Assistant\/Associate Director of Career Exploration

Suffolk University is a private, urban university located in the heart of downtown Boston. Our college green is the Boston Common and we are steps from dozens of historic sites including the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, City Hall and the Massachusetts State House. We have no real boundaries to our campus—Boston and Suffolk blend together.

Suffolk has been committed to creating an exceptional learning experience since 1906. Our vision is to be recognized as a dynamic institution that fosters engaged learning, rigorous scholarship, innovative thinking, and community collaboration across disciplines. We will ensure that Suffolk graduates are versatile and prepared for modern society and the new world market. We will provide rich curricula, experiential learning opportunities and professional mentoring through increased collaboration with alumni and community partners. We will recruit, mentor, and support a diverse faculty of teacher-scholars who are passionately committed to preparing our students to be leaders in the global community. We will inspire investment in a Suffolk community that is built on ethical, forward-thinking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

We compete for the best talent. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse community. We are actively seeking applicants from groups that might be under-represented because of race/color, gender, religion, real or perceived disability, national origin or LGBTQ status. As part of our commitment we encourage you to complete the demographic portion of the application in addition to submitting your cover letter and resume/CV as it will assist us in targeting our recruitment efforts.

Please note that Suffolk University conducts background checks as a condition of employment.

We are also committed to the well-being of our employees. Our terrific benefits package for benefits-eligible positions include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time-off programs and commitment to work-life balance
• Tuition free course benefits in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Sawyer Business School for employees with additional tuition benefits for spouses, domestic partners, and children
• Top-notch well-being care available through Harvard Pilgrim Medical/Delta Dental and a Flexible Spending Account
• Pre-tax commuter benefit
• Employee Assistance Program that provides employees and their family members with initial assessment, referrals and short-term counseling for personal and work challenges
• Discounted home and auto insurance

Description

This role is open at both the Assistant Director and Associate Director level, depending on candidate’s experience.

The AD for Career Exploration will lead the efforts to integrated career education, exploration, and readiness into all aspects of the institution, with a particular focus on one of the two academic colleges (College of Arts & Sciences or the Sawyer Business School). They will coordinate university-wide career education programming in partnership with other colleagues in the Center for Career Education and Professional Development (CEPD). The individuals in this role will support the general career education needs of both undergraduate and graduate students by conducting individual appointments, collaborating with other programs on campus for programming efforts, supporting faculty and academic leaders to embed career readiness into the curriculum, and identifying other systematic ways that career education concepts can be integrated into the culture of the institution.

In addition, the two ADs for Career Exploration will co-supervise a team of student Career Ambassadors. They will recruit, hire, train, and supervise the Career Ambassadors, who will then serve as entry-level career educators, in-class presenters, and other functions to serve the rest of CEPD.

The two ADs for Career Exploration will report to a Director of Career Exploration along with two ADs for Alumni Career Engagement and an AD of Internships and Mentoring Programs. The Career Exploration strand will be part of Suffolk’s Center for Career Education and Professional Development (CEPD), which will include two other strands focused on developing industry-specific career communities and managing the operational needs of the Center.

Primary/Principal Responsibilities:





50%



Programming and Advising

· Provide some 1-on-1 and small-group career advising and coaching for students

· Become an integrated member of one of the two academic colleges (College of Arts & Sciences or the Sawyer Business School). Learn the curriculum guidelines, be present at curriculum committee meetings, meet regularly with key faculty, and support in-class initiatives related to career education

· Develop innovative, entrepreneurial formats for undergraduate and graduate students to build the skills and competencies required for successful careers (NACE competencies and others); collect data on the success of these and other initiatives to hone future initiatives

· Maintain active communication through social media, targeted emails, and in-person or virtual engagement with students.

· Collaborate with the AD of Operations and Technology to ensure that students are utilizing the career technologies available to them, including Vault, Quinncia, and Handshake. Support the initiative to have every student complete a robust Handshake profile and update it often.



30%



Collaboration

· Coordinate with teammates across CEPD to ensure that programming and efforts support, rather than conflict with, other efforts on the team and at the institution. Lead efforts among this group to develop a model/framework/rubric for career education that can guide the work of the entire team.

· Work with the AD of Career Equity and Access to ensure that career exploration and education initiatives are inclusive of all students and are reaching those students who are traditionally underserved.

· Partner closely with Academic Advising to support students, especially those who are exploring or changing majors

· Work with Orientation and New Student programs to provide a robust, engaging, innovative introduction to the concepts of career education and readiness for incoming undergraduate and graduate students.

· Work with colleagues in Student Affairs, Enrollment Management, Student Employment, and other key units to identify strategic ways to integrate career education into new and existing programs, policies, and procedures.



20%



Supervision

· Recruit and hire a cohort of student Career Ambassadors each semester or academic year

· Develop initial and ongoing training

· Supervise and delegate responsibilities to the student Career Ambassadors that are in line with their capabilities and the needs of CEPD. Think innovatively about ways Career Ambassadors can be used more effectively to support the mission of CEPD.



Requirements/Qualifications:


• Bachelor’s degree with at least 3 years of experience in career services, employer relations, recruiting, or other related fields
• Demonstrated ability to relate to individuals of diverse backgrounds; in particular, the ability to go the extra mile to engage and assist students.
• Familiarity with career and student development
• Knowledge of academic and career pathways pertaining to business
• Familiarity with best practices in career services, particularly advising and programming.
• Results-oriented and eager to contribute to and achieve performance targets of a high performing team.
• Familiarity with trends in regional employment markets, economic growth, and occupations.
• Excellent written communication, public speaking and listening skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to quality customer service including professional appearance, demeanor, and comportment; and a high level of responsiveness and care.
• Some travel required locally/regionally to hiring organizations and conferences.


Suffolk University does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, genetic information, or status as a veteran in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs, activities, or employment. Suffolk University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse and inclusive faculty and staff that reflect the broad range of human experience who contribute to the robust exchange of ideas on campus, and who are committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment. We strongly encourage applications from groups historically marginalized or underrepresented because of race/color, gender, religious creed, disability, national origin, veteran status or LGBTQ status. Suffolk University is especially interested in candidates who, through their training, service and experience, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community.