Reporting to the Vice-President, Student Affairs (VPSA) and as a senior member of an integrated Student Affairs team, the Director of Student Equity and Community Development will provide effective vision, leadership, management, administration and coordination of a broad-based student affairs portfolio. The Director shall provide strategic direction and operational leadership that promotes student engagement, retention, and diversity, and an inclusive, collaborative, supportive and empowered student community. The primary focus of this position is community education and development, including ensuring that any student behavioural issues are managed in an equitable, preventive and restorative manner.

The Director of Student Equity and Community Development will:

• Work with the Vice-President, Student Affairs, the student affairs team, and faculty, staff and students to enhance the equity of student life, and the student experience for equity-deserving student populations.
• Work with the Vice-President, Student Affairs, the student affairs team, and faculty, staff and students to develop community capacity to approach student conduct issues in a preventive and reparative manner, using an equity and educational lens.
• Provide effective leadership to the assigned Student Affairs staff in the areas of equity, diversity & inclusion, Indigenous student support, spiritual care, equity advisors, conduct and community development, and sexualized violence prevention & response. Provide supportive supervision and mentoring to employees, including goal-setting, work evaluation, teamwork, and fostering innovation.
• Develop and oversee a roster of full time or part-time contract equity advisors for Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, racialized, religious/spiritual, students with disabilities and intersectional student support.
• Collaborate with academic and student support units on equity-deserving student retention strategies and initiatives, and to develop capacity to prevent and address structural and individual barriers to success.
• Working with equity advisors, student leaders and student staff, and university community partners, develop and implement community-wide education programs focusing on equity, antiracism, decolonization, bystander intervention, accessibility, conflict and hazing prevention, alternative dispute resolution, and other programs to increase community capacity, inclusion, and conduct prevention.
• With staff and equity advisors, develop and oversee a student staff team to provide peer support, peer education, equity programming, bystander intervention, hazing prevention, and conflict mediation assistance.
• Work with equity-related student groups to support activities and skills development, as well as assist in identifying and addressing equity-based concerns and challenges.
• Oversee complaints and resolution processes related to student conduct (non-academic conduct, residence life, antiracism, athletics), with a preventive, educational and restorative/reparative lens and approach.
• Oversee formal processes for cases that cannot be resolved using ADR/restorative approaches, including timely, equitable and fair process management, determining outcomes, doing necessary follow-up, and record-keeping.
• Periodically review student-related policies, including codes of conduct and sexual violence policy, to identify systemic or individual barriers and equity/intersectional issues, and to continue to evolve towards a community-wide approach of student conduct prevention education and restorative justice.
• Maintain accurate records and data and conduct periodic quantitative and qualitative assessment of programs.
• Ensure that all student equity and conduct-related inquiries from students, staff, faculty, or outside parties are addressed in a timely, accurate, and supportive fashion.
• As appropriate, collaborate with other equity-focused university staff, join university committees or provide advice to university decision-making bodies and individuals, on student equity, systemic student barrier reduction, and student conduct.
• Liaise with external partners, including Indigenous communities and the Town of Sackville/Tantramar, to support equity-deserving populations, off-campus students, student inclusion initiatives, and good community relations.
• Maintain day-to-day budgetary control of accounts to ensure alignment with allocated budget and/or achievement of budgetary targets.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications/skills

• Graduate degree in a discipline relevant to higher education administration, counselling psychology, equity, social justice or related field.
• 5-10 years of experience in progressively senior student affairs administration/post-secondary equity work, with demonstrated experience in managing professional and student staff, preferably within a university environment.
• Lived experience as a member of equity-deserving group(s).
• Extensive experience in equity education, social justice and social change work, and in successfully applying EDI approaches to working with individuals.
• Demonstrated experience developing and overseeing programs and projects, processes, and training; understanding of policy development, precedence, and application.
• Strong commitment to student success, factors affecting belonging and inclusion, barriers faced by students, and demonstrated experience addressing them.
• Ability to anticipate individual and community needs and prioritize activities and resources in response to them.
• Extensive experience and deep understanding of conduct approaches, restorative justice, conflict mediation, alternative dispute resolution, de-escalation and formal judicial processes.
• Experience managing multiple priorities, and diverse viewpoints and needs.
• Ability to assess and mitigate risk when responding to issues, including advising the university on approaches, and flagging concerns when appropriate.
• Demonstrated experience in working collaboratively with diverse communities.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and communication skills, including in cross-cultural communication.
• Demonstrated experience in design and delivery of workshops and training sessions, including the development of train-the-trainer models.
• Demonstrated success in achieving excellence through measurable results.
• Extensive experience/skills in negotiation skills, complex problem solving, strategic planning and delivery, project and program development, change management, coaching, mentoring and project management. Demonstrated consultive and responsive approach to issues.

Additional preferred skills/qualifications

• Demonstrated communication and relationship-building skills in the university context.
• Understanding of university governance, decision-making and structures.
• Understanding of federal and provincial legislation and codes related to human rights and equity.

Applying for this position:

If you are interested in the challenges and opportunities this position has to offer, we want to hear from you! Please submit a cover letter and resume by uploading them using the submission link provided below. Documents should be submitted in PDF format and clearly labeled with your full name.

Only those already eligible to work in Canada need apply. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Application materials will be collected for recruitment purposes only and handled in accordance with the University’s privacy and records-management practices. If you experience any difficulty accessing the link, please contact hr@mta.ca for assistance.

Submit Résumé and Cover Letter

Mount Allison is committed to diversity and inclusiveness. We encourage applications from members of racialized communities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual and gender identities. We seek candidates with qualifications and knowledge to contribute specifically to the further diversification of our campus.