Western Governors University Looking for Student Ombuds Full Time

Job Type: Full time

Job Number: JR-015003

Location: Home Office

The
salary range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but
not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At
WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are
dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

 Pay Range: $82,900.00 –
$120,200.00

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you’re committed to
working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand
access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a
diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has
received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in
helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

Essential Functions and
Responsibilities:

Dispute Resolution/Consultation and Referral

• Provides impartial and confidential consultation to
  students who are aggrieved or concerned about an issue.
• Remains independent, neutral and impartial, and exercise good judgement.
• Assists inquirers in interpreting university policies and procedures.
• Provides assistance to inquirers by clarifying
  issues and generating options for resolution.
• Facilitates the inquirer’s assessment of the pros and cons of possible options.
• Serves as an educator to help individuals improve their skill and confidence in voicing their concerns directly.
• If
  direct action by the Ombudsman may be an appropriate option, obtain the inquirer’s agreement and permission before proceeding.
• If
  necessary, and while maintaining confidentiality, conduct appropriate informal fact-finding in order to better understand an issue form all
  perspectives.
• Consult with managers/faculty to develop cooperative strategies for complaint resolution.
• With the
  inquirer’s permission, consult with all parties to clarify and analyze problems, focus discussions, and develop a mutually-satisfactory
  process for resolution.
• When appropriate, facilitate group meetings, use shuttle diplomacy, or negotiation skills to facilitate
  communication among parties in conflict.
• Whenever possible and appropriate, provide referrals to other resources.

Policy Analysis and Feedback

• Serve as a campus resource for officials in formulating or modifying policy and procedures,
  raising issues that may surface as a result of a gap between the stated goals of the institution and actual practice.
• Review
  periodically the patterns of grievances. Make appropriate recommendations for policies or practices that would reduce or eliminate recurring
  grievances.
• Act as a liaison between individuals or group and the campus administrative structure, serving as a communicator or
  informal facilitator, as appropriate.
• Function as a sensor within the campus community to identify problems or trends that affect
  the entire campus or significant parts of the community; if appropriate, recommend creative ways to address these concerns.
• Provide early warning of new areas of organizational concern, upward feedback, critical analysis of systemic need for improvement, and make
  systems change recommendations.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

Communication and Problem-Solving Skills

• Must have outstanding communication skills and be able to communicate effectively with individuals at all levels of the university as well
  as with people of all cultures.
• Must have excellent problem-solving skills and be able to gather information analyze it and as
  necessary, help the inquirer develop appropriate options and actions.
• Decision Making/Strategic Thinking Skills
• Must
  be aware of how all decisions might impact the inquirer, as well as other stakeholders and the university. Must know how to proceed with
  issues, and help the inquirer assess who should be involved and at what stage.

Conflict Resolution Skills

• Must have a
  thorough understanding of what leads to conflict, the nature of conflict, and methods of resolution.
• Skills used to assist
  inquirers to resolved their conflicts include: helping people learn how to deal with the matter directly if they wish to do this, serving as
  a communication conduit between the parties (shuttle diplomacy), informally bringing the parties together, bringing them together through an
  informal mediation process, approaching the conflict generically (especially when the inquirer is afraid of retaliation), and influencing
  systems change which could obviate the individual problem.
• Must have the ability to help the inquirer determine which conflict
  resolution method would be appropriate of the specific situation.

Organizational Knowledge and Networking Skills

• Must be
  knowledgeable about the university – its structure, culture, policies and practices.
• Must have excellent networking skills,
  understand and participate in collaboration with others and be able to establish and maintain broad contacts throughout the organization.

Sensitivity to Diversity Issues

• Must be sensitive to dealing with individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and
  cultures.
• Must be open, objective, and must seek to understand issues from different perspectives.
• Should be
  innovative in developing options that are responsive to differing needs.
• Integrity
• Should have a reputation for
  integrity and for dealing fairly, effectively and in a timely fashion with all constituents.
• Must be sensitive to cultural issues
  within the university.
• Must demonstrate absolute confidentiality and use good judgement about when and how such information can
  be shared, while being mindful of maintaining professional standards.
• Should not be risk-averse and should understand that this
  position may, on occasion, challenge even the highest levels of the administration in an effort to foster fair and just practices.

#DE&I

As an equal opportunity employer, WGU recognizes that our strength lies in our people. We are committed to
diversity.