Job Description

Director, Orientation and New Student Transitions Posting Number req27515 Department Orientation and NST Department Website Link https://enrollmentmanagement.arizona.edu/ Location Tucson Campus Address Tucson, AZ USA Position Highlights

The Director of Orientation and New Student Transitions provides strategic leadership for the University of Arizona's undergraduate onboarding and transition ecosystem. The position is responsible for the vision, assessment, continuous improvement, and operational oversight of orientation, transition, and onboarding initiatives that advance student success and support undergraduate students as they transition to the university.

The Director leads the development of a comprehensive orientation and transition framework that delivers the right information, resources, and experiences at the right time, equipping students to successfully navigate their entry to the University of Arizona. Through collaboration with campus partners, the position establishes learning outcomes for orientation and transition experiences, ensures programs deliver meaningful and measurable student impact, and continuously evolves services to meet the changing needs of students and the institution. Grounded in evidence-based practices and student development principles, the position fosters a culture of innovation, assessment, and service excellence while advancing the university's commitment to student success, persistence, and degree completion.

Orientation and New Student Transitions advances the University of Arizona's commitment to Success for Every Student by creating transformative entry experiences for undergraduate students. Serving students, families, academic units, and campus partners, the department designs and delivers orientation and transition programs that foster belonging, academic readiness, and confidence in navigating the university's academic and support systems. Through innovation, collaboration, and service excellence, the department strives to create seamless transition experiences that connect students to the people, resources, and opportunities that define the Arizona experience. With clarity and connection, students develop the confidence to navigate their university journey and establish their pathway to success.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.

Duties & Responsibilities

Student Transition Framework and Continuous Improvement

• Establishes, plans and directs the strategic vision and priorities for undergraduate orientation and transition initiatives in alignment with university strategic imperatives and the Success for Every Student framework.
• Creates and implements a coordinated transition framework and strategy that provides students with the right information, resources, and experiences at the right time throughout their entry to the university.
• Develops and maintains a comprehensive framework of learning outcomes for orientation and transition experiences that support student success, belonging, academic readiness, and navigation of university systems.
• Ensures orientation and transition frameworks, learning outcomes, and program strategies are informed by evidence-based practices, student development principles, and emerging trends in higher education.
• Leads assessment efforts to measure student learning, program effectiveness, engagement, and contribution to student success outcomes.
• Uses assessment findings, student feedback, institutional data, and emerging best practices to inform decision-making, continuous improvement, and innovation.
• Identifies evolving student needs and institutional priorities and ensures programs remain relevant, effective, and impactful.
• Establishes departmental goals, benchmarks, and performance indicators to evaluate success and inform strategic decision-making.

Student Success Strategy, Partnerships and Experience Design

• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with academic colleges, Enrollment Management, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, advising units, faculty, and campus partners to create seamless transition experiences.
• Serves as a thought partner and institutional leader in advancing strategies that support student engagement, persistence, and degree completion.
• Promotes alignment between orientation and transition initiatives and broader university student success efforts.
• Identifies opportunities to integrate services, reduce barriers, and improve the student experience.
• Collaborates across functional areas to ensure students experience a coordinated and connected transition into the university.
• Provides strategic oversight for undergraduate orientation, transition, onboarding, and related student success programs and initiatives.
• Ensures programs are intentionally designed around learning outcomes, student development principles, and institutional priorities.
• Guides program development and experience design to foster belonging, academic readiness, engagement, and connection to the Arizona community.
• Evaluates emerging practices, technologies, and delivery models to enhance program effectiveness and student outcomes.
• Champions innovative approaches that improve the student transition experience and support institutional goals.

Department Leadership and Administration

• Provides leadership and direction for Orientation and New Student Transitions, including organizational planning, resource management, policy development, and operational effectiveness.
• Supervises professional staff and fosters a culture of accountability, collaboration, professional growth, innovation, and service excellence.
• Establishes performance expectations and evaluates departmental effectiveness through measurable goals and outcomes.
• Oversees departmental budget planning, resource allocation, and fiscal stewardship to support the effective delivery of orientation and transition programs.
• Leads strategic workforce planning, organizational development, and succession planning efforts.
• Ensures compliance with university policies, procedures, and applicable regulations.
• Establishes a comprehensive staffing, training, and development framework that supports a large student employee workforce and ensures the effective delivery of orientation and transition programs.
• Promotes a student employment model that fosters leadership development, professional growth, belonging, and meaningful engagement among student employees.
• Ensures professional staff have the tools, resources, training, and support necessary to effectively recruit, supervise, mentor, and develop student employees.
• Champions a culture of learning, recognition, accountability, and service excellence across both professional and student staff teams.

Collaboration and Professional Engagement

• Performs other duties as assigned in support of Orientation and New Student Transitions, Enrollment Management, and university initiatives.
• Participates in committees, workgroups, project teams, and strategic initiatives that support student success and institutional priorities.
• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships across the university community and with external partners to advance student success and organizational effectiveness.
• Cultivates partnerships with colleagues across higher education and maintains awareness of emerging trends and best practices.
• Represents the University of Arizona through engagement in regional and national professional organizations related to orientation, transition, enrollment management, and student success.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Active involvement in regional or national professional organizations related to orientation, transition, enrollment management, student affairs, or student success.

This job posting reflects the general nature and level of work expected of the selected candidate(s). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The institution reserves the right to amend or update this description as organizational priorities and institutional needs evolve.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Minimum of 7 years of related work experience, including 3 years of managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Educational Leadership, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience providing leadership for orientation, transition, onboarding, first-year experience, student engagement, or student success initiatives.
• Experience leading a complex functional area, department, or organizational unit.
• Experience supervising professional staff and student employee workforces.
• Experience developing learning outcomes, assessment frameworks, and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience utilizing data, assessment, and evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes.
• Experience managing budgets, operational resources, and organizational planning processes.
• Experience building collaborative partnerships across academic and administrative units.

FLSA Exempt Full Time/Part Time Full Time Number of Hours Worked per Week 40 Job FTE 1.0 Work Calendar Fiscal Job Category Student Services Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits Rate of Pay $75,540 - $98,201 Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE) Grade 10 Compensation Guidance The Rate of Pay Field represents the University of Arizona’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. The University considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity.

The Grade Range represent a full range of career compensation growth over time. The university offers compensation growth opportunities within its career architecture. To learn more about compensation, please review our Applicant Compensation Guide and our Total Rewards Calculator. Career Stream and Level M3 Job Family Student Support Job Function Student Services Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive) Number of Vacancies 1 Target Hire Date 12/7/2026 Expected End Date Contact Information for Candidates Kris Peabody | kpeabody@arizona.edu Open Date 10/30/2026 Open Until Filled Yes Documents Needed to Apply Resume and Cover Letter Special Instructions to Applicant Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures.

Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.