Position Summary:

The Director of Advising serves as the College’s senior institutional leader for undergraduate academic advising, providing strategic direction for the College’s advising model, policies, practices, systems and student-success outcomes. The Director translates institutional priorities related to enrollment, retention, persistence, and degree completion into an integrated advising strategy and leads implementation across professional advising and faculty advising environments.

The Director of Advising provides vision and leadership for a high-accountability, student‑centered advising operation grounded in proactive, holistic advising practices. The Director leads a professional advising team operating within a caseload model and is responsible for establishing clear expectations, measurable outcomes, and consistent advising practices aligned with institutional goals.

Reporting to the Vice President of Enrollment Management, the Director works closely with Academic Affairs, faculty leadership, and campus partners to ensure advising is coordinated, data‑informed, equitable, and focused on student success from enrollment through degree completion.

This position directly advances the College’s Strategic Plan by supporting student persistence, retention and timely progress towards degree completion. Through proactive, equity-minded advising and early academic intervention, Academic Advisors contribute to Fort Lewis College’s commitment to being a student-ready institution – reducing structural barriers, improving student experience, and supporting successful outcomes of all students.

You’ll be successful in this role if you believe advising is both a relationship-based practice and a results-driven strategy. You value trust, coaching, and professional judgement – and you believe that clear expectations, shared metrics, and accountability help advisors do their best work. You are comfortable using data to guide decisions, identify gaps, and improve systems, while remaining deeply student-centered. You enjoy building strong teams, collaborating with faculty and translating institutional goals into clear advising priorities. You understand that equity-minded advising requires both compassion and consistency – and that outcomes matter.

Job Description:

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Advising Strategy & Student Success Outcomes

• Provide vision and leadership for the College’s academic advising model, ensuring alignment with enrollment, retention, and graduation goals
• Establish clear advising priorities, service standards, and measurable outcomes in support of student persistence and timely degree completion
• Lead the development, refinement, and assessment of advising practices using student success data, advising KPIs, and equity‑minded analysis
• Partner with Enrollment Management leadership to align advising strategy with institutional enrollment and retention planning

Performance, Accountability & Continuous Improvement

• Define and oversee advising performance expectations, including engagement, documentation quality, timeliness, and student outcomes
• Use dashboards and reports to monitor advising activity, identify trends, and guide coaching and professional development
• Lead regular assessment cycles to evaluate advising effectiveness and recommend improvements to practice, structure, or policy
• Foster a culture of shared accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement

Leadership & Team Development

• Hire, supervise, and develop professional advising staff

• Coach advisors to balance proactive outreach, high‑quality advising interactions, and effective caseload management

• Support professional growth through training, feedback, and alignment with NACADA‑aligned advising competencies

• Build an inclusive team culture that values collaboration, professional judgment, and student‑centered decision‑making

Collaboration & Campus Partnership

• Work closely with faculty, department chairs, and academic leadership to support advising alignment with curriculum and degree pathways

• Collaborate with campus partners, including Financial Aid, Registrar, Housing, Student Affairs, and Career Services, to remove barriers to student success

• Serve as a key partner in orientation, registration, and transition initiatives for new and continuing students

Systems, Policy & Operations

• Ensure advising systems, processes, and documentation practices support consistency, accuracy, and student clarity
• Provide strategic direction for the use of advising technologies, student-success systems, degree-planning tools, and related data infrastructure to support proactive advising and timely student progression.
• Recommend policy and process changes to senior leadership based on student-success data, advising outcomes, and identified barriers to student progression.
• Support FERPA compliance and ethical advising practices

Other Duties

• Maintain knowledge and awareness of digital accessibility including the American with Disabilities Act and Section 508 and produces and remediates digitally accessible materials in accordance with FLC standards.

• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in academic advising, student success, enrollment management, academic affairs or related higher-education field
• Two to three years of supervisory experience of professional staff
• Demonstrated experience leading and supervising professional staff, with a commitment to coaching, development and accountability
• Experience developing or implementing advising strategies, polices or programs
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and student success
• Ability to understand and effectively use student information systems, and CRM tools

Preferred Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

• Master’s degree in higher education, counseling, student affairs, education, or a related field
• 3 years experience leading advising teams in a caseload-based or portfolio-based model
• Experience working with first-generation students, low-income students, students of color, rural students, or other historically marginalized populations.  
• Experience establishing and using advising KPIs related to retention, progression and engagement
• Familiarity with NACADA-informed advising practices, including proactive, holistic and relational advising
• Ability to analyze and interpret student success data to inform strategy and practice
• Experience collaborating with faculty and academic leadership to support student success

Reports To / Supervisory Responsibility:

The Director of Advising reports to the Vice President of Enrollment Management

The Director of Advising supervises approximately 7 professional staff

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee can expect while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Moderate noise (i.e. business office with computers, phone, and printers, light traffic).
• Ability to work in a confined area.
• Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period of time.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, stand, sit; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard reach, stoop kneel to install computer equipment
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work
• Light to moderate lifting is required

 

Travel:

Less than 10% travel for conferences, trainings, etc.

FLSA Status/ Position Type/Expected Hours of Work/ and Salary Range:

• Exempt from State Classified System.
• Full Time   1.0 FTE
• Permanent
• Full Year 
• Typical Work hours are Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm   

Compensation

The salary range is $77,500 to $90,000 , plus a comprehensive benefits package.

Application Process
A complete application packet includes:

• ​Cover letter addressing interest and qualifications for the position
• Resume
• Names and contact information for three current, professional references

Application materials received by 11:59 PM on September 20, 2026, will receive full consideration.

The successful candidate will be required to submit official transcripts

and pass a background check.

About Fort Lewis College:

On a sage-brushed mesa overlooking downtown Durango and the La Plata Mountains, Fort Lewis College is Southwest Colorado’s premier public undergraduate research institution. With more than half of the 3,300 students identifying as people of color, FLC’s academic programming and campus life thrive on nurturing safe, diverse spaces for intellectual exploration and helping people achieve their career goals. A Native American-serving, Non-Tribal Institution, FLC is committed to promoting economic development in neighboring tribal communities and connecting students with the education they need to be the change in the world they want to see. Degree programs span the arts, business, education, health sciences, humanities, and social and natural sciences. Coursework builds on the natural, cultural, and historical resources found around the Four Corners region. Students work closely with faculty on research projects with real-world implications. Like the mountain town it resides in, FLC promotes a culture of work-life balance for students, faculty, and staff. Skyhawks enjoy unparalleled access to a healthy outdoor lifestyle thanks to 300 days of sunshine a year and more than 300 miles of hiking and biking trails in and around Durango

Notice to Prospective Employees:
 The Fort Lewis College is required by the Clery Act of 1990 to notify prospective employees, current employees, students and applicants where to access our Campus Security Report.  The report is updated and published annually in accordance with the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Federal Student Right-to-Know, the Federal Drug-free Schools and Campuses Act of 1989. This report contains information about:

• Fort Lewis College's alcohol and other drug policy

• Sexual assault policy

• Campus security policies

• Campus/community resources

• The Colorado Riot Offense Statute restriction on enrollment

• Where to find registered sex offender information

• Crime statistics for the previous three calendar years

• Reporting crimes

 
 The Campus Security Report can be accessed in two ways:
By going to the internet website at:   www.fortlewis.edu/AnnualSecurityReport Fort Lewis College Student Affairs Office will also provide a paper copy of the annual security report upon request.   You can reach them at (970) 247-7331.

Equal Opportunity
Fort Lewis College does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin, sex*, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family or domestic status, political beliefs, veteran status, pregnancy, or genetic information. Accordingly, equal opportunity for employment shall be extended to all persons. The College shall promote equal opportunity, equal treatment, and affirmative action efforts to increase the diversity of students, faculty, and staff. The College is dedicated to building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. To file a report, get resources, read policies, or make an appointment, See www.fortlewis.edu/CARE.

Discrimination Questions?

Office of Compliance and Community Standards
David Pirrone, Director of Compliance
210 Berndt Hall
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, Colorado 81301
(970) 247-7182 [email protected]

Questions about Title IX sex discrimination?    
Office of the Title IX Coordinator
Madeleine Gillman, Assistant Director of Compliance and Title IX Coordinator
210 Berndt Hall
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, Colorado 81301
(970) 247-7049 [email protected]

Information about Fort Lewis College’s alcohol and drug policy, sexual assault policy, campus security policies, campus crime statistics, fire safety procedures and fire statistics, and campus/community resources can be found in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Hard copies are available upon request.

* Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Part 106 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, including in admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and CFR 106 to Fort Lewis College may be directed to FLC's Title IX Coordinator and/or to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.

ADAA Accommodations
Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. To request an accommodation, please contact Kristin Polens by phone 970-247-7459 or email [email protected] at least five business days before the assessment date to allow us to evaluate your request and prepare for the accommodation. You may be asked to provide additional information, including medical documentation, regarding functional limitations and type of accommodation needed. Please ensure that you have this information available well in advance of the assessment date.