Assistant Director, Parent and Family Programs

Assistant Director, Parent and Family Programs

Xavier University is seeking a dedicated and mission‑driven Assistant Director for Parent & Family Programs. This role provides leadership, vision, and day‑to‑day coordination for initiatives that engage and support parents and family members as vital partners in student success. The Assistant Director plays an important role in advancing Xavier’s commitment to belonging, engagement, and student development by creating meaningful opportunities for families to connect with the University community during key transition points and throughout the student experience.

• Facilitate orientation programming for more than 2,000 parents and family members during Manresa New Student Orientation.
• Coordinate and execute family weekend programming serving more than 4,000 family members.
• Create a Parent Ambassador Program focused on parent volunteerism, engagement events, and community building.
• Seek innovative and creative programming initiatives to engage family members in the Xavier community, particularly during key transition moments.
• Collaborate with university marketing to create targeted family communications including a family calendar, newsletter, video/webinar series, and more.
• Serve as the main point of contact for questions and concerns through phone, email, and social media communications.
• Coordinate a referrals system to other Xavier departments or services.
• Collaborate effectively with student support services such as Residence Life, Care & Support, Counseling & Health Services, Campus Police, Office of Advising & Learning Support, etc.
• Serve as a campus‑wide consultant on parent & family engagement, advising departments on best practices for working effectively with families.
• Advocate for family perspectives in institutional planning while maintaining professional boundaries and student‑centered decision‑making.
• Partner with Marketing & Communications and Advancement to create accurate and usable parent and family data access and management.
• Build partnerships with campus offices including Athletics, Center for International Education, Strategic Enrollment Management, and University Advancement to develop family‑specific programming.
• Consult professional associations and cultivate relationships with other universities with strong parent & family programming.
• Promote and serve as representative of the Office of Student Involvement, Gallagher Student Center, Commuter Services, Student Affairs and Xavier University.
• Contribute to departmental and divisional programming, event planning, and assessment efforts.
• Support divisional teams, committees, and work groups.
• Serve on university‑wide teams, committees, task forces, and work groups as assigned.

• Master’s degree required in Higher Education Administration, College Student Personnel or related field.
• 1-3 years of relevant experience.

• Depth of knowledge:
  Comprehensive knowledge of theories, concepts and practices and ability to use in complex, difficult and/or unprecedented situations.
• Advanced communication (written and verbal) skills, analytical skills, project/process management skills, and computer/technical skills.
• Basic office/administrative support skills.
• Internal and external interaction/collaboration:
  • Exchange routine information and answer routine questions.
  • Exchange detailed information or resolve varied problems.
  • Access to and/or work with sensitive and/or confidential information.
  • Identify the needs/concerns of others, determine potential solutions, resolve or redirect appropriately.
  • Develop and maintain relationships to enhance workflow and work quality.
  • Resolve conflict, negotiate, or collaborate on major projects.

• Ability to perform other job‑related duties as assigned.
• Office environment:
  Employees are protected from weather conditions and contaminants, but not necessarily occasional temperature changes.
• Often involves sitting, typing, listening, and talking.
• Occasionally involves standing, walking, bending, stooping, climbing stairs, kneeling, squatting, crouching, reaching, pushing, pulling and lifting up to 30 pounds.

• Comprehensive insurance plans including medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage.
• Tax‑advantaged accounts including health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and dependent‑care accounts.
• Financial security via life and long‑term disability insurance, accident and illness insurance, and retirement savings plans.
• Generous paid time‑off options including vacation, sick leave and holidays.
• Tuition remission for employees and their eligible dependents.