Associate Director of Career Coaching & Student Engagement

About the Job

The Associate Director for Career Coaching & Student Engagement is a key leader in supporting CLA students’ career readiness. This role has oversight of many student-facing offerings and is a member of the CLA Career Services’ Strategy Team.

The Associate Director is charged with:

• Leading and managing the career coaching function which supports CLA undergraduate students and recent alumni (up to one year),
• Developing and strengthening programs, services and resources that support liberal arts student career exploration and planning aligned with CLA’s academic majors and career fields, and
• Serving as a key leader to support student engagement across service modalities. This role supervises professional career coaches as well as overseeing the work of undergraduate peer coaches.

CLA Career Services has a strong commitment to support the University’s goal of creating a positive and inclusive campus climate for all. We are seeking a diverse pool of candidates with varying identities and backgrounds.

Essential Functions

55% Career Coaching & Student Engagement Initiatives

• Leadership and management of the career coaching function. This includes 1:1 coaching, coaching at scale through career management courses, and delivery of programs and events across career fields to support students’ career development
• Drive targeted programming initiatives to meet the diverse needs of students in alignment with CLA Career Services’ strategic plan
• Lead integration of career field framework across CLA Career Services initiatives
• Oversee systems and processes for career coaching appointments, drop-in services, e-doc reviews, and student-facing self-service resources and the like
• Teach 1-2 sections of CLA’s career management courses each semester
• Engage in assessment initiatives to understand the impact and effectiveness of different modes of service delivery and activities to support data-driven continuous improvement
• Collaborate with Career Services colleagues, including the Associate Director of Career Management Curriculum to leverage CLA’s Career Services learning outcomes, career courses, CLA’s “MyCareerManagement” student-facing recommendation tool, and CLA’s student-facing communications to deliver career education equitably and at scale
• Oversee efforts to leverage peer-to-peer coaching to support the delivery of services at scale
• Serve as liaison between CLA Career Services and academic departments to promote collaboration including but not limited to responding to requests for class speakers and events and the like

25% Supervision & Training

• Supervise the career coaching team and lead a robust training program to ensure staff are well prepared to serve CLA’s diverse student population, and are knowledgeable about industry and workforce trends relevant to liberal arts students
• Provide timely and actionable feedback to coaches to ensure that their efforts both support the achievement of strategic goals and enhance their work with students
• Ensure the team’s effective use of the APLUS student contact system to support the achievement of students’ career learning outcomes and to collect data
• Develop and deliver CLA Career Champions curriculum to CLA colleagues to expand reach and advance students’ career management competency development in scalable ways

20% CLA Career Services Leadership, Professional Development, & Service

• Serve as a member of the CLA Career Services Strategy Team that collaborates and consults with the Director to operationalize the team’s strategic plan
• Advance the team’s communication strategy by providing up-to-date research- and literature-based content to support scalable delivery of critical career-related information
• Represent CLA Career Services at key college meetings and at campus-wide events (e.g. Admissions events, Orientation, Welcome Week, Undergraduate Education Events, etc.)
• Commitment to ongoing social justice and racial equity work in order to identify, challenge, and remove barriers to access at the individual, community, and system level
• Engage in professional development and scholarly activity in the field of student affairs and career development to maintain knowledge of trends and best practices (e.g. membership in professional associations, attendance at conferences and seminars, write articles, serve on teams and collaborate with other professional groups, etc.)
• Other duties as assigned and as appropriate to the individual’s background and experience

Evening and weekend hours may be required.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree plus at least eight years of relevant experience in career services, human resources, or student affairs or Master's degree in counseling, student affairs, higher education, or a related field plus at least six years of relevant experience in in career services, human resources, or student affairs
• Experience leading and supervising a team of professionals
• Experience aligning tactics and goals to support a strategic plan and to achieve outcomes
• Experience working effectively with people with diverse identities and backgrounds
• Evidence of commitment to supporting principles of equal opportunity, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice

Preferred Qualifications :

• Experience delivering career coaching/counseling
• Experience providing career support that is scalable and replicable to increase equitable access to career management information
• Experience as a career course instructor
• Superior communications skills
• Experience working in a liberal arts setting
• Ability to leverage data, assessment insights, and technology tools to enhance effective delivery of services and supports to diverse groups of undergraduate students
• Proven ability to develop and maintain collaborative professional partnerships
• Familiarity with national trends and leading practices in higher education career development and the related needs specific to Generation Z

About the Department

CLA Career Services strives to offer a continuum of increasingly inclusive, unavoidable, high impact career management development that advances readiness for all CLA students. This is done in alignment with our land-grant mission and with an increasing focus on meeting the needs of students who experience the greatest barriers to their career management development, while also deepening and strengthening career development support for the entire undergraduate student population. The office is also charged with infusing a greater focus on high-impact practices and industry and workforce trends throughout our programs and services, and throughout the College.

Pay and Benefits





Salary Range: $70,500.00 - $78,000.00 Depending on education/qualifications/experience

Time Appointment: 100% Appointment

Position Type: P&A Staff

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefit eligibility.

The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

To apply for this role please submit a PDF copy of the following:

Resume

Cover Letter

DEI Statement

Priority Deadline: Friday, November 22nd, 2024

Diversity

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. To learn more about diversity at the U: http://diversity.umn.edu

Employment Requirements

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

About the U of M

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America’s Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).