Director, Career Education & Early Engagement

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Responsible to the Executive Director of the Toppel Career Center for the strategic leadership, implementation, coordination, and oversight of the Career Education & Readiness function, with a focus on engaging University of Miami students early and building career readiness from the start of their time with us. Provides leadership to a high-performing team consisting of an Associate Director, three Career Specialists, and 10–20 student interns and peer career coaches.

The Career Education Early Engagement team helps undergraduate and graduate students explore interests, understand career pathways, and build the skills, confidence, and connections to pursue opportunities. The team delivers career coaching, guidance, and professional development through individual and drop-in coaching, educational programming, outreach, and virtual and in-person initiatives. This role requires independent decision-making and continuous awareness of emerging trends and best practices in career services at the state, regional, and national levels.

The Director is responsible for advancing departmental objectives while aligning with the Center's vision and University policies and procedures. This position serves as a member of the Toppel Career Center Leadership Team, collaborating with senior leadership to advance strategic priorities across the Center

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Early Engagement & Career Readiness Leadership

·       Develops and articulates the strategic direction and vision for early career engagement, including educational initiatives, programs, and professional development offerings that reach students at the start of their undergraduate or graduate experience. Strategy is informed by career development theory, labor market trends, student data, emerging issues, and benchmarking with peer institutions.

·       Designs and leads a developmental, stage-based approach to career readiness that helps students explore interests, values, and strengths; learn about majors, fields, and career pathways; and build foundational skills before recruiting or job search pressures begin.

·       Ensures all Career Education initiatives align with the Center's mission, strategic plan, and institutional priorities, including University commitments to student success, value, and outcomes.

·       Sets and monitors goals for first-year, new transfer, and new graduate student engagement, including participation in career exploration, coaching, and experiential learning opportunities.

·       Partners with Employer Engagement colleagues to ensure early-stage programming introduces students to industries, professionals, and exploration opportunities (such as job shadowing, informational interviews, and employer insights) aligned with evolving workforce needs.

·       Directs and manages all career coaching training and development.  Collaborates with leadership on the creation of new educational programming, online resources, self-assessment tools, webinars, workshops, and outreach initiatives, with attention to the distinct needs of undergraduate and graduate students.

·       Oversees consistent training for career coaching staff on current trends, student development, exploration and decision-making, and industry recruiting practices (e.g., interviewing, industry-specific documents, recruiting technologies).

·       Leads regular Career Education team meetings to promote alignment, accountability, and team development.

·       Establishes and monitors individual and team goals and data in collaboration with the Executive Director, ensuring progress and accountability.

·       Research emerging practices in early career exploration and readiness and recommend new initiatives; leads communication and engagement with key stakeholders.

·       Develops, implements, and continuously refines an outreach and marketing strategy to raise awareness of career education, career readiness, and available services across the University of Miami community, with emphasis on reaching students early, first-generation students, transfer students, and students who have not yet engaged with the Center.

·       Represents the University and Career Center in regional and national professional associations and initiatives related to career education and student success.

Leadership & Management

·       Responsible for the recruitment, training, development, supervision, and evaluation of professional and student staff within Career Education, including the Associate Director, Career Specialists, and 10–20 student peer career coaches and interns.

·       Develops the peer career coach model as a key channel for reaching new students early and building a culture of career readiness among peers.

Career Education Programming & Integration

·       Oversees the development and expansion of Career Education & Early Engagement programs, resources, and services for undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni, including the Career Champions Certification Program, Faculty & Staff Engagement Hub, First Year Directions career curriculum, and endowed student funds.

·       Expands early-engagement offerings such as first-year and new-student programming, career exploration events and workshops, major and career pathway resources, and tailored programming for graduate and professional students. Works closely with Cane Navigators and other academic advising colleagues.

·       Delivers career-related workshops and classroom presentations across the University, including during orientation, first-year courses, and early points in graduate programs.

·       Collaborates with academic partners, advising, residential life, student affairs, and other campus units to integrate career readiness into curricular and co-curricular experiences from a student's first term.

·       Oversees the planning, execution, and evaluation of Career Education events and workshops.

·       Leads assessment efforts for Career Education in collaboration with the Director of Data Strategy & Analytics, using data on early engagement, participation across student populations, and student outcomes to inform program improvements and strategic decisions.

·       Tracks engagement metrics, including first-year and early-stage participation, and holds staff accountable to established expectations.

·       Collaborates with Alumni Relations to expand Cane2Cane participation and strengthen student-alumni networking opportunities that help students explore career paths early. And develops meaningful ways for UM alumni to engage early on in a student’s career journey.

Budget and Finance

·       Develops and manages the annual operating budget for Career Education & Early Engagement programs and services ensuring compliance with University financial policies and procedures.

·       As a member of the Leadership Team, contributes to the analysis and evaluation of departmental expenditures to ensure fiscal responsibility and cost effectiveness.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

·       Plan, implement, and evaluate innovative programming as market trends and student needs change.

·       Maintain weekly career coaching schedule on an as-needed basis.

·       Serves as liaison to assigned offices and departments in coordination with the Associate Vice President and the Executive Director.

·       Participate in regular meetings with team members.

·       Staff events during some evening and weekend hours.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES (KSA)

·       Excellent written and verbal communication.

·       Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.

·       Knowledge of career development theory and student development, particularly as they relate to exploration, decision-making, and early career readiness.

·       Skills in designing outreach and engagement strategies that reach diverse student populations, including undergraduate, graduate, first-generation, and transfer students.

·       Skills in assessing, organizing, and prioritizing multiple tasks.

·       Ability to make complex, independent decisions and programmatic recommendations to Center and University leadership.

·       Ability to present to small and large audiences on career-related topics to a variety of stakeholders.

·       Skills in strategic planning and in using data to measure engagement and outcomes.

·       Skills in staff training and supervision.

·       Skills in building partnerships with faculty, advisors, and campus units.

·       Proficiency with career services platforms (12Twenty, Handshake, Interstride, Big Interiew, etc).

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

·       Master's degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, or related area required.

WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

·       Five to seven years of professional experience in higher education, student affairs, career development, human resources/recruiting, or related area.

·       Experience designing and leading career exploration, first-year, or early engagement programming strongly preferred.

·       Experience supporting both undergraduate and graduate student populations preferred.

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Job Status:
Full time

Employee Type:
Staff