Job Description
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Academic Staff
Employment Type: Regular
Job Profile: Academic Advisor
Job Summary: The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP) has an opening for an Academic Advisor position. The MJLSP is a merit-based program serving over 500 high-achieving students who receive a full tuition award when admitted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With a philosophy of excellence in scholarship, leadership and service, our team of advisors provides consistent levels of direct support focused on holistic advising practices, coaching, and mentoring. Our team of advisors strives to create a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive environment. The academic advisor role is responsible for planning and executing program activities (retreats, workshops, social activities, volunteer opportunities, annual events) that promote community building and student development.
This position reports to the Associate Director of MJLSP.
About the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP) is a merit-based program serving over 500 high-achieving undergraduate students. With a philosophy of Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership and Service, the program is at the forefront of providing consistent levels of direct support to talented students who as a cohort are admitted to UW-Madison. Since it's inception, the MJLSP has established itself as the premier scholarship program on campus serving students through:(1) high touch advising; (2) monitoring of academic progress, (3) assisting Scholars with their transition to the university community through mentoring and fostering connections to campus and community partners; (4) providing community building opportunities (i.e., service, social activities, diversity engagement opportunities) ; and (5) offering leadership skills development.
About the Student Engagement and Scholarship Portfolio (SESP) The Student Engagement and Scholarship Portfolio (SESP) houses four student scholarship programs (PEOPLE Program, Posse Program, Mercile J. Lee, and First Wave/OMAI) with an infrastructure dedicated to support college attainment. Through intentional programming, personalized advising, and scholarship support, the SESP portfolio prioritizes student success, focusing on academic excellence, leadership, community building, and service. SESP prepares students to enact the Wisconsin Idea, growing as ethical and responsible leaders who can thrive in a world that is diverse, global, and interconnected.
Key Job Responsibilities: - Implements academic advising events such as workshops, panel discussions, and guest speakers
- Supports students in their academic, personal, social, and career development through the planning and execution of co-curricular activities.
- Maintains confidentiality and accurate student records and processes and responds to academic inquiries according to established institutional and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policies
- Maintains expertise with advised curriculum and may assist in developing and recommending exceptions for policy and curriculum
- Serves as a main point of contact for students and provides information about educational options and academic requirements; assists with identifying and assessing interests, skills, and values to match appropriate field of study/career options, and refers students to appropriate institutional resources
- Receives, processes, and responds to academic inquiries according to established policies and procedures
- Participates in the campus-wide advising community providing input to leadership regarding the development of advising, recruitment, and co/curricular programs offered by the school/college
- Proactively engages students as needed
Department: Division for Teaching and Learning, Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP)
Compensation: The starting salary for the position is $55,000 (but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications).
This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. Please review the summary of benefits for more information.
Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Please review the summary of benefits for more information.
Required Qualifications: - One (1) year of full-time professional work experience with academically talented and high-achieving students from backgrounds in which hardship and/or disadvantage have impacted their educational opportunities
- Familiarity with supporting students' pathways and/or success in K-12/college including but not limited to experiences in teaching, access, tutoring, coaching, advising, retention initiatives, or college readiness services.
- Demonstrated ability in planning or coordinating curricular or co-curricular programs for students.
- Manage a workload in a fast-paced, high-traffic area and the ability to multitask
- General knowledge of academic disciplines, programs, and resources
- Excellent interpersonal, customer service, communication (oral and written), and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated ability to promote an understanding and respect of cultural and human diversity and abilities.
- General knowledge of and skills with Microsoft Office Software and in other computer software and tools.
Preferred Qualifications: - One (1) year of full-time professional work experience in advising, student affairs, student services, counseling, or related field
- Some supervisory/professional leadership experience.
- Experience working in a dynamic team environment
- Experience working with academic support programs and services supporting academically talented students
- Demonstrated ability to create and maintain relationships with program stakeholders.
- Ability to exercise initiative and creativity to enhance programming for undergraduate students.
- General knowledge of quantitative and qualitative measures for program evaluation.
- Knowledge and understanding of the preparation for graduate and professional school opportunities.
Education: - Bachelor's Degree Required
- Master's Degree in higher education, administration, student personnel, counseling, psychology, sociology, social work, or relevant areas of study preferred
How to Apply: - Candidates will be required to upload a cover letter referring to related work experience and a resume/CV detailing educational and professional background. Candidates will also be presented with the option to manually enter Certifications, Education, Languages, and Website information.
- Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employ F1 STEM OPT Extension participants.
- Cover Letter Required Prompts: In your application materials, please include a cover letter (max. 2 pages)that specifically includes responses to the two required prompts/questions listed below. Reflecting upon the required and preferred qualifications listed for the position.
- How have your educational/professional/leadership experiences prepared you to support students with their educational goals (particularly students that MJLSP serve)?
- How have your professional/leadership experiences prepared to create/lead/organize programming initiatives that support student retention/persistence?
- The application deadline is 11:59 pm on January 5, 2026.
Contact Information: Emma Voight, emma.sippel@wisc.edu, 608-262-8152
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information
Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.
To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.
Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.
Job Tags
Permanent employment, Full time, Work experience placement, Work at office, Immediate start,