Director, Office of Community Engagement and Access

Job Summary

The Office of Community Engagement and Access at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law seeks to foster a supportive, welcoming environment for all Law School community members. It focuses on building partnerships amongst the student body, staff, faculty, and alumni, while also maintaining an intellectually rigorous environment in which varying viewpoints are explored, shared, and debated. In addition, the Office of Community Engagement and Access facilitates programs, events, and resources that engage community members and external partners.

Department: Law Student Services
Salary/Grade: EXS/10

The Director of Community Engagement and Access has primary responsibility for supporting the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access in advancing the strategic goals of the Office of Community Engagement and Access. Among other responsibilities, the Director will collaborate with student affinity organizations in the development and execution of programming, establish and build relationships with internal and external partners, develop pipeline programs for prospective students, develop programming and initiatives for current students, staff, and faculty aimed at building community within the law school environment, counsel students with respect to personal, academic, and career-related challenges, participate in student recruitment initiatives, manage fellowship programs for current students, lead programming designed for admitted and incoming students, and engage in strategic planning.

• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access in developing and refining a strategic plan for the Office of Community Engagement and Access.
• Evaluate efficacy of programming/processes and recommend process improvements and programmatic changes.
• Assist with management of quarterly and annual budget processes, reconciliation of discrepancies, and tracking of financial transactions.

• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access on the development and delivery of programming and trainings for incoming, admitted, and current students.
• Assist with management of the Office of Community Engagement and Access student fellowship programs, including the application process, selection process, orientation, and supervision of fellows.
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access, as well as other Law School departments and external partners, on the development and delivery of strategic pipeline initiatives for prospective students.
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access, the Human Resources Department, and staff organizations on the development and execution of programming for staff focused community building.

• Advise the Law School’s student affinity organizations.
• Manage the Office of Community Engagement and Access co-sponsorship process and various gift card programs.
• Serve as an advisor to individual students on personal issues, curricular and educational decisions, academic progress and performance, and career objectives.
• Liaise with the Law School’s alumni affinity groups.

• Identify opportunities for strategic partnerships.
• Develop and cultivate relationships with internal and external partners.
• Liaise with other Law School departments with respect to issues relating to community engagement.
• Oversee design and maintenance of Office of Community Engagement and Access website.

• Oversee the development and management of a summit for Northwestern Alumni and other legal and business industry leaders, including concepting the conference, guest selection and invitations, event coordination and planning, speaker selection and retention, programming curation, and execution; facilitate the development of post-summit networking groups among attendees.
• Review and approve event plans, programming concepts, and supervise execution to ensure that overall goals and objectives are attained.

• Ensure regular communication with supervisor regarding status of programs, events, and initiatives.
• Supervise program assistant.

Miscellaneous
Performs other duties as assigned.

• Graduate degree in higher education or other relevant discipline.
• Evidence of success working in the law school setting, including experience developing and executing innovative and high-quality programming.
• 5 years of legal, higher education, or comparable experience.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain strong interpersonal relationships with students, staff, faculty, alumni, legal professionals, and the public.
• Proven ability to exercise initiative and judgment in coordinating and executing various programs to serve the best interest of all relevant constituencies.
• Must be self-directed and willing to identify and assume new responsibilities as the needs of the Law School change and grow.
• Must be willing to travel and, when…