The University of Virginia (UVA) seeks an accomplished, strategic professional with a record of authentic and innovative leadership, who will become the next Associate Vice President of Career and Professional Development (AVP-CPD). The AVP-CPD will report directly to Robyn Hadley, Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer Dean of Students.

The AVP-CPD is an important member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team, along with the Office of African American Affairs, Housing and Residence Life, Student Health & Wellness, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Development, Judicial Affairs, Multicultural Student Services, Orientation & Student Programs, Student Safety, and Support and Student Engagement. As the leader of the Career Center, this individual will join a strong and dedicated team committed to the engagement and support of all students in the discovery and pursuit of meaningful lives. (https://studentaffairs.virginia.edu/).

Student Affairs at UVA is guided by a three-pronged mission: to help students build community, pursue wellness, and grow as citizen leaders. They help students develop in these three essential areas by upholding policies and resources that:

•Foster a university environment that promotes students' intellectual inquiry and responsible decision-making.
•Support students as they clarify personal values, develop a personal identity, build sound interpersonal relationships and explore career directions.
•Promote diversity, cultural richness, and full participation of all students in the University community.
•Respond to students' changing needs at varying stages of intellectual, social, personal, and career development.
•Attend to students impacted by a unique status, including minority, disability, health, financial resources, and nontraditional, among others.
•Equip students to be informed and active citizens within our society.

This is an exciting time for innovation at Student Affairs and this individual will work with a community of individuals across Grounds, and beyond, to help position the Career Center to meet the needs of students as they prepare for the ever-evolving future of work. This individual will also align the Career Center with the ambitious goals of UVA’s 2030 Strategic Plan (also known as The Great and Good Plan), which provides a roadmap for the future of UVA focusing on strengthening our foundation, cultivating the most vibrant community in higher education, enabling discoveries that enrich and improve lives, and making UVA synonymous with service.

The UVA Career Center serves all degree-seeking students, regardless of major or year. This position works closely with students and affiliate offices across grounds to offer students additional career counseling and services within the schools themselves. The Career Center provides a wide array of programs and services to empower all students to take ownership of their continuous career development process. There is an opportunity for this individual to work with a network of stakeholders to implement dynamic changes in academic and career advising.

The AVP-CPD is responsible for providing strategic leadership, vision, direction, and administrative and fiscal oversight for the central university career services center and for facilitating collaboration among other career services affiliates at the university to ensure high-quality career services to all relevant stakeholders, including undergraduate and graduate students of all schools, employers and other community partners, alumni, parents, and university leadership, staff, and faculty.

The AVP-CPD will develop and oversee the strategic vision and direction of the university’s centralized career service functions, including career development services for undergraduate and graduate student populations and for employer development and relations. The AVP-CPD will facilitate collaboration and coordination among the university’s other career services affiliates as convener and chair of the Career Services Council, including coordination of efforts that emerge from the Council, such as common advising and career education methodologies, common technology platforms, student engagement, marketing and outreach, employer development and relations, and staff professional training and development.

Furthermore, the AVP-CPD will lead efforts to engage key external constituencies, especially parents and alumni, to ensure awareness of and involvement in career services-related activities and will facilitate engagement of these constituencies in partnering on new approaches to career services.

The AVP-CPD will develop and lead the central career services center’s leadership team as a collaborative, action-oriented, and enterprise-focused body for the delivery of cross-university services. The position will provide supervision directly or indirectly for the entire central career services team. Additionally, they will generate resources through fundraising, grant writing, and other activities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Direct the central career services center in its mission of supporting all students and providing centralized services to the affiliate offices.
•Lead the Career Services Council and its work on policy setting, and university-wide career services projects;
•Work closely with the Student Affairs Leadership Team (SALT) and other leaders across grounds;
•Promote the active involvement of key internal and external partners such as Development; Alumni Relations; Parents Committee, and faculty and academic departments in the work of the Council;
•Cultivate and manage relationships with relevant key internal and external constituencies related to student outcomes including current and potential employers and non-profit, governmental, and non-governmental organizations;
•Serve as a spokesperson for career services at the university and in the broader community, in higher education, and through the media;
•Lead the execution and delivery of a first destination study including career services practices and outcomes;
•Leverage expertise and relationships to position UVA as a leader in the delivery of career services;
•Serve on committees, boards, task forces, and other cross-functional teams of the university as requested;
•Enhance professional reputation and expertise through attendance at conferences and seminars, service to professional organizations, review of current literature, and contributing to the thought leadership of university career services; Serve on the leadership team of the VPSA and work collaboratively with colleagues to provide strategic direction to the division. •Coordinate activities of the statewide Virginia public schools career services leadership.
•Participate as an active member of the SEC/ACC (SEACNET) collaborative of career services offices.

UVA’s AVP-CPD will be an experienced, student-centered, energetic, and innovative leader who embraces forward-thinking strategies to anticipate the needs of students. The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to develop and enhance a student-centered career development program that serves a diverse student population and identify employment and educational trends to meet the changing needs of employers, students, and alums. The AVP must have experience in developing strategic partnerships through collaborations with academic affairs/faculty and working strategically with employers and diverse external constituencies in developing a broad range of internship endeavors and industry partnerships.

The successful candidate will ideally possess an advanced degree and demonstrate a track record of progressively responsible experience in higher education, business, or non-profit environment with seven (7) to ten (10) years of experience in career planning and employment work, preferable in a centralized operation or corporate environment focused on employer relations, college recruiting, sales, development or other areas where building relationships with individuals/organizations is a central function.

Additional qualifications include the following:

• Collaborative leadership experience, integrity, and a sense of vision for the strategic direction of the center;

• A high degree of initiative, judgment, discretion, and decision-making and an ability to analyze situations accurately and take effective action as needed;

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ability to communicate knowledge and understanding of how issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion impact students, particularly those from marginalized communities, and how these issues manifest in supporting student career and professional development;

• Proven ability to lead with direct authority and through influence;

• Ability to inspire trust and work collegially with staff, faculty, campus partners, administrators, students and alums;

• Experience aligning internships and other career-focused opportunities to the university’s core academic mission.

• Demonstrated adaptability to meet changing demands, including the ability to be flexible and available to leadership, faculty, and staff on an as needed basis;

• Proven accuracy and attention to detail in managing multiple initiatives and priorities, along with experience in simultaneously implementing projects and events across multiple timeframes;

• Experience managing teams, including hiring, developing, evaluating, and retaining high-performing professional teams;

• Experience with outcomes-based assessment; technology platform evaluation and implementation;

• Responsible for financial planning and management of the center, including all operations and staffing matters;

• Deep understanding and knowledge of the National Association of Colleges and Employer's (NACE) principles and practices of career planning, employment, and recruitment.

COVID Vaccination Requirement and Guidelines

Please visit the UVA COVID-19 Job Requirements and Guidelines webpage prior to applying for current information regarding vaccination requirements and guidelines for employment at UVA.

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.