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Description

SUMMARY

The Vice President of Student Achievement and Employee Success is a senior administrative position responsible for providing strategic leadership for the College's comprehensive people, culture, and human resources functions. Reporting directly to the College President, the Vice President serves as the College's senior leader for employee success, talent acquisition, talent development, employee and labor relations, compensation and benefits, professional development, performance management, employee engagement, HR compliance, and organizational culture through the College’s Maroon & Gold Standards MGS).

The position advances Jackson College's Student Achievement Imperative principally through the employee life cycle: recruiting and selecting mission/MGS-aligned employees; supporting supervisors in building high-performing teams; strengthening onboarding, training, coaching, accountability, and retention; and helping create a workplace culture in which all employees understand and undertake their role in advancing student achievement. The position does not directly administer academic programs, advising, retention services, or student affairs operations; Rather, it supports student achievement by ensuring that Jackson College has the people, systems, workflows, expectations, and culture necessary to provide for the love, care, and service to students well.

Essential Functions

Specifically, the Vice President is responsible for, but not limited to:

• Creating and implementing people and culture strategies that support the College's mission, vision, values, strategic priorities, TCS2 (Total Commitment to Student Success) culture, and the Maroon & Gold Standards.
• Ensuring that job descriptions, postings, hiring practices, onboarding, professional development, performance expectations, and performance review reinforce Jackson College's commitment to student achievement, service, accountability, and employee success.
• Providing strategic leadership for recruitment, selection, employee engagement, professional growth, retention, succession planning, compensation, benefits, labor relations, and workplace culture.
• Leading a lawful, fair, respectful, and meaningful hiring process that helps attract and retain highly capable employees who are committed to student success and the College’s Maroon & Gold Standards.
• Developing and deploying a comprehensive employee training and development plan, including leadership development, compliance training, supervisory training, and mission-centered professional learning.
• Ensuring the deployment of a meaningful onboarding program for all new employees, grounded in the College’s mission and Maroon & Gold Standards, as well as a respectful, informative off-boarding process for departing employees.
• Regularly reviewing market competitiveness for all employee classifications, including compensation plans, benefits, and workplace policies.
• Using HR data, employee feedback, and institutional priorities to recommend improvements in employee engagement, retention, performance, and service quality.
• Ensuring that the College maintains a safe, respectful, nondiscriminatory, and service-oriented work environment.
• Providing support to the College President and serving as a member of the President's Executive Council, as requested.
• At the direction of the President, serving as the lead negotiator, in partnership with the College’s Office of the General Council (OGC) on collective bargaining matters and helping maintain productive labor-management relationships.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic People, Culture, and Student Achievement Leadership:

• Collaborate with the President, Executive Council, Academic Council, and other senior leaders to develop and execute people strategies aligned with the College's mission, vision, values, strategic plan, Maroon & Gold Standards, and student achievement priorities.
• Serve as the senior leader responsible for ensuring that the employee experience supports the student experience and that College employees understand their individual and collective role in student achievement.
• Provide institutional leadership in workflows involving talent management, workforce planning, organizational development, employee success, and culture-building.
• Translate the College's TCS2 & MGS culture into practical employee systems, including selection, onboarding, training, supervision, evaluation, recognition, and accountability.
• Advise the President and senior leaders on workforce issues, employee relations, leadership effectiveness, morale, organizational design, and institutional capacity.

Talent Acquisition, Selection, and Onboarding:

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the People and Culture / Human Resources function, especially recruitment, selection, onboarding, employee support, and employee records.
• Lead recruitment and selection processes that attract highly skilled, mission-aligned candidates for administrative, faculty, staff, and other employee positions.
• Ensure that position descriptions and search processes identify the competencies, behaviors, service orientation, and student-achievement commitments required for success at Jackson College.
• Implement, assess, and continuously improve the College's New Employee Onboarding program as a principal vehicle for integrating and supporting new employees into the College community.
• Develop and maintain an effective off-boarding process that preserves institutional knowledge, provides useful feedback, and treats departing employees with professionalism and respect.
• Support succession planning and talent pipeline development for key leadership and operational roles.

Employee Success, Engagement, and Organizational Culture:

• Lead strategies that promote employee engagement, belonging, accountability, trust, collaboration, service, and institutional pride.
• Conduct or coordinate a regular institutional culture and employee engagement assessment and recommend strategies for improvement to the President and Cabinet.
• Support supervisors and managers in creating healthy, productive, mission-centered work environments.
• Develop recognition, appreciation, and service programs that reinforce excellent performance, student-centered service, and employee contribution.
• Help ensure that employee communications, policies, and practices support clarity, transparency, consistency, and mutual respect.

Employee and Labor Relations:

• Foster a positive work environment by promoting open communication, conflict resolution, individual dignity, respect, and fair treatment.
• Develop, implement, and interpret personnel policies and procedures consistent with College policy, collective bargaining agreements, and applicable federal and Michigan law.
• Coordinate investigations with the College OGC and resolutions of employee relations issues and complaints, ensuring appropriate documentation and engaging external legal counsel as needed.
• Facilitate productive faculty, staff, and labor relations, including the negotiation, interpretation, and implementation of collective bargaining agreements.
• Serve as lead negotiator, with support at the table from legal counsel, on collective bargaining matters unless otherwise directed by the President.
• Coordinate, advise on, and support the handling of union grievances, disciplinary matters, corrective action, and other employee relations matters.
• Coach and support supervisory staff on employee relations, documentation, conflict resolution, performance improvement, and lawful employment practices.

Compensation, Benefits, Wellness, and Employee Support:

• Manage compensation and benefits programs to support recruitment, retention, internal consistency, lawful administration, and market competitiveness.
• Lead regular market reviews for employee classifications and make recommendations regarding compensation plans, benefits, and related workplace policies.
• Oversee benefits administration, including enrollment, vendor coordination, claims support, employee communication, and customer service.
• Develop or support employee wellness, work-life, and employee assistance strategies that strengthen employee effectiveness, retention, and well-being.
• Ensure appropriate coordination with Payroll, Finance, and other departments on compensation, benefits, employment status, leave, and related employee matters.

Learning, Development, and Leadership Capacity:

• Collaborate with academic and administrative leaders to identify professional development needs for faculty, staff, and administrators.
• Develop and implement an annual employee learning and development plan that includes leadership development, supervisory training, compliance training, service excellence, and mission-centered learning.
• Support the regular deployment of a Jackson College Leadership Academy or comparable leadership development program.
• Promote employee growth, internal advancement where appropriate, and the development of leadership capacity across the institution.
• Use training and coaching to strengthen supervisor effectiveness, communication, accountability, and employee success.

Performance Management and Accountability:

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve performance management systems that support employee growth, accountability, documentation, and alignment with institutional goals.
• Ensure effective performance evaluations and feedback processes for all employees, with appropriate documentation and follow-up.
• Support supervisors in setting clear expectations, addressing performance concerns, recognizing strong performance, and developing improvement plans when needed.
• Align performance expectations with the College's mission, TCS2 culture, service standards, student achievement priorities, and employee conduct expectations.
• Monitor completion and quality of employee evaluation processes and recommend improvements as needed.

Equal Opportunity, Title IX, Compliance, and Risk Management:

• Stay current on employment laws, labor regulations, civil rights requirements, Title IX requirements, and other applicable federal and Michigan laws and regulations affecting employment and the workplace.
• Serve as the College's Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Officer, ensuring the College meets its commitment to Equal Access/Equal Opportunity and maintains a work environment free of unlawful discrimination and harassment.
• Prepare and submit required reports to regulatory agencies as required.
• Coordinate employee-related compliance training, policy review, investigations, documentation, accommodations processes, and related risk-management practices.
• Work with the College’s OGC, campus safety, student services, academic leadership, and other offices as appropriate to ensure consistent, lawful, and mission-aligned practices.

HR Technology, Data Analytics, and Continuous Improvement:

• Use HR technology, AI, data analytics, and employee feedback to inform decisions and improve HR processes, employee service, and employee success.
• Monitor key employee-success indicators such as recruitment effectiveness, time-to-fill, turnover, retention, engagement, training completion, grievance patterns, and performance evaluation completion.
• Ensure data privacy and security compliance in concert with the College's Information Technology department.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR service delivery, automate routine processes, strengthen data integrity, and improve the employee experience.
• Prepare reports and recommendations for the President and senior leadership as requested.

Budget Management and Department Leadership:

• Develop and manage the People and Culture / Human Resources department budget efficiently and in alignment with College priorities.
• Supervise, develop, and evaluate assigned Human Resources staff in accordance with College policies, labor agreements, and applicable law.
• Set clear service expectations for the HR team and ensure timely, accurate, confidential, and respectful service to employees, applicants, supervisors, and institutional partners.
• Represent the College with community partners, professional organizations, labor representatives, vendors, and other external constituencies as appropriate.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the President.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position must carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the College's policies, labor agreements, and applicable laws. The Vice President of Student Achievement and Employee Success directly supervises the Director of Human Resources and may directly or indirectly supervise other Human Resources, People and Culture, compliance, employee development, or related staff as assigned.

CONTACTS AND PURPOSE OF CONTACTS:

Internal: Frequent contact with employees at all levels of the College for leadership, problem-solving, employee support, policy interpretation, training, compliance, labor relations, and organizational improvement.

External: Frequent contact with applicants, community leaders, labor representatives, legal counsel, benefits providers, professional organizations, state and federal agencies, peer institutions, and other external partners as a representative of Jackson College.

Minimum Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Education and/or Experience

• Master's degree in Human Resources Management, Labor Relations, Business Administration, Public Administration, Education Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field required; doctorate, law degree, or terminal degree preferred.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in Human Resources, with the last five years at a HR Director, Executive Director or senior level.
• Demonstrated experience with labor relations, collective bargaining, employee relations, investigations, grievance administration, and employment law compliance.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing HR policies, compensation systems, onboarding programs, employee training, performance management systems, and employee engagement strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to align people strategies with institutional mission, student achievement, employee success, and organizational culture.
• Strong analytical and data-informed decision-making skills, including the ability to use HRIS, workforce data, employee feedback, and institutional data to recommend action.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, coaching, judgment, discretion, and problem-solving skills.
• HR certification such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or PHR is highly desirable. If not currently certified, the successful candidate must be willing to pursue certification.
• Experience in a community college, higher education, public-sector, unionized, or complex mission-driven environment is preferred.

Cultural Skills

Ability to work effectively with students, faculty, staff, applicants, and community members from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. The Vice President must demonstrate respect for individual dignity, fairness, equal opportunity, lawful nondiscrimination, and the College's commitment to student achievement and employee success.

Language Skills

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret legal documents, employment regulations, collective bargaining agreements, financial reports, policies, technical materials, and professional literature. The position requires the ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from employees, applicants, regulatory agencies, labor representatives, and members of the community. The position requires the ability to write clear reports, recommendations, policies, communications, and presentations and to effectively present information to senior leadership, employee groups, public groups, and/or boards.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to work with compensation data, salary schedules, benefits data, HR metrics, budgets, percentages, ratios, and statistical information related to workforce planning, employee engagement, turnover, recruitment, retention, and performance management.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to define problems, collect and evaluate data, establish facts, interpret laws and policies, weigh risk, maintain confidentiality, exercise sound judgment, and draw valid conclusions in matters involving employees, labor relations, compliance, student achievement culture, and institutional operations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands are representative of those required to perform the essential functions of the job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, use hands, talk, and hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level is usually moderate.

This description is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and levels of work difficulty that will be required and shall not be construed as declaring the specific duties and responsibilities.

It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under his or her supervision.

The use of a particular expression or illustration describing duties shall not be held to exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or level of difficulty.

Supplemental Information

Jackson College only accepts on-line applications though this system. For assistance with this, please call 517-796-8468.

Please use your legal first and last names on your application. If you are hired you will have the opportunity to identify and utilize your preferred name.

The Jackson College Nepotism policy prohibits hiring of a relative or someone with a familial relationship to work in the same instructional department, office or administrative unit of the College including spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent or sibling of the employee or spouse, aunt, uncle, niece/nephew, grandparent, grandchild, and members of the same household including domestic partner.

It is important that your application show all the relevant education and experience you possess (even if you are repeating it from your resume or cover letter). For instance, do not say, "See Resume or C/V." Your resume, cover letter that includes your salary requirements and an unofficial transcript for the degree required must be attached to your application. Applications will be rejected if incomplete. When you apply for the position, you will get to the document upload area where you will be given an opportunity to attach your documents such as your resume/vita, transcripts, etc. Instructions will also be found there.

The College reserves the right to request proof of degree or certification at a later date, if these documents are required as part of the qualifications for the position.

Final candidates will be subject to a criminal background as part of the employment process.

If selected you will be required to complete the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 and provide documentation verifying identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Jackson College is NOT able to support Visa applications for employment at the college. Applicants must already be eligible to work in the United States to be considered.

Applicants with disabilities may request accommodation to complete the application and interview process. Please notify Human Resources at least three (3) working days prior to the date of need.

A copy of Jackson College's Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report is available on the JC Campus Safety & Security website. The security report contains crime statistics for the previous three years for all of our campus locations and the annual fire safety report, which contains statistics for any reported fires in campus housing units and fire safety systems in these buildings. Additionally, the report contains policies, available resources and information concerning personal safety, fire safety and reporting procedures for both crimes and fires.

Applicants have rights under Federal employment laws . Jackson College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively supports workforce diversity.

Jackson College provides a generous benefit package to full-time administrative employees that includes: medical, dental, vision, employee life/AD&D, optional life for employee and family, long and short-term disability,and travel insurances; personal illness, personal, bereavement and vacation leaves; tuition reimbursement and waivers; 16 paid holidays; and retirement plans. Details are available on the Jackson College website.