TRIO Student Support Services Advisor

POSITION SUMMARY:

Date application must be received for priority consideration by: August 14, 2026
Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: September 1, 2026
Closing Date or if blank, Open Until Filled:
Job Family Group: Administrative and Professional
Division/Department: Academic and Student Affairs/TRIO Support Services
Compensation Range (commensurate with experience): $3,722.25 - $3,787.50/monthly or $44,667 - $45,450/annually @ 1.0 FTE
FLSA Status: Exempt
Appointment Basis: 12-month
Time Type: Full-time
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Renewable/Non-renewable/Grants/Limited Duration/Temporary: Non-renewable/Grant Funded
This position must possess and maintain a current, valid Driver License: Yes
This position is designated as a critical, security-sensitive or safety-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal Background Check: Yes
Lead Work/Supervisory Responsibilities: No
Work Location Type: On-campus
Work Hours: M-F (8:00a – 5:00p) Hours are subject to change with notice.
Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:

• Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) a letter providing some detail of the applicant’s qualifications and interest in the position; and (2) current resume/CV. - PLEASE NOTE - during the application process, you will be prompted to attach these documents in the area titled "Resume." Please either combine ALL documents into ONE attachment, OR upload each item separately in this section. Failure to upload ALL of the required documents may disqualify application from consideration.
• For inquiries and additional information, please contact Human Resource Services via email at [email protected] or by phone at (541)552-8553.
• To view SOU’s very generous benefits and pension programs available to eligible positions, please visit https://inside.sou.edu/assets/hrs/Benefits/Benefit_Flyer/2024_Prospective_Candidate_Benefit_Overview_012024.pdf
• Our benefits package is an important complement to the offered salary and our Total Compensation Calculator, https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/comp-calc.html, demonstrates our value and commitment to our employees.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Reporting to the Director of Success at Southern, a TRIO Student Success Services program, this position is designed to assist students towards persistence, graduation, and career goals. The advisor will have the responsibility of providing advising support, career counseling, academic and personal development coaching, lead/attend cultural trips and activities, teach at least 1-credit courses per term, and provide success workshops to students. Advisors are responsible for monitoring and tracking students' academic program degree progress and helping them connect with programs and services that will help them be successful. The advisor's primary duties directly support the program mission: to increase the college retention and graduation rates of eligible participants and collaborates with various campus offices and services as needed. This position helps meet the grant requirements of helping eligible participants in clarifying their goals, succeeding academically in their chosen program of study, and graduating with a bachelor's degree in a timely manner.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Education, Sociology, Psychology or related field is required.

• Minimum of two years experience in progressively responsible positions related to higher education student services, human services, or high school student services.

• Experience with/ability to interact with a diverse population.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience in Federal TRIO programs preferred.

• Prefer experience with programs involving financial aid counseling, academic advising, basic skills development, career counseling, or mentoring.

• Personal experience overcoming barriers similar to those confronting program participants (low-income, first-generation, or disability) preferred.

• Master's degree in Education, Sociology, Psychology, or related field.

Essential Functions

Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive:

(60%) Duties Include

• Connects students with resources, individuals and tools that can help them stay on track for academic success.

• Keeps accurate student records and monitors academic progress towards degree completion.

• Facilitates student registration; works with students and others to identify and remove barriers to persistence and completion.

• Participates in campus events including New Student Programs and Registration events.

• Holds standard office hours for drop-in and by-appointment student advising; provides increased hours during peak registration periods.

• Utilizes tools such as Workday, Navigate, Blumen, and Banner Student Information System (SIS) to assist with advising and registration.

• Reviews relevant student information such as academic history and demographic data to help identify and conduct outreach to students at risk of falling behind on their path to a degree.

• Coordinates retention and persistence functions, including design and implementation of surveys and collecting data to analyze and support retention and support activities and to monitor student academic success.

• Assesses and interprets individual student needs; identifies students at academic risk, and makes appropriate referrals to internal and external resources.

• Engages in ongoing training and development pertaining to university-specific curricular requirements, academic policies, administrative procedures, and associated systems.

• Explains degree (major, minor, certificates) structure, progress towards degrees, and develops a plan and timeline for completing degree requirements.

(15%) Duties Include

• Input documentation for grant-required services.

• Assist Director in federal annual reporting process.

• Assist Director in federal annual reporting process.

(15%) Duties Include

• Plan, create, and teach relevant curriculum each term both in person and online.

• Create, coordinate, implement, and supervise culturally enriching activities/events

(10%) Duties Include

• Serve on program and campus committees that directly support the success of Trio Students (i.e. First-Generation Forward, EDI committees, new student programs, etc.

• Attend professional development opportunities that will increase your knowledge and skills associated with student success.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated customer service experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist.
• Expressed ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, under pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
• Great ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information. Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy.
• Takes initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, online systems, social media platforms, Internet as well as online calendaring and email.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
• Working knowledge or ability to quickly learn, university infrastructure, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrated skills in an environment utilizing a customer-oriented and service-centered attitude.

Physical Demand

• Normal office activities such as sitting/standing at a desk, using a computer, answering phones, and communicating in person, both in writing and via phone with others.
• Must be able to perform driving-related duties, which are essential to the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Special Conditions

• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
• This position classification has been defined as exempt and is not subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The person holding this position is considered a mandatory reporter under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.
• This position requires driving for university business. Final candidates will be contacted by Human Resources to complete the university’s driver clearance process. Candidates who hold driver’s licenses issued outside the State of Oregon will be required to provide a certified driving record from their state of residence during the assessment phase.

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SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Southern Oregon University will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application, interviewing, and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If, however, you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability, requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.

Diversity Statement:
Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators, and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.

SOU Land Acknowledgement
We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, the discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together – who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return, they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (www.ctsi.nsn.us) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.

Notice to Prospective Employees
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the “Clery Act”), require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use, possession, and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.

An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR) can be accessed at the following link: https://cps.sou.edu/clery-act-annual-security-report/.  A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy, please visit the Office of the General Counsel located in Churchill Hall, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, Oregon 97520.  For more information, call 541-552-7095, or email [email protected].