Lake Forest College has embraced career preparation as a key institutional goal for its undergraduate students more clearly and conscientiously than most other colleges in the liberal arts tradition.  Lake Forest’s career center is one of the largest in the country for a college our size, which enables us to execute innovative and effective career programs that lead to great outcomes for graduates. With its location in the Chicago metropolitan area, Lake Forest College is uniquely positioned to be a leader in career preparation.

The Career Advancement Center is seeking two professionals to work together as a team to provide support for our Science and Health Care Career Pathway, and the successful candidates will be innovative, talented collaborators, who are able to balance leading initiatives, working effectively in teams, and completing work independently. The responsibilities for both professionals are listed below, and the specific roles of each individual professional and the division of responsibilities will be based on the strengths and experience of the successful candidates. An option for full or part-time positions may be available.

The responsibilities for the Science and Health Care team will include:

Pathway Management:

• Lead Science and Health Care Career Pathway initiatives and serve as the liaison to a set of academic departments/areas of study, including biochemistry and molecular biology, biology, chemistry, environmental studies, neuroscience, physics, and psychology as well as the Pre-Health Advising Committee.
• Mobilize students, alumni, faculty/staff, and employers to engage in Pathway related initiatives/campus programs and assist students with the development/execution of flexible career plans. Evaluate career initiatives and student engagement in target departments, applying quantitative and qualitative assessment techniques to demonstrate program successes and areas for continued growth. 

Career Advising/Counseling:

• Advise students/alumni individually and in group settings on topics such as exploring majors/career interests, understanding intersection of culture and career, developing a professional presence, writing professional documents, and securing the best jobs/internships and/or admittance to graduate/professional school.

Internship Supervision:

• Supervise students completing for credit-internships; provide seminars or other educational experiences in collaboration with fellow internship supervisors to help students develop learning goals, understand professional expectations, and apply their academic training to the workplace. Evaluate assignments and submit final grades according to College requirements.

Employer Relations:

• Initiate new off-campus partnerships and manage relationships with existing employers/research sites able to provide students high-quality jobs, internships, research experiences, shadowing, and other relevant opportunities; develop and adhere to terms of affiliation agreements with key sites.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to attract appropriate applicants to employment opportunities. Organize on-campus recruiting activities, including job postings, campus interviews and specialized recruiting events.

Administration/Other:

• Manage, organize, and communicate information using technology systems including the alumni database (Slate), career services management system (Handshake), course management systems (Moodle), social media and website content management systems (LiveWhale and iModules). 
• Maintain accurate records in career services management system to inform practice and demonstrate results.
• Take ownership for an office-wide area of responsibility. Each staff member in the CAC is able to provide leadership on some set of office-wide initiatives and specific responsibilities are determined based upon interest and capability.
• Participate in on-going professional development activities.
• Complete other duties as assigned or as opportunities emerge.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a relevant Master’s degree or Ph.D.
• Preferred experience/knowledge: college student development/career development and/or teaching; science and health care related industries and/or graduate programs.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships. Experience tracking relationship-building success with a customer relationship management system is a plus.
• Must have an interest in working with students, employers, and /or faculty from culturally diverse backgrounds.
• Must be team oriented with strong interpersonal skills and ability to think creatively; entrepreneurial spirit and fast-learner.
• Ability to use technology required for the role Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, social media, and databases.
• Attentive to details; must possess strong writing and editing capability.
• Available to work some evenings and weekends; valid driver’s license and willingness to travel (primarily in Chicagoland area).

Application Process

Please submit cover letter and resume/CV online through this link to the Career Advancement Center’s Submission Form. Materials can be addressed to:

Colleen Monks

Interim Director

Career Advancement Center

Lake Forest College

555 North Sheridan Road

Lake Forest, IL 60045-2399

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until a successful candidate is found.  Any correspondence related to this search should be sent to Colleen Monks at cacsearch2@lakeforest.edu.

Institutional Information

A highly selective liberal arts college located on Chicago’s North Shore, Lake Forest College enrolls approximately 1,600 students from over 40 states and 70 countries. The College’s student body is culturally diverse, with approximately 40% of our students identifying as domestic students of color or international students. We also have a visible, active, and vibrant LGBT student population. Lake Forest College embraces diversity and encourages applications from women, members of historically underrepresented groups, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about Lake Forest College, visit www.lakeforest.edu.

Lake Forest College also opened its Lillard Science Center, a state-of-the-art, 130,000-square-foot teaching and research facility this past October. The Lillard Science Center is a modern hub for interdisciplinary and collaborative student-faculty research that features 21^st century flexible teaching labs that support the latest pedagogies and discussion-based inquiry as well as professional grade equipment and instrumentation. For more information about our Lillard Science Center and the sciences at Lake Forest College, visit https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/lillard.php.