Director of Special Populations
Job Description
Position Summary
Under the general direction of the Dean of Student Success, the Director (VII) of Special Populations implements Title 5 policies and procedures as well as guidelines established by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to plan, organize, direct, supervise, and coordinate the college’s programs targeted to special populations, including: Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE), NextUp , California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), and Disability Services & Programs for Students (DSPS). The Director (VII) of Special Populations is a management position, which is part of a comprehensive student services team. Through the Center for Excellence (CFE), the director is responsible for overseeing the provision of support activities directed at underrepresented populations; to supervise support personnel; and promotes the college’s mission and vision, and equity-minded student service delivery.
The Director (VII) of Special Populations works collaboratively with the college’s Student Services departments, including, but not limited to, the Welcome and Student Success Center, Financial Aid, Admissions and Records, and Career and Transfer Services to provide coordinated support underrepresented student populations. Additionally, the director works collaboratively with instructional departments to ensure that students within the program have the support they need to be successful in their classes. The director also works closely with college leadership to support implementation of several key initiatives, including Guided Pathways and case management/early alert intervention for students who may be at risk.Typical Duties
Typical duties may include, but are not limited to:
- Providing leadership and direction; planning, organizing, directing, evaluating, supervising, and coordinating the college’s DSPS, Veterans, and additional future support programs as needed ensuring they meet California Education Code Title 5 guidelines in recruiting, supporting, and retaining underrepresented students and supporting the College’s mission for access and equity.
- Providing leadership and direction; plans, organizes, directs the college’s EOPS, CARE, NextUP, and CalWORKs programs, ensuring they meet California Education Code Title 5 guidelines in recruiting, supporting, and retaining underrepresented students and supporting the College’s mission for access and equity.
- Interpreting, preparing, implementing and ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local guidelines – including but not limited to federal (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of 1998, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), state (AB 77, Title V), and district regulations pertaining to the rights of students with disabilities and develops procedures and practices to ensure compliance.
- Interpreting and explaining legal requirements and District policies and procedures to students, faculty, staff, and the public.
- Coordinating with program faculty and staff to provide effective assessment, orientation, counseling, academic/career planning, and educational programs and services to educationally disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.
- Supervising program components including learning disabilities assessment, assistive technology, alternative media, and services for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students.
- Planning, developing, implementing, and maintaining a variety of efficient and effective support services for students with disabilities, including services to deaf and hard of hearing students, alternate media, counseling and advising, and accommodations services.
- Facilitates and promoting campus-wide awareness of adaptive technology, available resources, and disability related issues to students, staff, and faculty.
- Preparing annual state mandated reports for the Chancellor’s Office and other reports as needed.
- Developing program budgets, overseeing budget expenditures and the establishment of systems, collection of data, and maintenance of records necessary for budget audit trails, project evaluation, and to meet state and federal reporting requirements.
- Establishing program goals: identifies special materials needed by students, needs of students who are disadvantaged by language, social and economic hardships, and assesses the need for new programs/services and facilitates their development and implementation.
- Chairing and participating on campus and community committees and workgroups, as needed, to represent programs serving underrepresented students.
- Developing comprehensive outreach and retention programs to ensure student success, and identifies and recruits eligible students for assigned programs.
- Reviewing and evaluating programs regarding any impact on the success and retention of students served.
- Collaborating with other student services on campus to promote integration of services to promote student success.
- Informing and presenting information related to programs and student needs at local and regional level by participating on committees, councils, conferences, and meetings.
- Participating in and leading the effort to secure grants to support programs and students.
- Maintaining currency of knowledge in the field of disability, EOPS services, Veterans Affairs, CalWORKS processes, and engages in professional development activities through attendance and participation at workshops and conferences.
- Conducting surveys and compiles data concerning student needs.
- Maintaining and evaluating the department’s database, file server, and level of technical hardware/software.
- Supervising and evaluating faculty and classified employees.
- Leading efforts to develop support for academic and career planning and course of study to support transfer to four-year college/university.
- Developing activities to promote retention and satisfactory academic progress.
- Referring students, as needed, to college services or community social services.
- Supporting the college’s implementation of Guided Pathways and case management, including early alert intervention.
- Performing other related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
- Have a master’s degree from an accredited institution completed by time of hire.
- Have one year of formal training, internship, or leadership experience reasonably related to the administrator’s administrative assignment.
- Meet the minimum qualifications for a DSPS Coordinator (pursuant to Title 5, Section 56048).
- Meet the minimum qualifications for an EOPS Director (pursuant to Title 5, Section 56262).
- Have two (2) years full-time experience of the equivalent within the last four (4) years in one or more of the following:
*Please mention you saw this ad on SciencePositions.*