Director of Student Success Initiatives

Director of Student Success Initiatives

Oregon Community College Association | Salem, Oregon | Full-time, Exempt | $90,000-$100,000 annually

The Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) is seeking a strategic, collaborative, and equity-minded leader to serve as its next Director of Student Success Initiatives. This role leads OCCA's Student Success Center work and helps advance statewide strategies that improve student outcomes across Oregon's 17 community colleges.

The Director will work closely with community college leaders, student leaders, the OCCA Board, the Oregon Presidents Council, state partners, and funders to strengthen student success policy, elevate student voices, support evidence-based practice, and connect statewide collaboration to meaningful results for students.

This is an opportunity for a mission-driven professional who understands community colleges, values public service, and is energized by work that blends strategy, policy, partnerships, data, and hands-on implementation in a small statewide association.

Founded in 1962, OCCA represents Oregon's 17 publicly chartered community colleges and their locally elected boards. OCCA works at the intersection of public policy, advocacy, institutional leadership, student success, and statewide collaboration, providing a unified voice for community colleges before policymakers and partners whose decisions affect students, colleges, and communities across Oregon.

The Director of Student Success Initiatives provides statewide leadership for OCCA's student success work. The position coordinates with colleges and partners to support shared student success goals, advance equitable outcomes, strengthen transfer and completion efforts, and ensure that student experiences help shape policy and practice.

The successful candidate will be a thoughtful strategist, strong communicator, and trusted relationship-builder who can move comfortably between statewide leadership and practical implementation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading statewide strategy and coordination for OCCA's Student Success Center and related student success initiatives.
• Convening college leaders, practitioners, students, and statewide partners around shared goals for access, equity, retention, completion, transfer, and student outcomes.
• Building strong partnerships with the Oregon Community College Student Association and other student leaders to elevate student voice in policy, advocacy, and implementation.
• Supporting student-success-focused policy development, legislative engagement, issue analysis, and advocacy strategies.
• Translating data, research, and program outcomes into clear recommendations, reports, presentations, and communications for varied audiences.
• Supporting grant writing, funder relationships, grant management, sustainability planning, and resource development related to student success work.
• Working with OCCA leadership and the OCCA Board DEI Committee to support learning, training, and resources that strengthen board understanding of equity and student success.

Key dates:

• Best consideration, 11:59 p.m. PST
• Screening begins
  - July 16, 2026
• Anticipated interview period
  - Week of July 27, 2026
• Anticipated start date
  - September 1, 2026, or as negotiated

Minimum qualifications include:

• Bachelor's degree in a field related to the responsibilities of the position.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience in education, student success, student services, public policy, nonprofit leadership, or a closely related field.
• Experience developing, leading, or supporting programs, policies, partnerships, or initiatives designed to improve student outcomes.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to work effectively with students, college leaders, policymakers, funders, and community partners.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, student voice, and improved outcomes for underrepresented and non-traditional students.

Preferred qualifications may include:

• Master's degree in higher education, public policy, education leadership, public administration, student affairs, or a related field.
• Experience working in or with community colleges, particularly in Oregon or another statewide/system-level setting.
• Experience with policy development or statewide advocacy.
• Experience preparing grant proposals, developing grant-related materials, and supporting funder reporting or stewardship activities.
• Experience working directly with student organizations, student leaders, grant-funded programs, or education-focused funding initiatives.
• Experience using data, research, and evaluation findings to guide strategy, reporting, and continuous improvement.

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position based in Salem, Oregon. The role requires periodic statewide travel for meetings, conferences, legislative activities, and partner convenings, with limited overnight travel within Oregon and nationally.

The salary range is $90,000 to $100,000…