholarly publications and/or successful grant applications. The Assistant Director will also spearhead activities to further raise awareness of nationally competitive awards among students, faculty, and staff.
Responsibilities
Management of Competitive Application Processes and Applicants
Serve as the primary lead on the Fulbright US Student Grant application process by setting a strategy, timeline, and internal review process. Work with the Director, Associate Director, and other team members to ensure all applicants have access to advising resources. Advise a significant caseload from recruitment through submission, including leading students through grant/country selection, managing one-on-one and cohort-based review processes, and developing/refining written application components. Management also includes building strong relationships with faculty/staff recommenders to encourage timely completion of all recommendations and language evaluations, as well as creating creative, often in-the-moment solutions to common student roadblocks to successful application submission.
Teach a 1-credit course each spring focused on successful application completion and focused primarily on the Fulbright US Student Grant.
Using strong student advising, project management skills, and a Clifton Strengths-based approach, manage or a portfolio of awards from recruitment through submission. Awards may include CLS, Goldwater, Knight-Hennessy, Schwarzman, Marshall, or other awards, based on preferences and experience. Assistant Director is responsible for process/student management from start to finish, identifying key characteristics of successful applicants for each award, strategizing to determine effective recruitment efforts at a large (R1) institution, establishing relationships with faculty and student groups from which to recruit, meeting regularly with applicants to lead competitive application development, and leading students through the submission process.
Lead student review panels to make difficult decisions regarding student nominations; provide insightful, objective feedback regarding student progress to the Associate Director and Director to facilitate important decisions regarding the advancement of candidates for top awards.
Use creativity, student-centered design, and prior experience to envision, build, evaluate, and manage multiple Canvas sites to develop uniform advising standards for the Office. Lead the office in researching and advancing strategies for the successful management of large application cohorts.
Envision, design, lead, and evaluate writing workshops, writing retreats, and other student-facing support to successfully manage large cohorts.
Management of Pipeline Development and Communications
Develop, maintain, and expand strong relationships with faculty, departments, and student-supporting offices across campus to recruit and retain top fellowship candidates. This may include building existing relationships, but it will often involve identifying underrepresented colleges or departments, creating outreach strategies, establishing new contacts, and expanding the reach of the office through careful and considered promotion of Office functions.
Attend and speak at campus events, class sessions, department meetings, and other venues to promote awards and the ongoing student development benefits of applying for competitive awards.
Work with office and campus partners to create and maintain a robust pipeline of future applicants.
Office Leadership and Support
Supervise one URF Coach including mentorship, development, and annual reviews. Collaborate closely with Assistant Director of Research and second URF coach. During times of high-volume activity, position may supervise a part-time seasonal employee.
Provide URF office-wide support as needed, especially during peak seasons. For example, the Assistant Director will lead or participate in written candidate evaluations and nomination letters, mock interviews, and major campus events, including Discovery Day and EUReCA.
Support the URF office sponsored grant processes each term, reviewing and scoring applications
Contribute to URF mid-year and annual reports. Aid in decision-making regarding data collection, evaluation metrics, and reporting strategies.
Manage data collection and data maintenance for several hundred fellowship applicants annually.
Encourage and support completion of the Vol Edge for all undergraduates.
Serve as a leader in positive office and divisional culture
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Education:
Master’s Degree
Experience:
2-3 years of professional experience supporting the academic pursuits and intellectual development of college or high school students. Examples of relevant professional experience include, but are not limited to, teaching positions or advising experience in the context of fellowships, study abroad, honors, undergraduate research, writing support, TRiO programs, or academic or career services. Graduate assistantships in a relevant area noted above, and postgraduate experience working, studying, teaching, and/or conducting research abroad, such as through a nationally competitive fellowship (e.g., Fulbright), can be considered as part of a candidate's body of relevant professional experience.
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
- Experience teaching writing in 1-on-1 and/or group/workshop settings
- Superior skill in written communication
- Experience with public speaking and/or teaching
- Experience exercising sound judgment/discretion/confidentiality
- Demonstrated ability to work well and remain composed under pressure during high-volume times of the year
- Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
Doctoral Degree
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
- Experience advising nationally competitive fellowship applicants
- Knowledge of experiential learning in a higher education context, such as international education, undergraduate research, service-learning, and internships
- Demonstrated ability to take direction, initiate action, develop ideas, and work as a collaborative team member
- Experience creating, updating, and maintaining resources/documents/virtual courses in support of student writing and/or development
- Demonstrated ability to effectively challenge, support, and develop rapport with talented students across all disciplines and career interests
- Experience using Microsoft Office suite
- Experience using Canvas
Work Location
Location: Knoxville, TN
Onsite
Compensation and Benefits
UT market range: MR10
Anticipated hiring range:
Application Instructions
To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments. To be assured of full consideration, completed applications with all requested materials should be submitted.
- Resume
- Cover Letter
EEO/AA Statement / Non-Discrimination Statement
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.
Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), ADA (disability), ADEA (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the (EEO). Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the EEO office.
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