How to hire a student support services director

How to hire a student support services director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step student support services director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a student support services director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new student support services director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a student support services director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the student support services director you need to hire. Certain student support services director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A student support services director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, student support services directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents student support services director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Student Support Services Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Student Support Services Director	Social and community service managers coordinate and supervise social service programs and community organizations. They manage staff who provide social services to the public.	$20-50
   Youth Leader	A youth leader is a young individual who is responsible for building a sense of community within the church youth that can provide an opportunity for both spiritual and social development. Youth Leaders organize regular social, educational, and spiritual oriented events with parents and volunteers to maintain a vibrant program... Show more	$11-17
   Home Manager	A home manager is responsible for a home's overall operation. Your duties typically include managing household schedules and calendars, planning and organizing events, and overseeing maintenance projects... Show more	$24-54

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Student Support
   • Social Work
   • Professional Development
   • Student Services
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Mediation
   • Financial Aid
   • Coordinators
   • Academic Support
   • Community Agencies
   • Direct Supervision
   • Student Retention
   • Student Development
   • Federal Regulations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Support and oversee students from colleges across the country as they organize and lead interfaith service programming on their own campuses.
   • Confer with physicians, psychologist, occupational therapists and other professionals in order to develop and implement client rehabilitation programs.
   • Participate in AQIP activities, committees and action learning projects.

   More student support services director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your student support services director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A student support services director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a student support services director in Florida may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level student support services director usually earns less than a senior-level student support services director. Additionally, a student support services director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average student support services director salary

   $68,180yearly

   $32.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level student support services director salary

   $43,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average student support services director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$81,340	$39
   2	New York	$80,752	$39
   3	Michigan	$80,130	$39
   4	Massachusetts	$77,755	$37
   5	Washington	$74,222	$36
   6	Illinois	$73,670	$35
   7	Connecticut	$69,741	$34
   8	Virginia	$67,349	$32
   9	Delaware	$66,171	$32
   10	Colorado	$64,143	$31
   11	Utah	$63,432	$31
   12	Indiana	$63,133	$30
   13	Wisconsin	$61,163	$29
   14	North Carolina	$61,080	$29
   15	Kentucky	$60,375	$29
   16	Texas	$53,603	$26
   17	Florida	$50,744	$24
   18	Kansas	$50,196	$24

   Average student support services director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	St. Clair County Community Mental Health	$69,852	$33.58
   2	Oxnard Union High School District	$68,986	$33.17	1
   3	Central Washington University	$68,658	$33.01
   4	University of Washington	$68,436	$32.90	10
   5	MSU Northern	$67,102	$32.26
   6	Ivy Tech Community College	$65,390	$31.44	46
   7	Triton College	$65,267	$31.38
   8	University at Buffalo	$64,676	$31.09
   9	Marquette University	$62,382	$29.99
   10	Broward County Public Schools	$61,641	$29.64	2
   11	Jvs Chicago	$61,285	$29.46	4
   12	University of Alaska	$60,230	$28.96	105
   13	Syracuse University	$60,027	$28.86	4
   14	UMass Dartmouth	$58,768	$28.25
   15	Durham Public Schools	$56,444	$27.14	10
   16	YES Prep Public Schools	$56,416	$27.12	2
   17	WKYU	$55,797	$26.83	6
   18	Clovis Community College	$51,866	$24.94	1
   19	Nazareth College	$50,735	$24.39
   20	Hampton University	$45,821	$22.03

4. Writing a student support services director job description

   A student support services director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a student support services director job description:

   Student support services director job description example

   The Director of Student Support Services will be responsible for leading the Student Support Services Team. Responsibilities will include managing and coaching support services teachers and interventionists, leading the Response to Intervention program, facilitating and managing collaboration with the Committee on Special Education, providing professional development and resources to all staff in the areas of Special Education and teaching English Language Learners, and serving as a member of the School Leadership Team. The Director of Student Support Services will report to the Principal.
   Responsibilities:
   
   (1) Management of Student Support Services
   
   Create and oversee a comprehensive Response to Intervention program
   
   Manage and coach the Student Support Services Team, leading weekly team meetings
   
   Serve as an active member of the School Leadership Team, meeting weekly for strategic planning and discussion of school initiatives
   
   Aid teachers to improve on their instructional practice, especially as it relates to discipline, relationships with students, and school culture, in order to ensure the character and academic growth and success of all students
   
   (2) Professional Development for Staff
   
   Plan, implement, and provide ongoing professional development and feedback to all staff, focusing on differentiation and supporting students with varying needs
   
   Oversee the implementation of professional development and revise as necessary in response to student and teacher needs
   
   Conduct classroom observations and follow-up with targeted support for teachers to help them become even more effective in serving students with Special Needs and English Language Learners; be available to work with teachers to problem-solve areas of instructional difficulty
   
   Organize summer training and weekly professional development days in coordination with other Deans and the Principal.
   
   Develop a menu of internal and external professional development opportunities available to our teachers and consistent with our mission/vision
   
   (3) Teacher Coaching
   
   Conduct classroom observations and follow-up with targeted feedback and support to help teachers become even more effective.
   
   Conduct weekly one on one conversations with direct reports, including time for relationship building, gathering feedback, assessing individual needs, and providing feedback (instructional and other, as needed)
   
   Provide lesson plan and unit plan feedback as needed to all staff members and weekly to direct reports
   
   Contribute to and participate in quarterly, mid-year, and end-of-year teacher performance evaluations.
   
   Recognize and celebrate student achievement and staff professional growth and success.
   
   Contribute to the successful implementation of our teacher induction program and to develop or recommend workshops appropriate to staff needs
   
   (4) Operational Support
   
   Teach classes when necessary, for coverage purposes or professional development of teachers.
   
   Collaborate with the Leadership Team regarding daily schedule, class schedule, and student placements in conjunction with the Director of Operations.
   
   Participate in the teacher recruitment and hiring process, in collaboration with the Principal.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find student support services directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any student support services directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level student support services directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your student support services director job on Zippia to find and recruit student support services director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit student support services directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new student support services director

   Once you've found the student support services director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a student support services director?