Assistant Director ​/ Alternative Breaks

Position Title

Assistant Director / Alternative Breaks

The Assistant Director of the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center (VC) will work collaboratively with the Director and other professional staff and student members of the Volunteer Center to develop, support, and promote service opportunities to engage students with the mission and values of Central Michigan University. The Assistant Director will serve as the university advisor to the Alternative Breaks (AB) program and provide oversight and direction to the VC and AB graduate and undergraduate student staff.

The Assistant Director will direct leadership training of the Alternative Break student advisory board, the student site leaders, and provide oversight of participant development of 700 students. The Assistant Director will also be responsible for providing support to Volunteer Center and AB program assessment. Additionally, the Assistant Director will manage most of the marketing efforts of the office, including, but not limited to: designing and printing promotional materials, promotional items ordering, social media posting for all channels, weekly newsletter creation and distribution and management of the Engage Central volunteer database.

The Assistant Director will supervise up to three students to assist with the office’s marketing and social media efforts. The Assistant Director will provide oversight of the AB budget and scholarship development as well as board and site leader retreats, service development with university community partners, and develop recruitment strategies for the program.

• Bachelor’s degree
• Two years professional experience with student organizations and/or campus programming
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills
• Demonstrated organizational skills, including ability to plan, establish priorities and handle multiple tasks and projects
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage crisis, institutional compliance, and cross-campus responses to ensure student safety
• Demonstrated experience as a team member who is highly motivated, a self-starter, and a dedicated professional

• Master’s degree in student affairs, higher education, leadership, or related field
• Three years direct student service and leadership experience
• Experience working with Alternative Breaks programming
• Experience in a higher education environment

• Serves as the primary on-call contact during Winter, Spring, and Summer Alternative Breaks, providing real-time support to student leaders and participants through all phases of travel, including responding to emergent situations, coordinating with campus partners and local officials, and ensuring the safety and well‑being of all experience participants
• Serves as the university advisor to the CMU Alternative Breaks program, including the Alternative Breaks Student Advisory Board
• Manages Alternative Breaks data and information via social media oversight, Engage Central (Rosters, Online Forms, Events) and website maintenance
• Provides training sessions to the Alternative Breaks Board, site leaders and participants and administrative faculty/staff, programs, and other CMU departments with volunteer trainings
• Disseminates and enforces University policies and procedures pertaining to Alternative Breaks service projects, risk management, fundraising, office management, student employment, accounting and payroll, etc
• Develops, supports, and provides programming and leadership development for Alternative Breaks staff and student leaders
• Serves as an advisor to Volunteer Center staff and other program leaders
• Develops promotional materials for Alternative Breaks and Volunteer Center to encourage student involvement in the program, offices and resources
• Provides comprehensive administrative support, including scheduling and coordinating travel arrangements for Alternative Breaks experiences
• Provides support to student leaders and participants engaging in domestic and international travel, including pre‑departure preparation, real‑time guidance, and post‑experience follow‑up
• Collaborates with Risk Management for…