Executive Director, Career Center

Position Function:

The Executive Director of the Career Center provides strategic and visionary leadership to advance career preparation and success of all undergraduate and graduate students and recent alumni. The Executive Director plays a significant and visible role in moving the institution’s strategic and operational initiatives forward by building relationships across the institution as an innovative and trusted partner. Success in the role requires a solution-focused leader with demonstrated breadth of knowledge, skills, and depth of operations. The role is responsible to think broadly and creatively in all aspects of delivering career services to the many constituencies. The Executive Director is a champion of our core values and strategic commitment to attract, retain, advance, and support a broadly diverse workforce of the highest level of excellence that thrives in a respectful, inclusive, and equitable workplace culture. He/she leads a staff which is responsible for researching, adapting and implementing technologies and service delivery. This high-profile position reports to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

Salary Grade : 19

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Administration
1. Provide visionary leadership, direction, and support to achieve Academic Affairs and University mission and goals.
2. Administer, coordinate and supervise functions of the Career Center, including the university's Experiential Education Programs.
3. Provide oversight of operations and maintain appropriate contact with personnel to ensure that response to the needs of students, faculty, staff and employers is effective, service-oriented, and reflects professional best practices.
4. Ensure that the department continuously exhibits an exceptional quality of service and is strategic in planning Career Center services.
5. Develop policies and procedures with appropriate consultation and review, and serve as or appoint liaisons with other university and community organizations to accomplish departmental goals and objectives, while fostering cooperation and a sense of community.
6. Understand the charge of the Career Center and ensure that the department meets the professional standards of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
7. Ensure plans and operations of the department are inclusive of the diverse population of University faculty, staff, and students.
8. Lead and manage a staff with a focus on personal development, conflict resolution, and foster an environment that allows individuals to progress and develop as professionals.
9. Grow the Career Center through the strategic hiring of additional staff to expand services and deliver with a high quality of service, as additional funds are obtained.

Planning & Evaluation
1. Think strategically about the role of the Center in the university. Responsible for ensuring the vision, mission, and goals of the Center complement and support those of the university.
2. Work collaboratively with University leadership and the Provost and Executive Vice President staff to identify, compile, monitor, and regularly update and revise departmental critical functions.
3. Ensure key data related to student and employer traffic on a semester and annual basis are collected, analyzed, maintained, and appropriately reported to various University and external constituents.
4. Ensure trends and patterns in student and employer data are analyzed to support strategic decision-making regarding resource deployment and service and program delivery.
5. Ensure that levels of student and employer satisfaction with various programs and services are systematically analyzed, and the results are used to optimize overall resource effectiveness.
6. Ensure student learning outcomes and quality of service standards are developed and assessed to ensure identified outcomes are achieved.
7. Develop and ensure a culture of continuous improvement exists in the Center, and data-driven strategic planning and decision making is conducted.
8. Continually review and evaluate best practices at peer and peer-plus institutions and then recommend and implement those found to be beneficial to the Center and the University.
9. Review new technologies and tools in the field of career development to secure the best options for the University.

Human Resources
1. Model the values of the University to balance the care of the person and care for the University, and in support of the mission-based competencies including collaboration, communication, diversity, integrity, leadership, and service.
2. Conduct employee goal setting and annual performance evaluations for direct reports to ensure alignment with the vision and mission of the Center.

Financial Management
1. Work closely with the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President to develop annual budget requests that are directly linked to departmental goals.
2. Follow University fiscal procedures and monitors annual spending to stay within budget allocation.
3. Annually review existing goals, conduct appropriate benchmarking, and establish new goals and strategies consistent with university goals and objectives.
4. Generate revenue to offset departmental operating expenses through job fairs and similar events.
5. Think creatively and work closely with the MSU Foundation to obtain gifts and endowments to further the mission of the Center.

Communication
1. Create a compelling brand and narrative which will result in a strong identity and vision for Center staff, students, faculty, university community and external partners.
2. Develop stronger communications and nurture relationships with student organizations, university administrative units, and non-university organizations concerning department activities.
3. As the department’s chief ambassador and spokesperson, the Executive Director is responsible for designing, expanding, and sustaining strategic relationships with employers, alumni, and other partners in the extended college community to support MSU’s mission.

Direct Service/Programming
1. Maintain leadership and strong oversight of the Cooperative Education Program, optional as well as mandatory, to ensure quality learning experiences for students.
2. Conceive, design and implement innovative career development programs appropriate for all levels of students seeking careers in all sectors of employment (business/industry, government, academia, not-for-profit, etc.), as well as those seeking further education in graduate/professional school.
3. Nurture existing and establish new relationships with employers who support the recruitment and employment of MSU students by maintaining excellent employer relations; consult with employers regarding college relations/recruiting issues; and oversee and conduct outreach to new employers.
4. Work independently, or in collaboration with peer universities, oversee and direct research on college students (i.e., both those seeking employment and those continuing their education) related to a variety of career-related issues they are managing.
5. Enhance opportunities for students to find international jobs as well as opportunities for international students to find opportunities.
6. Remain current on career issues, cooperative education programs, and services by maintaining strong professional affiliations through national, regional, and state associations, and by participating in best practices and benchmarking groups that include peer institutions and key employers.

Supervisory Responsibility:
This position has full supervisory responsibility for the department.

The above essential duties are representative of major duties in this position. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary based upon departmental needs. Other duties may be assigned to the above, consistent with the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the job. Not all the duties may be assigned to a position.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Master’s degree in higher education, student personnel or similar area.
2. Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience within career development, higher education administration, college student personnel or similar area, at a a medium or large, comprehensive, public, Doctoral degree granting institution.
3. Experience as Director or Associate/Assistant Director of a Career Center or similar organization.
4. Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with the ability to advocate for students from all backgrounds and academic disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Specialist or terminal degree in higher education, student personnel or similar area.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

1. Demonstrated visionary leadership, organizational, research and analysis, and strategic planning experience at a medium or large, comprehensive, public, Doctoral degree granting institution in a position of Director, Associate Director, or equivalent.
2. Outstanding ability to conceptualize, design and implement innovative career development programs appropriate for all levels of students and alumni seeking careers in all sectors of employment.
3. Ability to plan, organize, and implement projects with complex logistics involving multiple tasks and priorities.
4. Demonstrated skills in effectively supervising, instructing, and mentoring staff, graduate interns, and student volunteers.
5. Extensive knowledge of state-of-the-art occupational, career and job information resources, technology and materials.
6. Strong oral and written communications skills; excellent presentation skills; excellent inter-personal skills.
7. Ability to develop and manage budgets, and proficient computer skills, especially web-based technologies.
8. Skill in preparing clear and concise reports, policies, procedures, correspondence, and other written materials.
9. Familiarity with career-related technologies and software including career services management systems for service delivery, record keeping, and reporting purposes.
10. Ability to develop and execute assessment plans to improve service delivery.
11. Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with the ability to advocate for students from all backgrounds and majors.
12. Experience in leading and managing a sizable, diverse staff and demonstrated commitment to professional development of all staff members.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

• No unusual physical requirements. Requires limited lifting of files and records and nearly all work is performed in a comfortable indoor facility.
• Frequently needs to manage externally imposed deadlines, set and revised beyond one’s control; interruptions that influence priorities; difficult to anticipate nature or volume of work with certainty beyond a few days; meeting of deadlines and coordination of unrelated activities are key to position; involves conflict-resolution or similar interactions involving emotional issues or stress on a regular basis.
• Job frequently requires walking, sitting, reaching, talking, hearing, handling objects with hands.

Instructions for Applying:

Link to apply: http://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

MSU is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, gender identity, status as a U.S. veteran, and/or any other status protected by applicable law. We always welcome nominations and applications from women, members of any minority group, and others who share our passion for building a diverse community that reflects the diversity in our student population.