Job location: Remote - District of Columbia

*** This position is located in Rosslyn, VA ***

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business, one of the world's leading business schools, seeks a Senior Director, General Management and Technology Careers to join its Career Development Center (CDC) in Rosslyn, VA, supporting Darden’s degree programs for working professionals and also full-time students in Charlottesville. With strong momentum in the residential MBA and executive MBA formats and recent innovations and industry-leading results, the Senior Director joins Darden at an exciting time. Darden is ranked the #1 MBA education experience in the United States for nine years in a row by the Economist magazine.

Darden’s CDC provides career support to almost 1,000 graduate students in our MBA, Executive MBA (EMBA), and MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) programs with one-on-one advising and executive and leadership coaching. The team creates and delivers programming that builds life-long skills for career management and exceptional support with the internship and job search. The group empowers students on their career journey, and its commitment to student success has no bounds. The department thrives on helping students capitalize on their graduate business experience.

Each year hundreds of global organizations, large and small, engage Darden. Last year, Darden partnered with over 150 companies across all major industries, functions, and geographies – top sectors include consulting, financial services, government, and technology, and top geographies include northern Virginia, the northeast, and mid-atlantic. The CDC’s employer engagement team supports employers with recruiting activities in our Charlottesville and Washington DC/Rosslyn, VA facilities. Darden’s engagement model offers employers opportunities to support our world-renowned faculty, purpose-driven students, and innovative programs through partnerships designed to advance their missions and goals.

The Senior Director has the unique ability to build deep and meaningful relationships with both Darden students and the top employers. Thus, expanding their network and maintaining industry knowledge and insights is critical. A successful Senior Director will interact with students to understand their skills and needs and efficiently guide employers to optimal fit with Darden’s talent.

A successful Senior Director will spend significant time in one-on-one coaching sessions with students in all elements of advancing their career goals. Coaching sessions are often focused on helping students find clarity and focus, explore options and resources, decision-making, and setting strategy tied to career plans. Students may have needs tied to navigating career options, situations tied to their current employers, or in their own leadership development. A successful candidate will bring a blend of coaching and advising and have the ability to help students achieve success in all elements of their career – not just with a job search. An ideal Senior Director will have expertise in executive-level networking.

The Senior Director will collaborate with seven other Senior Directors who have sector expertise in financial services, investment banking, general management/operations, management consulting, marketing, technology, and specialized careers. Each Senior Director shares industry insights and knowledge through the design, development, and presentation of career programming (eg, workshops, resources, video, and online content).

The position will work closely with other Darden departments including the team supporting Darden D.C. Metro Initiatives, Alumni Engagement, Batten Institute, Mayo Center for Asset Management, Center for Global Initiatives, and Institute for Business in Society, among others, to cultivate and develop relationships in support of student career searches and networking.

The Senior Director, General Management and Technology Careers will work to develop and execute the vision for a deeper engagement between students and employers in these wide-ranging and very popular career sectors for both professional degree and full-time MBA students. A desired profile for the position may include:

• A product manager with background at one or more tech companies who is ready to share their experiences,
• A seasoned general manager with multi-functional experience at a Fortune 500 company who has a passion for helping Darden students pursue career paths in general management, or
• An experienced talent acquisition professional who has had progressive career responsibility over MBA hiring.

The Senior Director will work across all Darden degree programs with a focus on our Professional Degree Programs, out of our state-of-the-art facility in Washington DC/Rosslyn, VA.

Given the intense schedules of our students, the average day of this Senior Director is not necessarily 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The Senior Director must be available to coach students and deliver career programming in the early mornings, evenings, and weekends, as needed/scheduled. Student engagement may be in-person in Rosslyn or Charlottesville or virtually.

In short, we are looking for an experienced professional who has a strong interest in sharing their experiences with the Darden community and placing the next generation of business leaders with leading companies, simultaneously helping businesses meet their talent needs.

Specific responsibilities:

• Coach graduate business students on their purpose (career path definition and skills assessment), pathway (resources and options), presence (resume writing, networking, interviewing, offer-related decisions), and other aspects of an MBA job search.
• Develop and facilitate programs, presentations, and events. Advise student organizations regarding job search strategies. Innovate on new ways to support students.
• Provide executive or leadership coaching to assist professional degree students with obtaining career aspirations.
• Provide insights to guide firms seeking general management and technology talent on optimizing hiring strategies of MBA and MS talent.
• Build and maintain network with alumni, executives, and recruiters in general management or technology careers to gain insight into talent needs, increase the number of jobs sourced and to build brand for the school.
• Build and maintain a network with alumni and corporate hiring executives and recruiters. Identify firms that are seeking MBA talent. Develop expertise on employers or industries that appeal to job seekers and collaborates with CDC team and leverages technology and data (Slack/LinkedIn/Indeed, for example) to pursue job postings and business development opportunities.
• Manage and record career coaching and outcome data in career systems and produces related reports, analytics, insights, and recommendations.
• Improve quality of career outcomes for students as measured by timely employment and compensation realized by candidates. Make the Darden CDC best in class among the top business schools for students.
• Collaborate and partner with CDC and other student services team members and individuals across Darden.
• Model extraordinary service levels with an emphasis on responsiveness to and support of graduate students.
• Perform additional responsibilities as assigned.

Professional experience and education:

• Masters of Business Administration (MBA) or terminal degree required. MBA from a leading business school is strongly preferred.
• At least seven years of experience is required; experience in general management or technology sectors is preferred. Seasoned, global business professional with 10-15 years experience is preferred.
• Career coaching certification (complete or in progress) is preferred.
• Familiarity with MBA hiring processes and with coaching individuals and talent development.
• Impact and results orientation; gets things done both individually and through others. Attention to detail, ability to follow through on commitments.
• Proven ability to develop productive long-term relationships with faculty, staff, professional degree students, and outside stakeholders.
• High level of emotional intelligence, empathy, integrity, responsiveness, and collaborative ability.
• Strong communicator, both written and verbal.
• Familiarity with the case interview method is preferred.
• Proficiency with LinkedIn preferred.
• Analytical and technical skills, with experience in a CRM-based function. Experience with career management systems (GradLeaders, 12Twenty or VMock) preferred; if not, apparent analytical ability to learn it.
• Familiarity with one or both of the following professional organizations – MBA Career Services for Working Professional (CSWP) and Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) – is preferred.
• Belief in Darden’s mission and passion for the University of Virginia.

Salary competitive based on experience

This position will remain open until filled. This is an Exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. For questions about the position or the application process, please contact Ashley Cochran, Senior Recruiter at alc6dk@virginia.edu.

Please apply through Workday, and search for "Senior Director, General Management and Technology Careers". Complete an application online and attach a cover letter and CV/resume all into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile.

COVID Vaccination Requirement

The University of Virginia expects all current and new employees (UVA Health System and Academic), to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

If hired to work within the University Health System, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination or be willing to receive the vaccination. Employees may request a medical or religious exemption from vaccination.

If hired to work on the Academic side of the University, excluding the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, UPG, and the Health Systems Library, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination or be willing to submit to mandatory, weekly prevalence testing. Employees that are working 100% remotely will not be subject to weekly prevalence testing; however, if the employee works on UVA Grounds (including the Medical Center) even intermittently, then they are required to be tested for COVID-19 once per week on an indefinite basis and follow masking mandates.

NOTE: Some medical and safety-sensitive positions require vaccination and are not eligible for an exemption. For more information on how the vaccination and testing requirements will apply to you at your work location, see the UVA New Hire Vaccination Requirements webpage.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.