Student Engagement and Community Specialist

Position Summary

Columbia Engineering seeks a service-oriented and collaborative professional to serve as the Student Engagement and Community Specialist supporting the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program and the Engineering Student Affairs (ESA) Office. Reporting to a supervisor, the incumbent supports the student experience and sense of belonging by coordinating assigned aspects of student engagement, orientation, and community-building activities across the student lifecycle from admission through graduation and into alumni engagement.

The Specialist oversees logistics and provides administrative support for established academic, social, professional, and co-curricular programming for MSAI students and, as assigned, supports school-wide ESA initiatives. The role follows established event planning processes, communications templates, and University/school procedures, escalating non-routine issues and policy interpretation questions to senior staff. The Specialist collaborates with faculty, staff, student leaders, alumni, and employer partners to support student engagement and effective program delivery.

Responsibilities

Student Life and Engagement (45%):

• Serves as an initial point of contact for MSAI students; responds to routine inquiries and routes students to appropriate campus resources and offices as needed.
• Oversees assigned components of MSAI new student orientation (e.g., scheduling, room requests, speaker logistics, communications distribution, materials preparation, registration, and day-of support) under the direction of a supervisor.
• Organizes the delivery of MSAI academic, social, professional, career, alumni, and co-curricular events by coordinating logistics (e.g., calendars, registration, space requests, vendor coordination, run-of-show materials, check-in).
• Maintains the MSAI student events calendar using established tools and processes.
• Organizes group advising sessions, student town halls, and other forums by coordinating scheduling, communications, and logistics.
• Communicates established University and school event planning policies and procedures; refers questions requiring interpretation or exceptions to senior staff.
• Administer event promotion by preparing drafts and distributing communications using approved templates; maintains mailing lists and distribution groups.
• Creates and maintains event and program feedback surveys using existing formats; compiles routine participation and feedback summaries for supervisor review.
• Collects and shares student feedback with the supervisor to support continuous improvement of the MSAI student experience.
• Provides administrative and operational support to MSAI students across the student lifecycle by following established processes and escalating non-routine matters.
• Organizes recruitment and yield efforts by assisting with event logistics and responding to routine prospective/admitted student inquiries using approved messaging; escalates complex questions as needed.
• Oversees logistics for admitted-student yield activities (communications distribution, webinar set-up, virtual/on-campus event support, and class visit coordination) under supervisor direction.

Student Affairs (35%):

• Serves as an initial point of contact for Columbia Engineering graduate students regarding Graduate Student Life events and University-recognized student organizations; responds to routine questions and routes to appropriate staff/resources.
• Organizes the execution of orientation and signature events (e.g., Graduate Welcome Day, Graduate Class Day, Doctoral Hooding, Graduate Engineers Connect) by coordinating logistics and day-of operations under established plans.
• Organizes and prepares educational, social, and community-building programming by coordinating assigned tasks (space requests, registration, communications distribution, vendor coordination, materials preparation).
• Communicates established event planning policies to graduate student leaders; refers policy interpretation, exceptions, or conduct-related issues to senior staff.
• Provides administrative support for student group events by tracking submissions, confirming required forms are complete, and routing proposals for review/approval; supports event tracking after approval as assigned.
• Creates and maintains event feedback surveys using existing templates; compiles routine results for Graduate Student Life and Engineering Graduate Student Council events.
• Process routine enrollment-related transactions (e.g., Registration Adjustment Forms, Leave of Absence requests, and related documentation) by reviewing for completeness, processing per established procedures, and escalating discrepancies or complex cases.
• Assist with the implementation and delivery of Professional Development and Leadership courses and graduate career placement initiatives by coordinating logistics, communications distribution, and tracking participation as assigned.
• May provide day-of direction to student workers/temporary staff for events as assigned.

Marketing and Communications (15%):

• Updates and maintains MSAI program web pages using established content standards and approval processes.
• Administer MSAI program and Graduate Student Life social media by scheduling posts and maintaining content calendars using approved messaging; routes new content for review/approval as required.
• Administer MSAI and Graduate Student Life newsletters and recurring communications by drafting routine content using templates, updating distribution lists, and coordinating scheduling and approvals.
• Oversees the MSAI program email aliases and supports related email communications.

(5%) Performs related duties and responsibilities as assigned/requested.

Minimum Qualifications

A bachelor’s degree and/or its equivalent is required. 0-2 years of relevant experience required; full-time, internship, practicum, or graduate assistantship experience in student affairs or a related area is preferred.

Understand student and academic affairs opportunities and challenges affecting constituents, comprising a diverse population, both domestic and international. Ability to represent the Program and School professionally at recruitment, yield, and orientation events.

Strong technical competency is required; demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of student services database software and online resources, and the willingness and enthusiasm to respond to students’ needs in an increasingly technologically dynamic society. Proficiency with Google suite of products, MS Office (Excel with pivot tables, VLOOKUP), PowerPoint, publishing software, social media, etc. Ability to analyze and work with a large volume of student, course, and other types of data.

The ability to interpret and apply standards and to communicate complex policies and procedures to students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders. Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently while accepting responsibility and accountability for assignments within a team environment.

Must be willing to work on occasional evenings and weekends, on an as-needed basis, especially during recruitment, yield, orientation, and when a student crisis arises. Possess excellent interpersonal and administrative skills. Ability to work independently and under pressure, with a high level of attention to detail. The incumbent must exercise good judgment, diplomacy, and flexibility, with a student-wellness mindset.

Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks with minimal supervision. Must be able to communicate effectively and tactfully with staff, faculty, students, employers, and alumni in small and large group settings. A positive, mission-oriented, and forward-thinking attitude, along with a sense of humor, is a must.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.