District Director - Service Excellence

City Colleges of Chicago's vision is to be recognized as the city's most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity - empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city. The community college system's more than 3,500 faculty and staff serve more than 60,000 students annually at seven colleges and five satellite sites.

CCC's Office of Student Experience (OSX) partners with college leadership, district academic affairs leadership, and district institutional advancement leadership to deliver strong student enrollment and retention, completion, transfer, and employment outcomes across CCC, and to drive equity of access and success for students of all backgrounds. Moreover, OSX seeks to ensure an exceptional experience for every student at every stage of their CCC career from enrollment to post-CCC success.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Reporting to the Associate Vice Chancellor

• Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships (AVC-SIP), the District Director

• Service Excellence leads CCC's strategy and execution support districtwide to drive service excellence for every student from their initial connection to CCC to their progression to further educational or career pursuits beyond CCC.

This position will collaborate closely with a broad range of district and college colleagues, students, and external partners to set CCC standards for service excellence, build district-wide buy-in and capacity around driving service excellence, implementing communication and technology solutions that are proactive and responsive to student service needs, and monitoring and evaluating ongoing service performance in the spirit of continuous improvement and innovation.

Ultimately, service excellence is vital for ensuring an exceptional student experience, fostering student sense of belonging and satisfaction at CCC, supporting student success during and after their time at CCC, and reinforcing CCC's reputation as an institution of choice.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Leads and manages new collaborative initiative engaging district and college leaders, students, and external partners to establish service excellence standards across CCC, in support of an exceptional student experience.

• Incorporates national best practices, CCC student and employee feedback, and existing promising practices within CCC to inform service excellence standards, and to advance both "break fix" and "breakthrough" steps to achieve service excellence.

• Engages employees across colleges and district office proactively and on an ongoing basis to build buy-in, capacity, and sustainability of CCC service excellence standards.

• Provides management oversight of CCC's online Compliments and Complaints system where students and employees can submit feedback at any time. Partners with Office of Information Technology (OIT) and district and college leaders to establish refined system for compliment and complaint submission and resolution.

• Monitors submissions received to ensure proactive, appropriate, and timely handling of submissions for resolution, escalating them as needed, and serving as final escalation point where required. Monitors submissions for common themes in order to elevate potential opportunities for district-wide improvement or recognition.

• Serves as lead partner to OIT and Marketing and Communications (MarCom) - informed by Call Center and additional district and college subject matter experts - to establish "intelligence", i.e., content engine, behind CCC's forthcoming online chatbot system.

• Serves as the District Office point of contact regarding Virtual Student Services (VSS), engaging college and district stakeholders as needed to ensure optimal VSS experience is offered to students.

• Partners with college and district leaders to determine operating hours, norms, and systems - informed by industry best practice as well as the unique needs of each college community - to ensure an exceptional student experience.

• Ensures that most frequently asked questions receive clear, accurate, and supportive guidance that addresses student needs and encourages continued student engagement with CCC.

• In collaboration with OIT and MarCom, monitors and drives continuous improvement in CCC's chatbot system.

• Partners with Decision Support and Institutional Health to establish appropriate mechanisms for ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement relative to achievement of service excellence across CCC.

• Contributes and models proactive and strategic thought leadership, student-centeredness, collaborative spirit, team leadership, and equity mindset to advance OSX and CCC planning and execution.

• Serves on CCC and partner mission-related teams as required.

• Engages college leaders, staff, and faculty in service excellence-related dialogues to advance the work inclusively and effectively.

• Performs other duties and leads additional special initiatives as assigned.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Reports To AVC

• Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

Direct Supervision TBD

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Education, Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Student Affairs, or a related field

• Five years of progressively responsible work experience, with three years in a leadership role in a consulting, higher education, K-12, nonprofit, or for-profit organization, leading teams and/or complex projects to advance strategy, manage change, and achieve measurable outcomes

• Demonstrated experience leading initiatives and driving impact within large, cross-functional organizations

• Broad knowledge of higher education leadership, holistic student support, budgeting, strategic and operational planning, and personnel management

• Strong project and program management skills

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills

• Exceptional organizational, collaborative, and team building skills

• Ability to lead in a multi-site environment and build relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, including college leaders, faculty, and student services departments

• Ability to work independently, exercise professional judgment, and make sound decisions

• Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment

• Commitment to a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Willing and able to work some evenings and weekends and travel to CCC sites and campuses

• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

• Strategic Thinking: Formulates vision and strategy for the future of the organization, while weighing diverse inputs, identifying innovative opportunities, and courageously pursuing change in service of impact. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Familiarity with systems and technologies that enhance strategic planning and evaluation.

• Results Focused: Develops and executes action plans to drive intended impact, engaging stakeholders and adjusting course as needed to ensure on-time and high-quality results. Ability to work independently within a broad strategic framework and CCC priorities.

• Equity Mindset: Understands and is committed to the goals of equity; consistently brings an equity mindset to the organization's work and workplace; considers the impact of equity related issues on students, staff, and faculty.

• Executive Presence: Demonstrates confidence, composure, and credibility when engaging with a range of internal and external stakeholders, including executive-level colleagues; communicates clearly and concisely, and tailors messages to achieve buy-in of diverse audiences; Connects with others as an active, empathetic, and responsive listener and visionary.

WE OFFER: Excellent health and welfare benefit package and long-term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) Investment Plans and a pension plan with the State University Retirement System (SURS) Plan. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a more detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page of our website.

We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire.

Thank you for your interest in CCC!

TBD

Additional Information