Associate Director Job Descriptions

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Associate Director, Career and Employment Services (large public university)

Associate Director, Career Services (large private university)

Associate Director, Career Services (large public college)

Associate Director, Career Services (medium private college)

Associate Director, M.B.A. Career Services (large private university)




Associate Director, Career and Employment Services (large public university)

Description/Goals

The associate director is a member of the director's advisory committee which collaboratively works to provide leadership and vision in the establishment of policy and procedures to effectively deliver comprehensive career services. The associate director oversees three major program areas: on-campus recruiting (business and industry), experiential learning, and employer relations. The associate director is responsible for establishing partnerships with employers to assist in developing recruitment strategies and programs designed to enhance relationships with the university. The associate director will manage daily program operations, develop program policy/procedure, conduct program assessment and evaluation, manage fiscal administration, and participate in strategic planning.

Responsibilities

On-Campus Recruiting:

  • Oversee coordination of on-campus recruiting program, employer/faculty luncheon program, and company presentations/campus visits.
  • Use technology systems to provide campus interviewing and resume referral services for students and employers.
  • Produce service publications/promotional materials for employers. Produce instructional materials for students.

Experiential Learning:

  • Conduct ongoing research of experiential learning programs to expand/refine a comprehensive program, including internship/co-op/summer and part-time employment opportunities to provide a service-minded approach to students and employers. Design strategies to increase the number and type of experiences.
  • Provide direct support to administrative staff (college liaisons) working with faculty/college administrators to further enhance a central clearinghouse of experiential learning opportunities.
  • Collaborate with administrative staff and faculty to supervise quality/academic relevance of experiential learning work assignments.
  • Oversee evaluation and accountability procedures, collect and analyze data, prepare reports on the status of experiential learning programs.
  • Develop and implement a university-wide campaign to increase the awareness and benefits of participation in experiential learning. Oversee the development and design of marketing tools including program brochures.

Employer Relations:

  • Oversee and participate in site visits to include campus, local, and regional employers to maintain/develop new relations, promote programs and services with emphasis on experiential learning, job development, on-campus interviews, and a statewide online recruiting program. Assist director with fundraising efforts. Participate in area and regional business associations and Chamber of Commerce activities.
  • Develop quality experiential learning and career opportunities in private/public sectors; design and implement marketing strategies; build and maintain relationships through calls, mailings, and on-site visits.
  • Oversee the coordination of career events. Oversee the communication between appropriate campus departments and program participants. Conduct ongoing assessment and provide feedback as to the effectiveness of such events.

Provide direct supervision to the coordinator of experiential learning and co-supervise two unclassified staff members—the administrative assistant of experiential learning and the scheduling coordinator of on-campus interviews.

This position is accountable for the coordination, supervision, and reporting of all on-campus recruiting, experiential learning, and employer relations activities. The associate director will also participate in:

  1. Staff activities,
  2. An annual performance evaluation, and
  3. Professional development activities including involvement in state, regional, and national associations.

The associate director will provide additional services as assigned by the director.

Qualifications

Education:
The associate director position requires a master's degree (emphasis in student affairs, human resource management, or related field).

Experience:
Three to five years of experience in a business or career office setting.

Special Requirements:
Preferred qualifications include exceptional organization, written and oral communication skills, ability to oversee multiple tasks with attention to detail, supervisory experience, a motivated/enthusiastic work style, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment with a broad range of internal and external constituents. Preferred computer skills include knowledge of the Internet and career services software.



Associate Director, Career Services (large private university)

Description/Goals

Provide senior-level administrative and public relations assistance for the promotion of career services to all constituencies, both on and off campus. Serve as the supervisor of the center's automated services. Serve as the primary planner and executor of university-wide job-search and interview preparation seminars and workshops. Perform the duties of the director in his/her absence.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as the assistant administrator for career services.
  • Serve as the primary information systems manager for career services. Supervise and maintain the automated career services systems developed by and for career services on behalf of its clientele.
  • Maintain the career services website.
  • Guide student and alumni in the preparation of effective credentials and related letters and documents for job-search activities.
  • Plan and execute numerous campus-wide career-related seminars, workshops for the job-search, and the metro job fair.
  • Serve as the primary corporate contact for speakers, special-topic presenters, and panelists for job-search and interviewing presentations on campus, including mock interview days.
  • Assist individuals in the preparation of professional credentials, career connections documentation, and supervise the referral of those credentials to interested primary employers.
  • Provide information on noncampus interviews via career connections web job listings, the Internet, and other electronic medium as may become available.
  • Refer students to in-depth personal counseling when appropriate.
  • Serve as liaison between educational and community resources.
  • Represent the university and career services at assigned regional or national professional association conferences and professional development workshops.
  • Represent career services on assigned intra-university committees.
  • Perform other duties assigned by the director to insure the success of career services on behalf of the university and its students and alumni.

Qualifications

Education:
Master's degree in a career-related or other relevant academic discipline.

Experience:
Minimum of six (6) years of experience in a complex career services organization or corporate college relations, recruitment, and/or professional staffing role.

Special Requirements:
Thorough understanding of and commitment to the goals and responsibilities of the centralized university career services concept. Prefer in-depth knowledge of available career-related automation packages specifically as they relate to campus interviewing, student/employer/job databases, resume referral, automated "sign-up," etc. Effective interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communications, management and training abilities, and public relations.



Associate Director, Career Services (large public college)

Description/Goals

Direct career planning and employment programs and services for College of Education students and alumni. Collaborate with university colleges to develop and manage a multi-pronged program to connect students with internship opportunities. Conduct technology functions, including redeveloping and managing website and providing virtual fairs. Develop and oversee implementation of marketing strategies for the department. Manage the budget and oversee annual report administrative functions.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate career planning and employment programs and services for College of Education students and alumni.
  • Teach Employment Strategies, a class (for credit) targeted to education majors.
  • Develop a multi-pronged program to effectively and efficiently connect students with internship opportunities.
    • Collaborate with university colleges to identify internship employers and solicit employer involvement in university internship programs.
    • Work jointly with university colleges to efficiently and effectively streamline communications to students regarding internship opportunities.
    • Provide virtual internship/job fairs for the university community.
  • Manage career services' Internet program and technology functions. Provide:
    • Website redevelopment and updates.
    • Virtual fair, counselor appointments, and alumni database software configurations.
    • Staff guidance on strategic acquisitions/investments in hardware, software, and vendor services to advance department's educational vision.
  • Manage budget for career services. Co-approve purchases and monitor expenditures on a regular basis. Provide input on short- and long-range unit planning, with emphasis on designing services to meet needs, generating revenues when needed, and allocating resources. With the director, develop an annual budget for the department.
  • Develop and oversee implementation of marketing strategies for career services, including the marketing of events and the creation of marketing brochures and other publications. Hire and supervise a marketing intern for the department.
  • Oversee the administrative functions for generating the annual report outlining the employment and continuing education status of graduates.
  • Conduct the five-year office planning review process.
  • Represent the director in his/her absence.
  • Serve on divisional committees and on special projects as determined by the director.

Minimum Qualifications

Master's degree in higher education, business, student personnel, or related field. Three years of post-master's experience required; five years of demonstrated experience of a progressively responsible nature, with the last two or three years at the administrative level, preferred. Versatile team player with strong communication, collaboration, technology, administrative/management, counseling, and teaching skills required.



Associate Director, Career Services (medium private college)

Description/Goals

Serves as chief operations officer. Provides guidance and structure for a range of student services offered by career services, including internship, entry-level jobs, recruiting services, alumni employment services, outreach/marketing, staff orientation, and programming. The associate director also oversees the delivery, marketing, and content of all employment services and information.

Responsibilities

Operations:

  • Supervises the assistant director for employer relations, the coordinator of the career resource library, the outreach/marketing/diversity coordinator, and the office manager.
  • Monitors and evaluates operations and corresponding policies related to student access to services, internal and external communications, staffing, and workflow.
  • Provides frameworks for developing systems that ensure integration and efficiency of communication, information management, staffing, and workflow as well as the technological tools needed to support them.
  • Oversees office manager charged with daily management of student assistants, reception, student, and staff use of the career resource center and office-wide operations.
  • Provides guidance and oversight of the career resource center, working closely with and directly supervising the career resource center coordinator in identification and purchase of career-exploration and job-search literature/resources and technologies.
  • Troubleshoots concerns and inquiries by alumni, parents, students, and employers.
  • Provides leadership to the operations of the just-for-juniors orientation program and coordinates staffing.
  • With director, composes staff job description in support of operational systems.

Employment Responsibilities:

  • Oversees employment-related functions in the department including cultivating new internship and entry-level job opportunities, and the selection and evaluation of technologies for providing access to students.
  • With assistant director for employer relations, oversees comprehensive on-campus recruiting activities, with emphasis on policy-setting and educational activities.
  • Mediates protocol conflicts between recruiting employers and students.
  • Coordinates office participation in external job fairs and consortia, overseeing outreach/marketing coordinator who orchestrates marketing and student participation.
  • Represents the department on the internship coordinating committee, ensuring collaboration and consistency with other grant issuing departments.
  • Co-administers Fisher/Robinson grant process.

Career Development/Outreach:

  • Oversees the outreach/marketing coordinator in developing a comprehensive and strategic plan and implementation of marketing/outreach, faculty outreach, and associated programming.
  • Career counsels all students, one-to-one and in group career direction workshops, with an emphasis on seniors.
  • Manages and evaluates the electronic portfolio project campus-wide, the cornerstone of office career discovery outreach efforts.
  • Promotes collaborative ventures with faculty to better serve students with divergent career interests.
  • Regularly conducts workshops on career exploration/job search and organizes panels.
  • Contributes to the direction and evaluation of the department's fundraising plans and strategies, via the fundraising committee.
  • Reviews and evaluates assessment tools and resources, training staff in their use and providing student interpretations of results.
  • Monitors student interests and workplace/industry trends in order to guide strategic planning and programmatic initiatives.

Qualifications

Education:
Master's degree.

Experience:
Three to five years of experience in career development and/or employment counseling. Organizational, operations, and marketing experience. Supervision. Career counseling and group work. Experience working with diverse student interests and populations.

Special Requirements:
Strategic planning. Supervision. Career counseling. Self-assessment career inventory interpretation. Strong written and verbal communication. Career and student development theory. Project management and organizational skills.



Associate Director, M.B.A. Career Services (large private university)

Description/Goals

Facilitate student efforts to obtain full-time positions with major corporations. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: establishing and maintaining corporate relationships and a database of employers; working with M.B.A. faculty, staff, alumni, students, and employers to exchange ideas, assess programs, and market the programs; developing and implementing educational objectives; and assisting with the internship program.

Essential Job Functions

  • Facilitate student efforts to obtain full-time and internship positions with major corporations.
  • Establish and maintain corporate relationships, plan and implement a career development and job-search training program, and counsel students regarding individual job-search strategies.
  • Meet with the core M.B.A. faculty on a weekly basis to exchange ideas regarding career services and assessment programs.
  • Compile and interpret placement statistics.
  • Teach an internship practicum class to prepare students prior to their internship, and provide a forum for students to present reports on their internship experience.
  • Establish appropriate educational objectives, such as writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing skills, job-search strategies, and using career resources effectively.
  • Maintain effective relationships with alumni. Coordinate alumni activities, including the alumni mentor program and alumni database.
  • Coordinate the compilation and distribution of the student resume book. Develop and maintain a database of employers.
  • Maintain the M.B.A. internship/placement website.
  • Distribute incoming position announcements.
  • Develop career-related symposia and guest speakers.
  • Market internship and placement programs to employers, students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Secondary Job Functions

Perform any other tasks assigned by the director of career services.

Qualifications

Education:
M.B.A. with two to four years in career counseling services or equivalent counseling experience.

Experience:

  • Possess experience in administration/supervision of students, organizational skills, and basic computer knowledge.
  • Effective communication skills, oral and written, using correct English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
  • Knowledge of and experience in career and/or employment planning and counseling.
  • Ability to develop effective relations with students, faculty, and staff. Relate well with students and be sensitive to the career needs of diverse clients.
  • Possess the initiative to ambitiously pursue potential employers for on-campus recruiting; establish extensive contacts in the area of interest to M.B.A. students; and stay abreast of current trends in the job market.

Special Requirements

Physical Standards:

  • Ability to walk from one area to another and climb stairs.
  • Ability to communicate clearly in person or over the telephone.
  • Ability to stoop, bend, and reach above his/her head.
  • Must be able to lift and carry items weighing 25 pounds or less.
  • Must have current valid driver's license and have the ability to drive a car.
  • Ability to sit or stand for prolonged period of time.

Other Desired Qualifications:

  • Ability to deliver good customer service to a diverse population in sometimes stressful situations.
  • Professional work ethics and appearance.
  • Emotionally mature and articulate.
  • Courteous with a positive attitude and good social skills.
  • Ability and willingness to travel 50 percent of the time.
  • Willingness to comply with rules and policies of both career services and university.
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