Associate Director, Graduate, Clinical & Professional Programs

Office of Student Accessibility Services (OSAS)

Application Process:
Please include a cover letter with your resume/CV.

About OSAS

The Office of Student Accessibility Services (OSAS) is the unit on campus responsible for ensuring equitable access to the University setting for a diverse population of students with disabilities. With a focus on accessibility, inclusivity and creating environments free of discrimination, OSAS team members assess and approve reasonable accommodations and services for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, both on campus and on-line.

About the Opportunity

Under the supervision of the Director, Office of Student Accessibility Services, the Associate Director, Graduate, Professional, and Clinical Programs, will be actively engaging in outreach, education and negotiation of accommodations particularly related to Graduate, Professional and Clinical programs. This individual is a key team member and contributor in a fast-paced environment that fosters the full and meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities at the University.  This role is a leadership role within the Unit, and as such, provides expertise, carries high-impact responsibility levels, and significantly contributes to strategic departmental management.

The Associate Director is responsible for direct student service, faculty and campus partner support, documentation review, and caseload management in a manner that is student-centered, legally compliant, and reflective of best practices in the field.  The individual in this role must exhibit effectiveness in understanding and applying disability-related laws to routine and complex accommodation and service delivery, as well as to issue-identification and problem-solving. All OSAS staff are expected to maintain current working knowledge of all relevant disability-related laws, and to operate in accordance with FERPA guidelines.

The Office of Student Accessibility Services is a highly collaborative team, with a culture of achievement, supportiveness, and inclusiveness. It is essential that the new Associate Director has the capacity to work independently and in a group setting. The OSAS team has defined and committed to core values of: Accountability, Care, Collaboration, Integrity, Leadership and Skilled Communication. It is important that the successful candidate demonstrate an ability to contribute positively to the team dynamic.

The Ideal Candidate:

• The AD must have advanced knowledge of reviewing documentation, including but not limited to, medical, psycho-educational, and neuropsychological reports and ability to quickly learn to review and assess a variety of documentation in accordance with laws and best practices.
• This role will be responsible for guiding and negotiating complex student cases, particularly in-light of graduate, professional, clinical, licensure, and degree requirements related to external work placement settings (i.e. fieldwork, clinical, and practicum placements). 
• Several clinical/professional programs offer on-line programs. Therefore, the AD must have an established understanding of on-line learning processes and platforms and bring a perspective on addressing accessibility and accommodations in light of that alternative environment.
• This individual must demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and be able to maintain appropriate professionalism in the face of challenging communications that arise from a variety of sources.  This role will be involved in providing multi-directional guidance to students, parents/guardians, OSAS staff, academic unit contacts, and other University personnel.
• This role requires the ability to work efficiently under deadlines, manage details, and address multiple tasks with rapid response.  The AD should be adept with basic Microsoft Office software, instant messaging programs, Zoom, and be able to learn, and make effective use of, the department’s student records management database.
• This AD must demonstrate a working knowledge of assistive technology in clinical settings (i.e. providing technological solutions in HIPPA-protected environments).

• In addition, the successful candidate must demonstrate, through ideas, words and actions, a strong commitment to USC’s Unifying Values.

Required Experience:

• Master’s Degree in relevant field (i.e. Education/Special Education; Rehabilitation Counseling, Counseling Psychology; Higher Ed Administration/Student Affairs; etc.)
• 3-5 years working with students with disabilities in a higher education setting
• Direct experience in higher education disability services
• Comparable combination of relevant educational and professional experience to preferences above

Preferred Experience:

• Doctoral Degree in relevant field ((i.e. Education/Special Education; Rehabilitation Counseling, Social Work, Counseling Psychology; Higher Ed Administration/Student Affairs; etc)
• 6-8 years working with students with disabilities in a higher education setting
• Experience accommodating students in a clinical learning environment

The annual base salary range for this position is $81,998.01 - $93,320.00. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations

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Minimum Education: Master's degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 3 years Minimum Field of Expertise: Student personnel administration with supervisory experience Current employees apply here