Academic Advisor

Would you like to guide students in their journey at University? The department of Mechanical Engineering is searching for an enthusiastic Academic Advisor to join our team.

In this student-facing position, you will be part of the Education and Student Affairs (ESA) team of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME). The ESA team is responsible for all support of the educational programs (both Bachelor's and (pre-)Master's) of the department. Behind the scenes, we ensure a well-coordinated curriculum, study schedule, evaluation and improvement of courses, organization and coordination of education and, of course, student guidance.

The Academic Advisor reports to the Team Lead for Academic Advising of the department.

Information
The core business of an Academic Advisor is student guidance, through in person meetings and e-mail. The daily work also involves administration, some days you may have five student conversations, another mainly administration. As Academic Advisor you are the first point of contact for students and are approached with a variety of topics that they have questions about: from composing their study program and interpretation of the regulations to advice on personal circumstances, combining their studies with a (top-level sports) career. When applicable, you refer them to other TU/e services or teams, such as the Student Psychologists or Student Counselors, or even an external Dutch organization or service. You are continuously updating your knowledge and skills and keep up with information on services and events offered to students.

A substantial and essential part of your role is collaborating with colleagues to help students in the best possible way. For example, by consulting the Student Counselor about personal circumstances, advising the Examination Committee about a request, by emailing a lecturer to clarify the rules and regulations for her course, or by discussing a difficult case with colleagues and looking for solutions together.

Our department cannot stand still, because the material we teach is always evolving. Therefore, you will need to be able to keep up with curriculum and procedural changes and help students to understand these changes.

To do this job, you therefore have to have a good grasp of details and regulations. However, you will be working with more than that. A young person at 18 years old who is struggling with mental or physical health issues and feeling scared that they cannot continue in University, but who doesn’t know the rules about deferral of studies and feels lost in the system, is not just a ‘process and policy’ matter: they are a human being. Therefore, your work requires empathy, sensitivity and social skills, as well as practical information-giving and checking abilities.

• You have good face-to-face and online communication skills and are able to use the right conversation techniques at the right time;
• You have an excellent command of English (C1+) written and spoken, and at least a conversational level of Dutch (A2+), and are willing to improve your Dutch to a level to understand our student-legal texts;
• You have excellent analytical skills and organizational sensitivity;
• You are experienced in working with people from a range of backgrounds and in a range of roles. Professional experience in working with 17-23 age group is a plus;
• You have an academic working and thinking level, an affinity with or background in STEM can be an advantage;
• You are a team player, are result-oriented and can work with others to share information and manage a large volume of student cases;
• You have knowledge of the Dutch higher educational system.

Ideally you would have around 3 years of previous work experience, which does not have to be exclusively in advice-giving, but should cover at least some client-facing roles. We are open to a range of backgrounds and nationalities – after all, our student body is hugely diverse, so why would our employees not be?

If you are concerned that you don’t meet all the requirements sufficiently, but the job does excite you, then be sure to respond, we would love to look at your profile.

An exciting position within an international yet personal university. You are right in the middle of the students, on a green campus within walking distance of the central station. Besides beautiful architecture, you will find varied workplaces and excellent sports facilities. We also offer you:

• A monthly salary of minimum €3,708 to maximum €5,057 for full-time employment, depending on your knowledge and experience (scale 9 collective labour agreement for Dutch Universities).
• In addition to vacation pay, a structural end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• A favorable arrangement for more holidays or a sabbatical.
• A selection model for additional fringe benefits.
• Working hours in consultation for an optimal work-life balance.
• Scope for your talent with advancement prospects and excellent development opportunities such as mentoring, workshops and coaching.
• Partially paid parental leave and reimbursement for commuting expenses, working from home and the internet.
• A generous employer contribution to the favorable ABP pension plan.

Here you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!