The College of Biological Sciences is a college of approximately 2200 undergraduate students pursuing degrees in the life sciences at the University of Minnesota. The college offers eight majors and ten minors to prepare students to solve biological problems facing our world.

CBS Student Services is a team of 19 professional staff members; each contributing to the shared responsibility of advancing the mission and vision of the college. These staff serve students in three functional areas: academic advising, career coaching, and student engagement. The person in this role will join a team of eight others focused on academic advising, and will have a student caseload of about 275 undergraduate students. This role reports to the Assistant Director for Academic Advising.

65%: [Academic Advising]
The cornerstone of academic advising is the ability to build authentic relationships with individuals with varied backgrounds, perspectives, and identities. The responsibility of this role is to first build relationships, then utilize those relationships to holistically support and guide students throughout their undergrad career.

15%: [Program Development & Management]
- Design and implement student development activities based on assessment data and best practices.
- Manage select student services initiatives and programs by identifying needs, outcomes, and resources, and evaluating effectiveness
- Collaborate with faculty and campus staff to develop programs and plans to effectively deliver advising and support services to students
- Participate in Student Services efforts to improve retention rates, four-year graduation rates, and student satisfaction.

10%: [CBS Student Services Collaborations]
- CBS Student Services is a blended student affairs unit, and is most successful when the unit works collectively for the student good.
- Attend CBS Student Services staff meetings and engage in the broader work being done on behalf of CBS undergraduates

10%: [Professional Development & Service]
- Commitment to ongoing social justice and racial equity work in order to identify, challenge, and remove barriers to access at the individual, community, and system level
- Engage in professional development and service activities related to the advising and student services profession, within the University of Minnesota community and beyond.
- Continue professional development and scholarly activity in the field of academic advising to maintain knowledge of trends and best practices (e.g., membership in professional associations, attendance at conferences and seminars, write and publish articles, serve on teams and collaborate with other professional groups, etc.)
- Participate on Student Services, College and University-wide committees as requested
 

Essential Qualifications:
- Master's degree.and one year of related professional work experience
- Previous experience in an educational setting performing academic advising or student support activities.
- Evidence of effective relationship-building, team-building, and oral/written communication skills
- Ability to effectively communicate across race, class, and culture
- Demonstrated commitment to fostering student learning and applying organizational/student development theory to work with students

Preferred Qualifications:
- Master's degree in higher education and student affairs, college student personnel psychology, counseling, social work, or field transferrable to advising
- Previous academic advising experience
- Familiarity with the challenges and opportunities of working with STEM students
- Knowledge of assessment best practices