Director, Veterans Affairs

Austin Community College • Austin, TX

3d

About The Position

Reporting to the Executive Director of Student Assistance and Veterans Affairs, this position is responsible for evaluating and strengthening compliance practices related to the Federal GI Bill and Texas Hazlewood Act regulations. This role ensures consistency, quality, and regulatory adherence across all campuses in a large multi-campus structure. This position plays a key role in assessing existing procedures, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing standardized practices that support the equitable and compliant awarding of Veterans Education benefits.

Requirements

• Knowledge of veteran program regulations at the federal and state levels.
• Understanding the comprehensive mission and philosophy of community colleges.
• Awareness of issues affecting military-connected students and multicultural student populations.
• Principles and practices associated with Servant-Leadership.
• Effective leadership, team building skills, and a strong customer orientation when working with multicultural students, faculty, administration, community and business leaders.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to analyze and implement complex regulatory requirements.
• High attention to detail, with a focus on quality assurance and service excellence.
• Capacity to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to confidentiality and professionalism when handling student records.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace.
• Experience with Ellucian Colleague or similar student information systems.
• Familiarity with VA tools such as Enrollment Manager and Tungsten.
• Ability to generate and analyze reports related to compliance and service metrics.
• Three (3) years related work experience including one (1) year supervisory experience.
• Education cannot be substituted for supervisory experience.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Valid Texas Driver's License and reliable transportation may be required to support activities across multiple campus locations.
• Must maintain active federal VA system access using a verified SSN and government-issued ID.

Nice To Haves

• Four (4) years of veterans affairs experience, preferably in higher education or compliance, including one (1) year supervisory experience.
• Master's degree.

Responsibilities

• Supervise, train, coach, and evaluate assigned staff in alignment with College policies and employment laws; recommend hiring and disciplinary actions as needed.
• Monitors regulatory and administrative requirements for GI Bill and Hazlewood programs, identifies regulatory changes and systematic problems, may survey other colleges for responses, and briefs the executive director of recently adopted regulations with respect to Federal GI Bill and State Hazlewood programs along with proposed solutions including plans, recommendations, and timetables for effectively implementing changes appropriately both for compliance and administrative effectiveness for Austin Community College (ACC). Alerts staff and other ACC departments to proposed changes.
• Monitor changes to federal and state veteran education regulations; evaluate impact, propose implementation plans, and coordinate cross-functional responses.
• Create, maintain, and distribute internal policy and procedure documentation to ensure staff adherence to regulatory requirements and institutional standards.
• Provide regular training and updates to staff and relevant departments on veteran benefit regulations, processing procedures, and compliance expectations.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews on veteran-related financial aid files and workflows; recommend improvements to strengthen compliance and service quality.
• Collaborate with system administrators to ensure institutional platforms (e.g., Colleague, Enrollment Manager) are configured for compliance and operational efficiency.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on all veteran education benefits and a primary escalation point for complex student concerns.
• Coordinate the annual VA compliance survey process; lead data collection, serve as a liaison during reviews, and assist with post-audit follow-up and reporting.
• Provide support for veterans outreach and engagement efforts, ensuring student success from enrollment through completion.
• Represent the College at local, regional, and national meetings or conferences to stay current on trends and changes in veterans affairs regulations.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of Veterans Affairs and student assistance goals.

Benefits

• Full-time faculty and staff employees who work in full-time and/or part-time positions at the college are eligible for ACC medical benefits effective the first of the month after their first 60 days of employment.
• Benefits include medical, dental, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, retirement plans, and AD&D.
• ACC does not participate in Social Security.
• ACC participates in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and the Optional Retirement Program (ORP-Faculty and Administrators Only).
• Hourly employees participate in the ACC Money Purchase Plan (ACCMPP) as a retirement program required by federal law.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director