Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education, Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business seeks a strategic and collaborative Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education to join its career team. Darden is experiencing strong momentum across its MBA programs, making this an exciting time to join.

Darden is recognized among the nation's leading MBA programs, including:

- The Princeton Review Best Business Schools 2027: Top 10 in 11 categories, led by No. 1 for Best Professors and including No. 6 for Best Career Prospects
- Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2026: No. 9 Full-Time MBA program in the United States, No. 19 globally, and No. 2 among U.S. public business schools

The career team supports more than 1,200 graduate business students through one-on-one career advising, lifelong career management skill development, and comprehensive internship and job search support. The Office engages Full-Time, Residential MBA students at the Goodwin Family Grounds in Charlottesville and working professional students at the Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn, Virginia. The team is driven by a commitment to student success and believes in the transformative impact of thoughtful career advising and meaningful employer engagement.

The Office partners with nearly 150 organizations that recruit and hire students into careers across consulting, investment banking, general management, marketing, technology, private equity/venture capital, and more. In 2026, the Office expects to manage approximately 1,400 job postings and host 400 in-person and virtual recruiting events. Its corporate engagement model helps organizations meet hiring goals while building long-term relationships with the School and expanding partnerships aligned with student interests.

This Senior Director plays a critical role in helping Full-Time MBA students pursue MBA-level careers, building and delivering the Office’s career education curriculum, and strengthening connections among students, alumni, faculty, student leaders, and employers. Through one-on-one coaching, small-group advising, workshops, and career education programs, the Senior Director helps students build clear, actionable plans and navigate the job search with confidence. The Senior Director develops a vision for deeper engagement between students and employers and helps ensure that students have a strong, consistent, high-quality experience across career clubs and student organizations.

The Senior Director will be purposefully assigned an initial sector or functional portfolio aligned with background, expertise, and student demand, and will be expected to deepen market knowledge over time through ongoing engagement with employers, alumni, recruiters, and students while remaining open to adjacent sectors as student interests and office needs evolve.

Ideal candidates bring experience in one or more of the following areas: a seasoned and execution-oriented corporate manager with multi-functional experience at a top company; an experienced talent acquisition or university relations professional; or a professional who has led MBA recruiting, leadership development, sales, operations, or client-facing work and is excited to coach MBA students.

The Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education, joins a team of career advisors who primarily support Full-Time MBA students across consulting, investment banking, general management/marketing, technology, and international job searches.

This position is based in Charlottesville, with limited hybrid flexibility during the summer (late May to late July), based on business needs and leadership discretion.

Primary Stakeholders and Related Responsibilities:

Students & Alumni

- Advise graduate students pursuing MBA careers through individual coaching, small group sessions, and targeted career development resources.
- Partner with student leaders and career club leaders to gather feedback, identify emerging needs, and encourage student engagement with the Office.
- Design and deliver career programming to connect students with employers and opportunities; regularly presenting to audiences from 15-200 students.
- Support students in networking, alumni outreach, interview preparation, internship search, and full-time recruiting strategies.
- Build relationships with alumni and student organizations to strengthen community, feedback loops, and participation in Office programming.

Employers & Recruiters

- Leverage industry expertise and professional networks to expand student access to job opportunities, mentorship, and career insight.
- Own an assigned sector or functional portfolio and deepen expertise through ongoing engagement with employers, alumni, recruiters, and students.
- Build and sustain relationships with alumni, executives, and recruiters that strengthen Darden’s alumni network presence within companies of interest, enhance job sourcing, and elevate the School’s brand.
- Advise corporations on effective strategies for hiring Darden MBA talent.
- Partner with Corporate Engagement and Recruiting Operations teams to strengthen employer relationships and expand high-impact recruiting opportunities.

Career Education

- Lead the planning and coordination of the Office’s MBA general career education curriculum, including pre-matriculation asynchronous content, in-person workshops, and other professional development programming.
- Develop and maintain an overall career education calendar to ensure programs are delivered accurately and on schedule.
- Collaborate with career coach colleagues to develop relevant content and deliver a consistent, high-quality student experience.
- Monitor participation, student feedback, and program outcomes; use data and stakeholder input to evaluate effectiveness and recommend improvements.
- Identify opportunities to streamline processes, strengthen documentation, and improve the scalability and consistency of career education programming.
- Balance multiple programs and competing deadlines while maintaining strong attention to detail, clear communication, and accountability for execution.

Broader Darden Enterprise

- Collaborate with colleagues across the Career Development Office, Admissions, Communications & Marketing, Corporate Engagement, Recruiting Operations, and alumni-facing teams to strengthen the student experience and Darden’s brand.
- Serve as a visible face of the Career Development Office and contribute to cross-functional initiatives that strengthen the School’s residential MBA and professional degrees ecosystem.

Required Education & Experience:

- Master’s degree and 9+ years of relevant experience required
- MBA from a top-tier, residential program strongly preferred.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

- Experience in a corporate profession required; direct exposure to MBA-level hiring, personnel management, account management, or talent development preferred.
- Proven ability to build and sustain long-term, strategic relationships with executives, recruiters, and alumni.
- Exceptional communication skills, including experience delivering presentations, facilitating workshops, and leading professional development programs.
- Comfort in using data and analytics to drive decision-making and communicate impact through related reporting and strategic storytelling.
- Strong emotional intelligence, demonstrated through empathy, sound judgment, and effective collaboration in a team environment.
- Commitment to the mission, values, and impact of the University of Virginia and the Darden School of Business.

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

Salary will be commensurate with education and experience.

This is an exempt-level, benefited position. Learn more about UVA benefits .

This position is based in Charlottesville, VA, and must be performed primarily on-site, with limited hybrid flexibility during the summer (late May to late July), based on business needs and leadership discretion.

To learn more about UVA and the Charlottesville area, visit UVA Life and Embark CVA .

Applications received by October 9, 2026, will receive priority review.

Background checks will be conducted on all new hires prior to employment.

This position will not consider candidates who require immigration sponsorship now or in the future.

How to Apply

Please apply online , by searching for requisition number R0087820. Complete an application with the following documents:

- Resume
- Cover Letter

Upload all materials into the resume submission field. You can submit multiple documents into this one field or combine them into one PDF.   Applications without all required documents will not receive full consideration.

Internal applicants:  Search and apply for jobs on the  UVA Internal Careers website .

Reference checks will be completed by UVA’s third-party partner, SkillSurvey, during the final phase of the interview. Five references will be requested, with at least three responses required.

For questions about the position, please contact Mary Jones at [email protected].

For questions about the application process, please contact Jessica Russo, Senior Recruiter, [email protected] .

About the Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible leaders through unparalleled, transformational learning experiences.

Darden offers the Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA), Ph.D., and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning. Darden's faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and consistently ranked among the best in the world for bringing out the best in learners.

Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, DC metropolitan region, with representation in Shanghai, China, and Mumbai, India. UVA Darden's Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn, Virginia, serves as the home of the School's professional degree programs and provides a dynamic environment for working professionals, employers, alumni, and executive learners.

Darden's global community includes approximately 1,250 degree-seeking students, 4,000 Executive Education participants, 20,000 alumni across 90 countries, and millions of online learners.

Driven by innovation and a bold vision reflected in the brand mantra, 'Not business school as usual,' Darden continues to strengthen its professional degree portfolio while expanding opportunities for students and employers through world-class degree programs and lifelong learning.

At Darden, we believe our greatest strength is our people. We strive to create an environment where every member of our community can learn, grow, contribute, and do their best work.

Successful candidates will demonstrate integrity, curiosity, accountability, respect for others, and a commitment to excellence. These community norms  shape how we collaborate, serve one another, and advance Darden's mission. If these values resonate with you, we encourage you to apply and become part of our community.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment .