Student Success Specialist

About North Park

Founded in 1891, North Park University is a Christian university affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church of over 3,200 students from around the country and the world.

North Park University is located in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, one of the most ethnically diverse zip codes in the United States. It is nine miles from downtown Chicago. North Park has recently been designated a Hispanic Serving Institution and is committed to serving diverse populations.

Elevating North Park University’s core distinctives of Christian, city centered, and intercultural, NPU values diversity among its faculty and is committed to building a racially and culturally diverse intellectual community and strongly encourages the nomination and candidacies of persons who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color regardless of gender.

The North Park campus has often been referred to as an oasis in the heart of the city – a place where students from urban, rural, and suburban backgrounds alike can call home. And all of this within the major metropolitan backdrop of Chicago: one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies, renowned for its museums and music, and voted best large city in the U.S. for four years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler.

Mission

The mission of North Park University is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through education in the liberal arts, professional studies, and theology.

Vision

Building on our core institutional identity—Christian, city-centered, intercultural—our vision is to create a university of uncommon character and enduring excellence, where faith, learning, and service meet.

Position Summary

The Student Success Specialist assists in the development, implementation, and assessment of student success initiatives designed to support students through key academic transitions. This role fosters cross-campus collaboration, utilizes data-informed practices to improve student engagement, retention, and persistence, and contributes to the development of programs, services, and resources that promote student success.

This position creates inclusive opportunities for students to build community, connect with campus resources, develop leadership skills, and successfully navigate their academic journey toward graduation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate and facilitate student success programs, workshops, trainings, and engagement initiatives that support students through critical transition periods throughout the student life cycle.

Collaborate with faculty, staff, and campus partners to provide holistic, wraparound support services that promote student engagement, academic success, belonging, retention, and persistence.

Oversee the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision, development, and evaluation of student leaders and other peer mentor programs that support student success initiatives.

Support the continued development, implementation, and expansion of the mentorship program through outreach, training, assessment, and strategic program growth aligned with institutional retention goals.

Develop, maintain, and promote online and in-person student success resources, toolkits, and educational materials for students, faculty, staff, and families.

Collect, analyze, and interpret program assessment data and key performance indicators to evaluate program effectiveness and make recommendations for continuous improvement.

Collaborate in the planning and implementation of new student onboarding, transition, and orientation programs in partnership with campus stakeholders.

Teach or facilitate seminars, workshops, and presentations focused on academic success strategies, campus resource utilization, leadership development, and student transition support.

Support special projects, strategic initiatives, and university-wide retention efforts related to student success, engagement, persistence, and graduation outcomes.

Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of First Year Experience to advance student success, retention, persistence, and institutional strategic priorities.

Salary: $52,000 per year

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required, Master’s Degree in higher education or related field preferred.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse and team-oriented work environment.
• Competency in working with diversity along multiple dimensions: first-generation. college students, race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, sexuality, and ability status.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to reach multiple audiences, i.e., administrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents.
• Excellent problem solving, time, and project management skills.
• Ability to prioritize projects and tasks and assess and deploy resources.
• Experience with assessment and best practices in student development/student affairs.
• Prior experience working and collaborating with student leaders/ stakeholders.
• Appreciation for, personal commitment to, and ability to effectively articulate North Park’s mission to Christian higher education.