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Director of Career Communities

Employer
Smith College
Location
Smith College

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Job Details

If you have any questions about the position or our application process, reach out to us at recruiting-u@smith.edu.

Career DevelopmentJob Description

Job Summary

The Director of Career Communities is the strategic lead to build a new team, scale and amplify cross-campus partnerships, and position Smith College as a leader in industry-connected and inclusive career education. The Director is a member of the Lazarus Center for Career Development leadership team, partnering closely with team directors on a range of strategic and operational decisions. The Director will recruit, hire, train, and manage a team of up to five assistant directors, each holding an industry-specific caseload and a blend of employer engagement, programming, and advising roles. The Director drives evidence-based assessment and ensures that equity and inclusion practices are integrated in the design and delivery of the Center’s core services. The Director develops communication channels with and serves as a liaison to various student resource organizations and the Office for Equity and Inclusion to foster engaged student leadership. The Director serves as a project manager on various collaborative initiatives, including an anti-racist planning process for the career center and collaborative workspace design for a new career center building.

The Director will take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive and welcoming work environment.

Program Development – 40%

Develop goals, work plans and assessment strategies that deepen student access, equitable opportunity and inclusive support in the Lazarus Center. Allocate work and supervise implementation across the career communities team. Develops a sustainable strategy and infrastructure for connecting alums to students in meaningful ways along both career interests and affinity-based lines to enhance career readiness. Partner with the team directors to ensure strong student engagement with a broad range of employer partners. Coordinate program and advising flows to ensure that new team members are additive and not duplicative of advising services already occurring within the Lazarus Center. Join with the Praxis team to support experiential learning application processes, pre-departure programming, and post-experience learning reflection. Direct annual program planning and implementation of key career development initiatives delivered by the career communities team, including the alum mentor program, career exploration treks, job shadow programs, skills training, and other scaled group efforts. Exercise authority on strategy, judgment, and policy related to the Lazarus organizational vision; represent and communicate the direction, goals and decisions set by the Dean and the Lazarus Center leadership team.

Cross-Campus Partnerships and College Initiatives – 30%

Partner with staff in employer engagement, alum relations, fellowships, and community engagement to foster a culture of engaged career readiness across campus. Serve as a point of contact for the Dean of the College, faculty members interested in classroom outreach, student organizations, and other units. Support the Dean in relationship management with the advisory committee; contribute expertise to committee discussions as needed. Oversees relevant communications across the College, frequently serving as representative for the Lazarus Center pertaining to student and alum engagement and industry-based career development topics. Represent Smith and the Lazarus Center in local and national professional associations and conferences in order to stay current with industry standards, revise programs to reflect trends, and increase the Center’s visibility among professionals in the field. Participate in Smith committees as requested, providing representation of the Lazarus Center on cross-campus issues.

Team Supervision – 20%

Collaborate with the Lazarus Center leadership team to ensure all students have access to and engage in exploration, experiential learning, skill building, and career action planning. Develop necessary strategy and structure for the team, implementing a common philosophy and approach to advising, programming, partnerships, and cross-campus collaboration. Ensure that inclusive excellence remains a top priority for every member of the team, providing ongoing training, creative outreach across all student populations, and systems for monitoring engagement levels and satisfaction. Supervise, coach and develop a collaborative team of assistant directors across multiple industry areas. Provide direction, guidance, and supervision of team members, encouraging and providing opportunities for staff development and growth.

Data and Team Support – 10%

Promote a culture of evidence-based assessment for all aspects of the Lazarus Center’s engagement, including utilization, satisfaction, equity analysis, developmental learning outcomes, first destination outcomes, and career mobility outcomes over five years. Driven by analysis of equity and access gaps, support the career communities team as needed by filling in advising and/or programming gaps. This may include but is not limited to increased programming for global career searching and targeted advising for international job seekers.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum five years of related experience in a higher education setting.

  • Minimum three years of supervision experience with demonstrated success as a team manager.

  • Exceptional leadership, coaching and team development skills.

  • Broad knowledge of career development theory, approaches and strategies.

  • Excellent interpersonal, and written and verbal communication skills.

  • Proven project management skills.

  • Demonstrated competency working within a culturally diverse environment and with students representing a range of intersectional identities.

  • Leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

  • Ability to navigate ambiguity, lead a team through change, and adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

  • Excellent career advising, presentation and training skills.

  • Self-directed, outcome-oriented and detail-oriented.

  • Success working both independently and collaboratively.

  • Occasional travel and evening/weekend work as requested to meet program objectives

  • Ability to maintain confidentiality, exercise sound judgment, and act with discretion; makes independent decisions about implementation of program policy and procedures.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in a relevant field.

Skills

Familiar with Google Workspace. Intermediate knowledge of Excel and basic data analysis. General knowledge of CRM platform management, with a preference for knowledge of career ed tools such as Handshake, Vault and/or PeopleGrove. Understanding of equity and inclusion issues in higher education and knowledge of best practices in higher education research.

Additional Information

For the care and safety of our community, Smith College requires that all employees be vaccinated as a condition of employment and as such, the incumbent will be required to be immunized against COVID-19 on or before their first day of employment. Proof of vaccination status will be required. Individuals may seek medical or religious exemption with HR, but must do so prior to their arrival.

Please attach BOTH a current resume and a cover letter in order for your application to be considered for this position . Be sure you have provided all attachments before submitting your application. You will NOT be able to attach additional files after you have hit the Submit button.

Review of applications will begin

January 13, 2023

Compensation Grade:

Grade G

Position Type:

Regular

About Smith College

Located in Northampton, MA, Smith College is one of the largest women’s colleges in the country and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts. A faculty of outstanding scholars interact with students in small classes, as advisors, and through student-faculty research projects. The College is a member of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students cross-enroll and faculty cross-teach across the Five Colleges.

Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 151B, it is the policy of Smith College to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. The policy regarding requests for reasonable accommodation applies to all aspects of employment, including the application process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact our recruiting team at recruiting-u@smith.edu.

Diversity and a culture of inclusion among students, staff, faculty, and administration are crucial to the mission and values of Smith College. We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, color, religions, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or veteran status in the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff, and the operation of any of its programs and activities, as specified by all applicable laws and regulations. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Organization

Working at Smith College 

Founded in 1871, Smith College is the nation's largest liberal arts college for women. The reputation of the College as one of the finest in the country holds strong because of the dedicated work of our staff, faculty, and administration. We are a diverse group bringing to our community different talents, perspectives, and experiences. Our strength arises from this diversity and is sustained by a community value of providing an outstanding educational environment for our nearly 2,700 students. Smith College is located in Northampton, a lively town of 30,000 in the Connecticut River valley of western Massachusetts.

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