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Assistant Director, Office of Student Success, Penn GSE

University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education, United States, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 5 Aug 2026
💰 $68,000/yr($58,506/yr$68,000/yr)

About the role

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Assistant Director, Office of Student Success, Penn GSE

Job Profile Title

Associate Director B, Student Services, Student Engagement

Job Description Summary

The Assistant Director of the Office of Student Success is responsible for strategically developing, managing, and sustaining the community life for the student population of 1600+ at Penn GSE through the Office of Student Success (OSS). This position entails leading critical initiatives, managing all school-wide events focused on students, and representing OSS at school and university level committees as well as national conferences regarding co-curricular learning, student leadership development, student life and programming, and large-scale event planning.

In addition to these leadership responsibilities, the Assistant Director runs the day-to-day operations of the Office of Student Success, which includes the management of the administrative functions within OSS such as budget management and office operations, ensuring the OSS continues to provide exceptional support to the student community it serves.

This is a full-time exempt position. Standard work hours are 9am – 5pm with a hybrid-eligible work schedule. Some nights & weekends will be required, especially during peak times like New Student Orientation and Commencement.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

  • Manage all aspects of building and sustaining the community of students at GSE. This includes the creation, development, and implementation of co-curricular learning, school-wide programming, providing guidance and assistance for program-level programming, assisting with updates and communications to GSE's current student database (Slate) and working with OSS and GSE personnel to ensuring cohesive student life programming that addresses the learning themes, honors the school values, and fulfills the stated objectives of OSS.

  • Managing Director for GSE's pivotal school-wide events for students, including orientation and graduation (with the associated reception), entailing comprehensive project planning, strategic collaboration with Penn partners, liaising with the Penn Secretary's office, oversight of a diverse pool of over 10 external vendors, strategic and effective assignment of numerous volunteers, troubleshooting of issues as they arise, and dissemination of essential requirements to staff, faculty, and students. Utilizes the Slate system to plan, promote, and collect registration and attendee information for OSS-sponsored events. This role involves management and delegation of responsibilities to optimize operational efficiency and concludes with the vital task of conducting a thorough project assessment, strategically informing future planning and enhancements. Notably, both graduation and orientation are expected to att

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Company

University of Pennsylvania

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