"Associate Director of Career and Employer Engagement"

Associate Director of Career and Employer Engagement

University of Puget Sound
Job ID: 8642
Location: Tacoma, WA
Full/Part Time: Full Time
Regular/Temporary: Regular

Appointment: Regular, full-time (1.0 FTE) position.
Work Location: This position is based in Tacoma, WA, and is hybrid eligible (minimum of 4 days on-site) after a successful evaluation period.

Please note that we generally do not sponsor applicants for work visas for staff positions. Therefore, we generally require applicants for staff positions to be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Position Summary:

As a member of the CES leadership team, contributes to the development and implementation of career and employment services in support of the mission and goals of the university. Oversees career programs and services that ensure students successfully compete for opportunities leading to creative, productive, and satisfying professional lives. Engages with employers to market the Puget Sound liberal arts talent pool. Represents and promotes CES with students, employers, alumni, faculty, staff, community members, parents, advisory boards, and external partners. Develops, sustains, and continually assesses programs and services for excellence and continuous improvement. Provides staff support for career-related committees.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Provides reports, makes strategy and policy recommendations to Director. Develops policy recommendations for consideration and approval. Apprises Director of trends, strategic issues, and concerns. Recommends initiatives to accomplish program objectives.
• Serves as primary liaison to Handshake to advance system efficiencies, manages system updates, ensures students and staff have knowledge and resources to use the system effectively in job/internship search.
• Regularly documents procedures in a constantly evolving electronic environment.
• Represents the university's interest and serves as ambassador for CES in local and national associations and consortia related to career development and community engagement, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE), and other local economic development organizations.
• Serves as a resource to faculty and staff members regarding the university's career and employer relations programs, providing guidance on ways to collaborate with CES on incorporating career development and career readiness initiatives throughout the student experience.

Employer Engagement

• Establishes, develops, and sustains employer relationships that facilitate recruiting of exceptional, best-fit work opportunities for students. Articulates and promotes the unique potential of Puget Sound students and facilitates outstanding employer service/experiences that distinguish Puget Sound in relation to other institutions. Develops and implements strategic recruiting priorities, including collaboration with Experiential Learning, related to community engagement.
• Develops, implements, and oversees employer engagement events such as career fairs, weekly tables, information sessions, industry nights, or other events that appeal to the current student audience, ensuring opportunities represent best-fit employers for liberal arts students.
• Develops and executes effective communication and promotion plans in support of strategic goals.
• Maintains current knowledge of policies and practices related to recruiting, especially those related to social media and A.I. and other emerging recruiting practices. Assesses methods employers use to connect with candidates and determines ways to utilize that knowledge to support students.
• Stays abreast of equitable hiring practices and coaches employers with guidance on reaching diverse student populations.
• Develops and implements employer-student programs and events to support their alignment with and competitiveness for distinctive opportunities. Promotes employer opportunities via email and other methods to targeted segments of the student population.
• Manages CRM system to track employer engagement and build searchable database of contacts.

Career Advising Engagement and Oversight

• Provides oversight to career advising programs, services, and resources. Maintains current knowledge of career advising trends and topics; facilitates on-going professional development for career advising team. Leads CES career advising meetings.
• In partnership with Director, oversees implementation and assessment of Career Learning Outcomes related to promoting the career readiness of all students.
• Serves as a highly visible ambassador for CES, building confidence and trust in our team and services, both on-campus and in the broader community. Develops and nurtures collaboration efforts between CES and other offices in support of innovative program development and impactful program implementation.
• Reviews new technology platforms and tools identified by advising team and makes recommendations to director; collaborates with CES Leadership Team to adopt and implement new resources.
• Leads career advising team in continuous evaluation of data relating to career advising services and resources; identifies trends and apprises director of recommended course of action. Develops other tracking/measuring resources as needed.

Supervision

• Two full-time Career Advisors.
• Provides leadership, training, and support to advising team; assigns, reviews, and evaluates their work; offers professional development to career advisors.
• Identifies, coordinates, and manages team projects.
• May supervise and/or provide training to temporary and student staff members.

Budget Responsibilities

• Effectively manages event and program budgets
• Consults with director on budget trends, anticipated needs, and provides input and support for budget decision making.

Other Functions

• May teach for-credit career-related courses.
• Engages in lateral planning and collaboration across departments in support of institutional initiatives.
• Serves on or leads committees and project teams as requested.
• Supports the college's strategic plan, including the diversity strategic plan.
• Serves as member of CES Leadership team and may act in stead of director of career and employment services as needed.
• Performs other duties or projects as needed or assigned

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required, Master's degree preferred.
• Four years of increasingly responsible experience in career development, employer relations, recruiting, job development, or related field. Alumni engagement experience is preferred.
• Higher education experience is strongly preferred. Must be able to communicate the value of a small, private, liberal arts college education to a wide range of constituents.
• Knowledge of social media and other emerging recruiting trends/practices.
• Knowledge of and expertise in a range of program management functions, including relationship and program development, goal management, and reporting.
• Exceptional marketing and communication skills.
• Must demonstrate a strong customer service orientation and have the ability to organize, analyze, prioritize, and problem-solve within a fast-paced office environment with frequent interruptions.
• Ability to work and move projects forward with temporary ambiguity amidst changing priorities.
• Experience overseeing and evaluating web resources for career development.
• Must have a commitment to liberal arts education and cultural diversity.
• Ability to respectfully work, communicate and provide leadership within a diverse campus community.
• Must have an understanding of inequities in recruiting processes and able to articulate ways to combat bias in hiring practices.
• Requires the use/operation of a personal, rented, or university vehicle to conduct university business on a regular basis

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strategic Thinking and Program Management: Ability to see the big picture and align program design, service delivery, and resources to support office and institutional goals; to identify implications and connections, consolidate information from various sources to reach sound decisions; to communicate and provide strong leadership when collaborating with others on program design.
• Technical and Analytical Skills: Ability to maintain and troubleshoot program records within complex relational data systems, develop reports, and access available data for program decision-making.
• Adaptability and Creative Problem Solving: Ability to find ways to manage variable work volume and develop efficiencies for service and program delivery. Ability to adapt work style as needed to be effective both independently and in collaboration with others in an environment of review and feedback.
• Innovation and Profession-Specific Knowledge: Ability to use profession-specific knowledge or skills and innovative thinking to anticipate opportunities, address challenges, and implement strategies that will promote change.
• Coaching, Teaching, and Presenting: Ability to help develop others' knowledge, skills, and abilities, to engage others in conversations designed to promote self-awareness and decision-making, and to serve as a role model for professional behavior and communication.
• Interpersonal Skills: Ability to foster confidence and trust, to develop rapport easily with a wide range of constituents, to foster a collaborative environment; possess a strong customer service orientation.
• Oral and Written Communication: excellent writing and public speaking ability; Ability to listen and understand with sensitivity, and to respond appropriately.
• Organization: Ability to manage and execute multiple projects with minimal supervision, to set and achieve goals; ability to learn quickly and continuously.
• Time Management: Ability to set effective work goals, establish priorities, and plan well in order to produce quality work according to deadlines.
• Ability to respectfully work, communicate and provide leadership within a diverse campus community.

Compensation and Benefits:

Career Framework Information:
Job Family: Student Life
Level: M1
Pay Grade: 6

It is anticipated that the successful candidate will be hired between $28.60 to $30.70 per hour. The rate for an experienced employee in this role may go up to $32.80 per hour, and the starting salary will be based on experience level. Decisions about starting salaries are made based on the extent and relatedness of the candidate's education and experience and on internal equity and market considerations.

Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible staff employees, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Retirement plan options and 403(b) contributions
• Paid vacation, sick leave, floating holiday, campus holidays and bonus holidays
• Education benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their families
• Access to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures and more!)

Application Deadline:
Review of applications will begin immediately. Search and selection procedures will be closed when a sufficient number of qualified candidates have been identified.

Required Documents:

• Resume
• Letter of Interest
• 3 Professional References (At least 2 supervisors)

Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.

All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.

How to Apply
For complete job description and application instructions, visit: www.pugetsound.edu/employment