Associate Director for Career and Employer Engagement

University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA Full-time Education

Posted on April 10, 2024

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Associate Director for Career and Employer Engagement

Job ID
7728

Location
Career and Employment Services

Full/Part Time
Full-Time

Regular/Temporary
Regular

Staff Posting Details

Appointment:
Regular, Full-time

Position Summary:
As a member of the CES leadership team, the Associate Director for Career and Employer Engagement contributes to the development and implementation of highly effective, integrated career and employment services in support of the mission and goals of the college. This position oversees career programs and services that ensure students successfully compete for opportunities leading to creative, productive, and satisfying professional lives and engages with employers on- and off-campus to market the Puget Sound liberal arts talent pool. They represent and promote CES with students, employers, alumni, faculty, staff, community members, parents, advisory boards, and external partner, as well as develop, sustain, and continually assess programs and services for excellence and continuous improvement. This position will also provide staff support for career-related committees.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

Program Management

Provides reports, makes strategy and policy recommendations to Director. Develops policy recommendations for consideration and approval. Apprises Director of trends, strategic issues and concerns. Recommends initiatives to accomplish program objectives.

Serves as primary liaison to Handshake to advance system efficiencies, manages system updates, ensures students and staff have knowledge and resources to use the system effectively in job/internship search. Regularly documents procedures in a constantly evolving electronic environment.

Oversees Graduate First Destination process using the Handshake platform manages survey collection process, employs diverse strategies to ensure robust knowledge rate of the recent graduating class, consults with communications coordinator and leadership team to develop summary infographic that represents key information that supports strategic initiatives and provides strong data to support prospective students. Maintains expertise on best practices for collecting and managing first destination data.

Represents the university's interest and serves as ambassador for CES in local and national associations and consortia related to career development and community engagement, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE), and other local economic development organizations.

Serves as a resource to faculty and staff members regarding the university's career and employer relations programs, providing guidance on ways to collaborate with CES on incorporating career development throughout the student experience.

Employer Engagement

Establishes, develops, and sustains employer relationships that facilitate recruiting of exceptional, best-fit work opportunities for students. Articulates and promotes the unique potential of Puget Sound students and facilitates outstanding employer service/experiences that distinguish Puget Sound in relation to other institutions. Develops and implements strategic recruiting priorities, including collaboration with Experiential Learning related to community engagement.

Oversees employer engagement events such as career fairs, weekly tables, information sessions, industry nights or other events that appeal to the current student audience, ensuring opportunities represent best-fit employers for liberal arts students.

Develops and executes effective communication and promotion plans in support of strategic goals and in conjunction with CES Communications Coordinator.

Maintains current knowledge of policies and practices related to recruiting, especially those related to social media and other emerging recruiting practices. Assesses methods employers use to connect with candidates and determines ways to utilize that knowledge to support students.

Stays abreast of equitable hiring practices and coaches employers with guidance on reaching diverse student populations.

Develops and implements employer-student programs and events to support their alignment with and competitiveness for distinctive opportunities. Promotes employer opportunities via email to targeted segments of the student population, and manages resume collections on behalf of employers.

Manages CRM system to track employer engagement and build searchable database of contacts.

Career Advising Engagement and Oversight

Provides oversight to career advising programs, services, and resources. Maintains current knowledge of career advising trends and topics; facilitates on-going professional development for career advising team. Leads CES career advising meetings.

Serves as a highly visible ambassador for CES, building confidence and trust in our team and services, both on-campus and in the broader community. Develops and nurtures collaboration efforts between CES and other offices in support of innovative program development and impactful program implementation.

Reviews new technology platforms and tools identified by advising team and makes recommendations to director; collaborates with CES Leadership Team to adopt and implement new resources.

Leads career advising team in continuous evaluation of data relating to career advising services and resources; identifies trends and apprises director of recommended course of action. Develops other tracking/measuring resources as needed.

Supervision

Two Career Advisors, CES Communications Coordinator

Provides leadership, training, and support to advising team; assigns, reviews, and evaluates their work; offers professional development to career advisors as well as leadership, vision, and oversight.

Identifies, coordinates, and manages team projects as appropriate.

May supervise temporary and student staff members. May provide training to student staff members to assist them in successfully accomplishing their tasks.

Budget Responsibilities

Effectively manages event and program budgets

Consults with director on budget trends, anticipated needs, and provides input and support for budget decision making.

Other Functions

Engages in lateral planning and collaboration across departments in support of institutional initiatives.

Serves on or leads committees and project teams as requested.

Supports the college's strategic plan, including the diversity strategic plan.

Serves as member of CES Leadership team and may act in stead of director of career and employment services as needed.

Performs other duties or projects as needed or assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree required, Master's degree preferred.

Four years of increasingly responsible experience in career development, employer relations, recruiting, job development, or related field. Alumni engagement experience is preferred.

Higher education experience required. Must be able to communicate the value of a small, private liberal arts college education to a wide range of constituents.

Knowledge of social media and other emerging recruiting trends/practices.

Knowledge of and expertise in a range of program management functions, including relationship and program development, goal management, and reporting.

Exceptional marketing and communication skills.

Must demonstrate a strong customer service orientation and have the ability to organize, analyze, prioritize, and problem-solve within a fast-paced office environment with frequent interruptions.

Ability to work and move projects forward with temporary ambiguity amidst changing priorities.

Experience overseeing and evaluating web resources for career development.

Must have a commitment to liberal arts education and cultural diversity.

Ability to respectfully work, communicate and provide leadership within a diverse campus community.

Must have an understanding of inequities in recruiting processes and able to articulate ways to combat bias in hiring practices.

Requires the use/operation of a personal, rented, or university vehicle to conduct university business on a regular basis.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Strategic Thinking and Program Management: Ability to see the big picture and align program design, service delivery, and resources to support office and institutional goals; to identify implications and connections, consolidate information from various sources to reach sound decisions; to communicate and provide strong leadership when collaborating with others on program design.

Technical and Analytical Skills: Ability to maintain and troubleshoot program records within complex relational data systems, develop reports, and access available data for program decision-making.

Adaptability and Creative Problem Solving: Ability to find ways to manage variable work volume and develop efficiencies for service and program delivery. Ability to adapt work style as needed to be effective both independently and in collaboration with others in an environment of review and feedback.

Innovation and Profession-Specific Knowledge: Ability to use profession-specific knowledge or skills and innovative thinking to anticipate opportunities, address challenges, and implement strategies that will promote change.

Coaching, Teaching, and Presenting: Ability to help develop others' knowledge, skills, and abilities, to engage others in conversations designed to promote self-awareness and decision-making, and to serve as a role model for professional behavior and communication.

Interpersonal Skills: Ability to foster confidence and trust, to develop rapport easily with a wide range of constituents, to foster a collaborative environment; possess a strong customer service orientation.

Oral and Written Communication: excellent writing and public speaking ability; Ability to listen and understand with sensitivity, and to respond appropriately.

Organization: Ability to manage and execute multiple projects with minimal supervision, to set and achieve goals; ability to learn quickly and continuously.

Time Management: Ability to set effective work goals, establish priorities, and plan well in order to produce quality work according to deadlines.

Compensation and Benefits:
The anticipated range for this position is $65,000 to $68,500 annually. Decisions about starting salaries are made based on the extent and relatedness of the candidate's education and experience and on internal equity and market considerations.

Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible staff employees, including:

Medical, dental, and vision

Life insurance and long-term disability

Employee Assistance Program

Retirement plan options and 403(b) contributions

Paid vacation, sick leave, floating holiday, campus holidays and bonus holidays

Education benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their families

Access to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures and more!)

Please note:
-Positions that work less than .75 FTE (1,560 hours per year) do not qualify for long-term disability or education benefits.
-Positions that work less than .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will accrue paid sick leave but are not eligible for additional benefits.
-Temporary positions that work at least .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will be eligible for benefits.

Based on where the candidate falls within the salary range, this position may be non-exempt or exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

For more information on Puget Sound's exempt staff benefits package, visit: Summary of 2024 Benefits for Staff Members in Exempt Positions.pdf (pugetsound.edu)

For more information on Puget Sound's non-exempt staff benefits package, visit: Summary of 2024 Benefits for Staff Members in Non-Exempt Positions.pdf (pugetsound.edu)

For the Campus Holiday and Bonus Day Schedule, visit: https://www.pugetsound.edu/human-resources

Application Deadline:
Review of applications will begin Friday, May 10, 2024. Search and selection procedures will be closed when a sufficient number of qualified candidates have been identified.

Required Documents:

Resume

Letter of Interest

Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.

All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.

University Diversity Statement

We acknowledge the richness of commonalities and differences we share as a university community; the intrinsic worth of all who work and study here; that education is enhanced by investigation of and reflection upon multiple perspectives.

We aspire to create respect for and appreciation of all persons as a key characteristic of our campus community; to increase the diversity of all parts of our University community through commitment to diversity in our recruitment and retention efforts; to foster a spirit of openness to active engagement among all members of our campus community.

We act to achieve an environment that welcomes and supports diversity; to ensure full educational opportunity for all who teach and learn here; to prepare effectively citizen-leaders for a pluralistic world.

Puget Sound is committed to an environment that welcomes and supports diversity. We seek diversity of identity, thought, perspective, and background in our students, faculty, and staff. To learn more please visit: https://pugetsound.edu/about-puget-sound-0/mission-core-values/institutional-equity-diversity

The University of Puget Sound is an equal opportunity employer.

To apply: https://www2.pugetsound.jobs/psc/HR92PRD/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=2&JobOpeningId=7728&PostingSeq=1&

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