Academic Advisor

The University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music is seeking individuals who are passionate about student services and have a minimum of three years of experience as a student services advisor to apply for a full-time Academic Advisor position. This role will report to the Director of Student Affairs and will collaborate closely with other members of the Thornton Admission and Student Affairs team.

The Academic Advisor is part of the Thornton Admission and Student Affairs (TASA) staff, a dynamic and collaborative team of highly committed student support professionals. TASA supports a student body of approximately 1000 undergraduate and graduate students majoring in music, as well as approximately 400 USC undergraduates pursuing minors in music.

Primary job responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides academic advisement for approximately 400 Thornton students
• Maintains and updates student progress records
• Assesses academic progress issues and offers appropriate guidance
• Facilitates assessment of student needs and makes appropriate referrals
• Interfaces and coordinates with Thornton staff and faculty to provide comprehensive support to Thornton students
• Coordinates and supports Thornton student programming, including orientation, student ambassadors, affinity groups, and student council.

Position-specific JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful candidate will have at least three years of professional experience in student service and will exhibit a strong commitment to comprehensive student support. They will possess excellent communication and organizational skills and will demonstrate a high value for integrity, collaboration, and innovation, as well as the ability to work independently, think creatively and analytically, and be flexible in a high-paced work environment with complex priorities.

The preferred candidate will have three or more years of professional experience in student service in a college-level music school. They will also hold an advanced degree in education and/or higher education administration and will have a degree and/or personal background in music with a developed understanding of post-secondary programs in music.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION pertinent to this specific position:

Schedule: Onsite. Candidate must be able to work occasional evenings and/or weekends, as needed.

Salary Hiring Range: The hourly rate range for this position is $33.34 - $34.50. 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.

Required Documents and Additional Information

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents. Your application will not be considered complete without these items.
• Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.

About the Thornton School of Music: The Thornton School is home to more than 185 faculty and 1,000 music majors divided into three divisions: Research and Scholarly Studies, Classical Performance and Composition, and Contemporary Music. Founded in 1884, and today the oldest continually operating cultural institution in Los Angeles, USC Thornton consistently ranks among the top one percent of the nation’s music schools and conservatories. Graduates of the school attain positions with major orchestras, ensembles, recording studios and music industry firms and perform on stages and in studios around the world.

The student body at USC is extraordinarily diverse: it is racially and ethnically a majority/minority population with a full range of expressions of gender, ability and sexual identities which we embrace as a source of institutional strength and community pride. The University’s commitment to building an academic environment hospitable to this wide range of diversity is full and complete. To that end, we are seeking to create as diverse a pool of candidates as possible; one which reflects the broad diversity of identities and experiences that comprise the country as well as Thornton generally.

Combining the benefits of a world-class conservatory and a leading research university, the USC Thornton School of Music offers students the opportunity to pursue a rigorous music education in a real-world context. We offer a full range of musical disciplines across a demanding and innovative curriculum, and the opportunity to work with a faculty of national and international renown. For more information, please visit us at music.usc.edu.

USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff & their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans; tuition benefits for staff & their family; free professional development online courses; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses & free tram pick up services; discounts to football, basketball & other campus events. To view more information, please visit: https://employees.usc.edu/benefits-perks/