Director, Career Connections

Community College of Philadelphia


General Description

Reporting to the Vice President for Workforce & Economic Innovation, the Director, Career Connections provides strategic vision, leadership, and assessment for comprehensive career and outreach services that meet the changing needs of our students, recent graduates, and alumni.

The Director is responsible for the development and execution of a vision to position Community College of Philadelphia as a career and employer-oriented institution that provides experiential learning opportunities for our students. The Director is charged with developing, leading, and overseeing the College's comprehensive career services including student services, employer services, and faculty and academic services. This position provides strategic leadership in the design and implementation of experiential learning and job opportunities; tracking and reporting employment statistics; developing marketing materials for internal and external stakeholders; and the development of programs aimed at providing students with the skill sets necessary for success in the workplace, professional fields and placement in selected career paths. The Director oversees an Associate Director and the Manager of Employer Partnerships.


Specific Responsibilities

• Establish strategic direction of the Career Connections department, driving departmental priorities and goals in alignment with Workforce & Economic Innovation Division plan and the College's strategic plan.

• Determine staffing needs to implement expanded services, more employer focused approach to Career Connections.

• Collaborate with Academic and Divisional leadership to prioritize programs in need of stronger employer connections and experiential learning opportunities.

• Provide strategic direction to design and implement innovative educational programming aimed at preparing students for professional success.

• Establish and develop strategies to drive results and provide intentional career development programs, using best practices in career development.

• Oversee and support the Associate Director and Manager of Employer Partnerships in the development of strategic relationships with employers and employer intermediaries and student engagement activities to enhance meaningful connections to the College and identify new programs, or revise existing programs, to meet local workforce needs.

• Develop and promote a prominent employer presence through the use of on-site recruitment events and information sessions, guest speakers, social media, the College's website, etc in collaboration with the Manager of Employer Partnerships.

• Collaborate with other Workforce & Economic Innovation (WEI) team members and departments to leverage employer relationships to inform programming and curriculum development so offerings are labor market responsive.

• Provide leadership to the Career Connections staff in the attainment of performance goals and objectives.

•Develop and manage the Department's software platforms and analyze reports to enhance and assess student outcomes, employer relationships, experiential learning opportunities for students and alumni, and job placements.

• Oversee and provide direction to Associate Director and other staff to ensure the successful collaboration with College faculty, staff and students to identify internships, externships, career exploration experiences, job shadowing, co-ops, etc.

• Represent the College internally and externally.

• Develop job placement services in support of WEI certificate programs, and other grant-funded programs the College develops that require it.

• Implement, compile and analyze relevant labor market data to drive and assess departmental goals and effectiveness with the Manager of Employer Partnerships.

• Develop and maintain updated content for the Career Connections websites and maximize the usage and functionality of the College's employment platform, Handshake.

• Develop a strategy and system to support and track students' success through career placements.

• Provide leadership in the development of an active and updated Career Connections resource bank for job and experiential learning opportunities.

• Collaborate with the Institutional Advancement team to attract grant funds to support departmental goals.

• Oversee the successful delivery and outcomes of our career development-related workshops, activities for students and employers.

• Manage departmental budget.

• Deliver quality customer services to both internal and external constituents in a professional helpful and courteous manner.

• Other duties as assigned.


Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree in Business, Education, or related academic of professional discipline is required. Any and all degree(s) must be from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.

• Six (6) years of relevant management experience within higher education required.

• Previous management experience in a career services environment required.

• Demonstrated ability to successfully collaborate with internal and external workforce and business partners, and other constituencies required.

• Strong leadership skills and ability to motivate and direct others is required.

• Demonstrated ability to develop a team approach to planning and problem solving, and lead in a shared decision-making environment required.

• Ability to translate strategies and priorities into strategic and operational plans required.

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically in the development of goals and objectives required.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with various internal constituents and build consensus is required.

• Demonstrated ability to identify, analyze and utilize data in effective decision making required.

• Ability to maintain sensitivity, understanding and respect for a diverse academic environment, inclusive of students, faculty, and staff of varying social, economic, cultural, ideological, and ethnic backgrounds required

For a complete position description, and to apply online, please visit our career site at jobs.ccp.edu, or click the “Apply” button.

Community College of Philadelphia recognizes that our employees are important and vital to our success. We offer a high-quality, comprehensive program of benefits, which represents an important component of total compensation.

Our benefits include:

• Medical, dental and prescription drug plans for employee and all of their eligible family members
• College-paid life and disability insurance
• College closes for Winter Break the week between Christmas and New Years and for a week in March for Spring Break
• Tuition remission (for classes at the College)
• Forgivable tuition loan (for classes at any accredited academic institution)
• 403(b) retirement plan with 10% College contribution
• Healthcare and Dependent Care flexible spending accounts
• College operates on a 4-day work week during the summer months
• Paid vacation plus holiday and personal time off

Community College of Philadelphia is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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