Executive Director of the Center for Career and Professional Advising

Haverford College invites applications for our full-time (at least 37.5 hours per week), exempt, benefits-eligible Executive Director of the Center for Career and Professional Advising (CCPA) opportunity.

About Haverford College

Haverford College offers students better learning for broader impact as scholars, creators, citizens, and practitioners. Committed to critical inquiry and ethical practice in local and global settings, we foster an inclusive intellectual learning community to prepare students for lives of integrity, ambition, and purpose. For almost 200 years, Haverford College has offered an incomparable liberal arts education rooted in Quaker practices of social justice and a belief in the inner light and wisdom of each student. With more than 70 majors, minors, and concentrations, a world-class faculty, and extensive partnerships with Philadelphia-area and global communities, Haverford promises an inclusive, values-centered academic experience, and a gateway to the world, all within a vibrant and caring residential community.

The Opportunity

Career and professional advising rests at the core of the College’s new strategic plan–Better Learning, Broader Impact: Haverford 2030. The plan signals an urgent need for higher education to revisit career learning initiatives to better articulate the various knowledges and skills that will be necessary for future graduates. Our goal is to prepare students to ask new questions and to imagine new possible solutions to myriad problems in our rapidly changing world. The plan commits to the following:

Haverford will invest in our capacity to support all students as they look beyond their college years to a wide range of career and life trajectories. This will include expanding access to fully funded summer internships, research opportunities, and other co-curricular experiences. We envision a fully optimized and activated Center for Career and Professional Advising as a critical and galvanizing campus leader in this work, which will engage many areas of the College in helping students envision their futures.

This serves as both a promise of institutional support to expand our current resources for career development and a call to action for the CCPA to play a leading role in this process. The Executive Director has a unique opportunity to join a highly engaged and collaborative community at a time when the College has already given considerable attention to important questions about post-graduation outcomes and students’ career readiness—and to bring inspiring leadership, vision, and insights from prior experiences and current professional networks.

Position Summary

The Executive Director of the Center for Career and Professional Advising (CCPA) provides visionary leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight of all aspects of Haverford’s career and professional development initiatives. Working within a highly collaborative environment that values consensus-driven decision-making, partnership, and equity, the Executive Director serves as a key partner to faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Through a recently published strategic plan, Haverford College has renewed its campus-wide commitment to providing holistic education and support for students through a four-year program centered on career exploration, student reflection, experiential learning, and professional development. Reporting to the Dean of the College, the Executive Director leads a dynamic staff in advising students for graduate and professional schools, competitive fellowships, and careers across a broad spectrum of fields.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serves as the primary representative of Haverford College and of the CCPA to many external partners, including current and prospective employers, internship providers, other colleges and universities, alumni, and the Haverford Board of Managers
• Provides strategic vision, leadership, education, and support to the Haverford campus community (e.g., students, staff, and faculty) in implementing a holistic approach to student career exploration, preparation, and professional development
• Directs all strategic and operational aspects of the Center for Career and Professional Advising
• Manages hiring, supervision, development, and mentorship of six CCPA professional staff members and various student interns
• Fosters collaborative and effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, alumni, employers, the Board of Managers, and the general public
• Employs a co-curricular and developmental approach in establishing and maintaining a four-year career advising program
• Directs assessment activities for the CCPA and employs data-informed assessment strategies for strategic and operational planning efforts
• Ensures responsible fiscal management and resource allocation
• Collaborates with Institutional Advancement to foster mentorship and partnership opportunities with alumni and families
• Leverages strong existing relationship with career services colleagues within the Tri-College consortium (Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges) through frequent communication and engagement
• Maintains online career systems and works closely with colleagues in Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS) to maintain effective recruitment platforms and websites
• Promotes the work of the CCPA within on and off-campus networks through a variety of marketing efforts
• Regularly attends all required meetings within the Student Life division as determined in consultation with the Dean of the College
• Fulfills other special projects or duties as assigned by the Dean of the College, which occasionally includes work on nights and weekends

Line of Report : The Executive Director of CCPA reports to the Dean of the College.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs administration, counselor education, or a related field
• Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in college or university career services programs or relevant training and experience
• Three years of supervisory experience

Professional Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to effectively:

• Direct current comprehensive career services programs and develop new ones under own initiative
• Balance consensus-driven decision-making and leadership authority
• Thrive within a culture of learning, respect, collaboration, innovation, and creativity amongst the CCPA staff and campus colleagues
• Center and promote equity, access, antiracism, inclusion, and belonging in all functions of the department
• Develop robust assessment plans for measuring success and engaging in continuous improvement
• Maintain an understanding of current promising practices in career and professional advising, and contribute to regional and national networks of career professionals
• Exercise good judgment, dependability, creativity, and professionalism
• Communicate with a variety of constituents both in writing and verbally, particularly in designing and delivering presentations
• Collaborate with others on and off-campus
• Show exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications

• A Ph.D., Ed.D., or other terminal degree

Special Requirements

• Ability to obtain and maintain PA Act 153 background checks
• Possession of a valid U.S. Drivers’ License and ability to pass a Motor Vehicle Record check

To Apply : Interested applicants are invited to submit an application, to include a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information of three (3) references by visiting https://haverford.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/Haverford-Campus/Executive-Director-of-the-Center-for-Career-and-Professional-Advising_R496 . The application deadline is June 27, 2023 . Application review will begin after the deadline has passed. Please email recruiting @ haverford.edu with questions about submitting your materials. Should the search committee be interested in pursuing your candidacy, you will hear from them directly.

Haverford College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and providing equal opportunities and access to all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, disability, or veteran status. Women, non-binary and transgender individuals, people of color, Indigenous people, and those with other or multiple historically marginalized and/or underrepresented identities are especially encouraged to apply. Haverford College and our consortial partners are located on Lenape lands.