Assistant Director, Civic Engagement & Service - Community Outreach

Position Summary

Applications are welcome from all qualified candidates. In line with UAE regulations, Emirati candidates are encouraged to apply.

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to appoint a Assistant Director, Civic Engagement & Service reporting to the Head of Civic Engagement Service, Student Affairs.

Reporting to the Head of Civic Engagement & Service, the Assistant Director of Civic Engagement & Service is a key leadership role, serving as a deputy to the Head of the department. This individual is charged with assisting in the delivery of the strategic vision and operational excellence of the department’s core initiatives, creating transformative pathways for students to translate knowledge into action by engaging meaningfully ‘in and of Abu Dhabi. They are a primary architect of opportunities that immerse students in real-world problem-solving, connecting them deeply and passionately with causes. They build mutually beneficial community partnerships and co-create educational opportunities that help students shape their understanding of how they will contribute to the communities they will be a part of in the future.

This position assumes significant responsibility for the service-learning strategy of Civic Engagement & Service, inclusive of the newly established Changemaker Hub, ensuring volunteer and service opportunities are embedded with reflective processes to ensure ongoing, iterative learning and leadership development. Externally, they oversee a diverse portfolio of partnerships with external organizations including but not limited to local schools, universities, People of Determination centers, inclusion partners, nonprofit, government and private institutions. Internally, the Assistant Director co-manages student engagement programs for the department, including student employees and consultative relationships with student organizations. As a visionary leader with a strategic thinking lens, they will represent the department at key events, make key operational decisions in the absence of the Head, and support the department’s infrastructure through strategic communications, data collection, and reporting.

Job Responsibilities:

Student Capacity Building & Impact Leadership:

- Co-lead the Impact Leadership area of the Changemaker Hub with the Head of CES, including its student programs, for example Give Where You Live

- Recruit, select, train and supervise Sufara’a (NYUAD Student Ambassadors) and student interns

- Coach individual students and student groups on community engagement initiatives in collaboration with Student Life, advising on institutional risks and ensuring students have the context and resources they need

- Support the growth, leadership, and professional development of Sufara’a (NYUAD Student Ambassadors) and the group of student interns in the Department of Civic Engagement & Service that assist with running events and ongoing programs

- Orient students to global frameworks and best practices for community engagement, helping them contextualize their UAE experiences

- Facilitate capacity building opportunities for students’ social impact ideas, supporting the university in building a culture of service and a mindset of social responsibility

- Consult as needed with NYU Abu Dhabi’s legal and compliance teams, the Office of engagement and accessibility (OEA) and the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) to ensure risks are appropriately managed

Program Development & Evaluation:

- Collaboratively develop and refine programs for students to contribute meaningfully to the Abu Dhabi and UAE communities (ex: Give Where You Live, the Youth Leadership Network, SNAP…etc)

- Ensure we are aligning service learning programs with global frameworks and best practices, as well as UAE specific priorities as set by the Department

- Assists in the development of learning outcomes for civic engagement and service programs and initiatives, implementing both quantitative and qualitative assessment for program enhancement, and developing protocols, manuals and training materials as needed, ensuring a reflective learning process

- Ensure that processes and policies related to student community engagement are supportive of and compliant with NYUAD guidelines and UAE regulations.Analyzes data to recommend changes and improvements to civic engagement and service programming to benefit students and community

Strategic Communication:

- Strengthen storytelling of student impact and CES program contributions to the UAE through collaborations with the External Relations department

- Develop and implement communication strategies that support the mission and activities of Student Affairs through multifaceted channels including but not limited to: newsletters, stakeholder reports, social media, video, design and print publications

- Work closely with External Relations to ensure accurate and compelling content on internal portal and public website pages

- Assist with the content delivery and copy editing of university-wide marketing collateral for hallmark civic engagement and service programs

- Continuously strengthen the NYUAD brand in stakeholder communities by sharing student engagement and community impact outcomes in strategic ways

- Liaise with professionals and vendors for development of communications collateral

Partnerships:

- Build and cultivate relationships with local partners to promote NYUAD students and programs and to identify work, volunteer, cultural exchange and leadership development opportunities for students

- Represent the Department of Civic Engagement and Service at key events, meetings, and programs on the behalf of the Head of Department when they are unavailable

- Keep local partners engaged through clear expectations, regular check-ins and feedback

- Support the Head of Civic Engagement & Service in the advancement of external impact through developing and implementing strategies to sustain engagement with and strengthen capacity building of community partners

- Coordinate with NYUAD community engagement stakeholders to support university-wide interdisciplinary outreach, identifying alignment and collaboration with areas such as the Career Development Center, Athletics, ResLife, Center for Belonging, Admissions and Global Education teams, as needed.

Reporting & Data Management:

- Manage critical data and reporting functions for Student Affairs and Civic Engagement & Service, including gathering of materials for annual reports, implementing data collection systems, compiling profiles of students and programs for external stakeholders

- Producing engaging visual presentations and publications

- Support special reporting needs and liaise with other departments to ensure proper data management to support the activities of the division

- Align Civic Engagement & Service projects with the NYU President’s Flourishing Framework, and the NYUAD Violet Ready competencies.

Other divisional duties as assigned

Qualifications

Required Education

- Master's Degree in higher education, international development, social work or related field, or equivalent experience

Required Experience

- 5+ years in higher education, community development or related field

- Proven track record in working with community organizations, building new partnerships and managing multiple collaborators, particularly within the UAE context

- Experience coaching university students about experiential education, helping them navigate complex challenges and nuanced understandings of community

- Experience with student engagement, contact management, and/or volunteering tracking software

- Deep understanding of global frameworks for service learning and social impact, as well as UAE specific priorities for social impact

- High proficiency in developing and implementing strategic communications campaigns and leveraging data for storytelling

- Ability and willingness to work evenings and weekends, particularly during the academic year

- Excellent organization, presentation, written communication, and interpersonal skills

- Passion for community building, volunteerism and social impact

Preferred Experience

- Working knowledge of AI tools for writing, research, and data tasks, and an understanding of how to use them ethically, including protecting student privacy and checking AI output for accuracy

- Basic photo and video editing, or design tools like Canva or Adobe Express, for publishing content without waiting on a vendor, as needed

- Familiarity with UAE government structures that regulate volunteering and community work

- Experience facilitating reflection sessions or engaging workshops

- Comfort presenting to senior leadership and external partners

- Skills in google sheets and qualtrics or survey tools for assessment data

Additional Information

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.