Senior Director, Advising and Engagement

The University is located in Denver, Colorado, a city known for its dynamic blend of business, innovation and world-class recreation. Denver is consistently ranked by Forbes and Kiplingers Magazine as one of the top cities for young professionals and recent college graduates. The University of Denver is a private institution founded in 1864. It serves a population of more than 5,200 undergraduate and 6,200 graduate students as a research-intensive institution. The beautiful campus is located approximately seven miles from downtown with easy access to public transportation. With a long tradition of excellence and innovation, the Daniels College of Business prepares students to succeed in a dynamic, changing world. We are a high-achieving community of students, staff and faculty that inspires one another to think in new ways, perform at higher levels, and transform organizations and communities. Daniels is ranked among the top business schools and is the only business school in Colorado to receive rankings and recognition from BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report and Forbes. The Daniels College of Business (DCB) offers a variety of baccalaureate, graduate, PhD and certificate programs which are detailed at https://daniels.du.edu/ Position Summary The Senior Director of Advising and Engagement provides strategic leadership for student-facing advising and engagement efforts within the Daniels College of Business at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This role leads the advising and engagement team and oversees advising strategy, retention initiatives, transition support, proactive student outreach, and advising-related engagement for business majors, minors, certificates, and graduate programs. The Senior Director serves as a key leader and representative of Daniels College of Business to academic departments, faculty, the Registrar’s Office, Office of Graduate Education, Alumni Engagement, and other campus partners. They serve on committees on behalf of the College, to collaborate and strategize for student success at a central level. To stay aligned with the student experience, this position maintains a minimal academic advising caseload of undergraduate and/or graduate students. The Senior Director ensures a consistent, student-centered advising model that supports academic progress, belonging, persistence, retention, and timely degree completion. This position is embedded within the Daniels College of Business Student Success Center, which serves as an integrated hub for academic advising, student engagement, career readiness, experiential learning, and student support. Essential Functions Strategic Leadership and Student Success • Provide strategic leadership for advising and engagement efforts serving undergraduate and graduate students within Daniels. • Develop and implement advising strategies that support retention, persistence, belonging, student engagement, and timely degree completion. • Participate in strategic planning, development, and management processes in support of undergraduate and graduate student services. • Serve on campus, college, and graduate committees as requested. • Promote the student experience through advocacy, academic support, mentoring, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and intentional student engagement. • Assess advising and engagement outcomes and use data to inform improvements to advising practices, student outreach, and retention initiatives. Team Leadership and Management • Lead, supervise, and develop the advising and engagement team. • Supervise the Director of Advising and Engagement as well as the Associate Director, of Advising Operations and Academic Planning. • Hire, retain, develop, delegate to, and ensure collaboration among directors, associate directors, assistant directors, senior academic advisors and all within the immediate unit’s team. • Design and implement departmental redundancies to ensure continuity of student services and train team members on their execution and value. • Provide escalation support for complex student concerns and advise on academic policy as needed. • Determine graduate assistant assignments in partnership with Graduate Admissions and academic departments. Advising, Engagement, and Student Support • Design, manage, coordinate, plan, and execute student services activities for undergraduate and graduate students. • Oversee advising and student services for the four-year academic and co-curricular experience for undergraduate business majors and minors. • Support the graduate student journey from admission and transition through continued enrollment and completion. • Lead proactive outreach and transition support for new, continuing, admitted, and deposited students. • Partner with Graduate Admissions on admitted and deposited student strategy, transition programming, and retention efforts. • Partner with Undergraduate Admission on summer melt initiatives and strategies, and any orientations implements for the incoming class. • Support engagement efforts tied specifically to advising, belonging, persistence, and student success. Academic Operations and Policy Support * Assist college and university units with academic processes, including: o Graduation certifications o Preliminary graduation reviews o Course substitutions o Transfer credit evaluations o Course scheduling o Extensions and petitions o Academic deficiency notifications for Graduate Students * Display agility in interpreting, assimilating, and communicating yearly curriculum changes and updates implemented by Daniels and other campus units. * Partner with academic departments on degree plans, curriculum updates, exceptions, academic policy, and student progression needs. * Support bulletin changes and updates related to certificate programs, concentrations, dual degrees, and related academic offerings. * Ensure compliance with federal guidelines, accreditation requirements, University of Denver policies, and Daniels academic standards. Collaboration and Cross-Functional Partnership * Build and foster collaborative relationships within the Daniels Student Success Center and broadly across the college, including Career Services, Experiential Learning, Student Wellness and Support, Office of Communication and Marketing, Executive Education, and other student-centered units. * Partner with programmatic teams, including MBA Programs and other graduate program areas, to enhance Daniels culture and student success. * Collaborate with faculty, campus partners, and internal leaders on advising-related student success needs. * Work closely with the Associate Director Academic Planning and Operations to align student needs with academic operations, course planning, and student progression. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities • Ability to work independently under general direction. • High interpersonal skills. • Ability to lead and collaborate effectively in a team-based environment. • High understanding of advising-intensive, student-centered, and co-curricular program operations. • Able to navigate or learn Banner, Degree Works (audit), Salesforce, Airtable, and additional technological tools. • Strong organizational, planning, and communication skills. • Ability to quickly read, understand, and correct student degree audits. • Ability to identify student needs and customize responses accordingly. • Ability to manage multiple functions simultaneously without sacrificing quality or accuracy. Required Qualifications • Master’s degree in higher education, counseling, education, business, or a related field. • Ten to Twelve (10-12) years of experience in advising, student success, student services, or a related area in higher education. • Supervisory experience in a student-facing environment. • Demonstrated experience in retention, advising strategy, student support, and student success initiatives Preferred Qualifications * Experience in managing the entire undergraduate student life-cycle. * Fifteen to twenty (15-20) years professional experience in multiple settings in higher education, including student life-cycle and relationship management in a college/university setting. * Proven record of development and deployment of innovative and effective student services initiates based on industry best practices. * Author industry publications Working Environment • In-person with options for remote work based on larger university and college policies • Standard office environment • Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate • Noise level is quiet to moderate • Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time • Occasionally required to move about the office/campus Physical Activities * Standard office environment * Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate * Noise level is quiet to moderate * Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time. * Occasionally required to move about the office/campus Work Schedule Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on division and team-specific needs. Application Deadline For consideration, please submit your application materials by 12:00 p.m. (MST) August 27, 2026. Special Instructions Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu [https://jobs.du.edu/en-us/listing/] to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted. Salary Grade Number: The salary grade for the position is 14. Salary: The salary for this position is $100,000. The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status. Benefits: The University of Denver offers excellent benefits [https://www.du.edu/sites/default/files/2026-02/Benefits%20Overview-Benefited%20Employees_FINAL_2.9.2026.pdf], including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver [https://www.du.edu/]. Please include the following documents with your application: 1. Resume The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement [https://www.du.edu/equalopportunity/non-discrimination-statement]. All offers of employment are based upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history and National Sex Offender Registry background check.

The Senior Director provides strategic leadership for student-facing advising and engagement efforts across undergraduate and graduate programs within the Daniels College of Business. This role manages the advising team, oversees retention and student success initiatives, and collaborates with campus partners to ensure academic progress and degree completion.

Candidates must possess a Master's degree in higher education, counseling, business, or a related field. A minimum of 10-12 years of experience in higher education student services and demonstrated supervisory experience are required.

• Medical • Dental • Retirement • Paid time off • Tuition benefit • Eco pass

• Data analysisPreferred
• Project managementPreferred

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Strategic leadership
• Student advising
• Team management
• Retention strategies
• Academic planning
• Data analysis
• Student outreach
• Interpersonal skills
• Project management
• Communication skills
• Banner
• Degree works
• Salesforce
• Airtable
• Policy interpretation
• Mentoring
• Student Services
• Academic Advising
• Relationship Management
• Supervision
• Time Off Management
• Advocacy
• Planning
• Research
• Academic Standards
• Auditing
• Service Innovation
• Management
• Strategic Planning
• Communication
• Experiential Learning
• Leadership
• Higher Education
• Marketing
• Innovation
• Interpersonal Communications
• Leadership Development
• Mentorship
• Rehabilitation
• Operations
• Strategic Leadership
• Student-Centred Learning
• Student Engagement
• Team Leadership
• Scheduling
• Collaboration
• Master Of Business Administration (MBA)
• Persistence
• Advising

• Education
• Management & Leadership
• Administrative
• Engagement Director
• Director of Student Affairs
• Education Managers
• Education Administrators, Postsecondary

Minimum education

Master’s degree

Minimum experience

10+ years

Posting language

English

Working hours

40 hours per week