Career Center

Reporting to the Associate Provost of Student Success, Dean of Students, the Associate Dean, Executive Director (ED) of career development provides leadership, strategic vision, and administrative oversight of campus-wide programs, services, and operations within the career readiness portfolio within the Division of Student Success. The ED works within the division and across campus to provide leadership and coordinate Clark University's career development work.

The incumbent will be an inclusive leader who promotes accessible career development that meets the diverse needs of a global student body and supports the cultivation of critical literacies and relationships that allow students to obtain their post-graduate goals. Continually expand the client/user base and scope of services to ensure the provision of the broadest array of services possible to the most inclusive mix of academic and corporate clients.

Specifically, the ED oversees the Career Connections Center and the Office of Student Employment. The ED supervises and coordinates all career development, planning, and readiness programs and activities to ensure that students and alumni are given opportunities to explore and select career options and acquire work-related experiences to maximize career placement prospects.

The Associate Dean, Executive Director assists all student, alumni, faculty, and employer clients in developing career education, career identification, search, and pursuit of employment opportunities commensurate with formal academic pursuits.

The Associate Dean, Executive Director is a member of the Division of Student Success leadership team and will support and advance divisional goals, represent DOS on Division and University committees, and help shape the strategic mission of DOS and the Division of Student Success in supporting student success and advancing institutional goals for retention and persistence. This position will work closely with the Associate Dean for Community Living, the Associate Dean for Engagement & Belonging, the Associate Dean for Student Success, and other DSS Leadership Team members.

As a Student Success Leadership Team member, the ED serves in on-call rotation as an emergency responder, e.g., representing the University in responding to student and University community emergencies; response may involve working with off-campus agencies, university police, and university departments.

Major Responsibilities: Describe in concise and clear statements. List in order of importance and note the approximate percent of time required for each task (annually).

• Provides leadership, strategic vision, and administrative oversight of campus-wide programs, services, and operations within the career readiness portfolio within the Division of Student Success.
• Coordinates career development work within the division and across campus.
• Chair and facilitate the campus-wise career planning group of all career development partners across campus.
• In collaboration with staff, determines annual and ongoing priorities for the office, working diligently to bring these priorities to fruition. Forms and actively participates in committees that move the office forward on many fronts (e.g., diversity, equity, marketing, alumni, etc.).
• Establishes and implements departmental policies promoting equitable student and staff success.
• Prepares the annual operating budget and monitors monthly activity in all career service accounts.
• Supervises the Office of Student Employment Director and Senior/Associate Directors within the Career Connections Center.
• Drives weekly team meetings focused on collaboration and discussing current goals and objectives regarding student involvement and outcomes.
• Recruits, mentors, and encourages the growth of a diverse team representative of our global student body.
• Oversees development and expansion of Career and Curriculum initiatives and Design your experience.
• Maintains, posts, and/or distributes information concerning full and part-time jobs for employees within the unit.
• Ensures that career information and resources are current and made accessible to the Clark community, such as through the online job locator, CRM, the career planning website, passive education, and other electronic and hard-copy media.
• Remains abreast of trends in career education, employment, the economy, and affiliated business and industry. Maintains membership and active involvement in professional organizations.
• Writes and presents grant proposals to obtain funds to support ongoing programs and develop new programs within the unit of Career Connection Center.
• Identifies student needs for information and advising on career planning, employment, graduate schools, and scholarships. Collaborating with staff creates programs, services, and publications to meet those needs.
• Works with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to develop and implement office diversity action plans.
• Maintains healthy and productive relationships with all college and divisional departments, faculty, and staff. Regularly build and develop strong relations with academic departments to increase communication regarding industry trends, career development opportunities, and the effectiveness of internship programs.
• Develops and maintains partnerships and relationships with businesses, industry, and non-profits to keep college programs current and vital, as well as networking to ensure maximum opportunities for Clark students and alumni.
• Serve in on-call rotation as an emergency responder, e.g., represent the University in responding to student and University community emergencies; response may involve working with off-campus agencies, university police, and university departments.

Career Advising & Programming

• Engages in holistic career advising, drawing from academic advising, career counseling, and identity-conscious student development theories; Clark University academic requirements; Clark University resources and national best practices.
• Engages in equity-centered program design that centers antiracist, intersectional approaches to career development to meet the diverse needs of students across all majors, which includes auditing current programs and the potential to develop targeted programming for key populations (such as students in bridge programs, cultural organizations or affinity spaces)
• Advises students on identifying appropriate academic and career options, assessing and exploring those options, and developing concrete academic and career goals.
• Advises students on negotiating offers, ethical/professional conduct, resume/cover letter writing, informational interviewing, interview preparation, time management, and interview cancellations. Support students in identifying opportunities that align with their financial, professional, and holistic well-being. Handles student feedback on questionable employer behavior or activities.
• Monitors student progress toward the individual and institutional goal of student launch.
• Responds to e-mail, phone, and in-person inquiries from current students. Advise or refer them appropriately.
• Maintains student files and records.

Participate in the growth and development of the Center, Division, and Clark University.

• Supports students' onboarding and off-boarding process through the Career Connection Center.
• Supports critical retention, internship, and career curriculum initiatives.
• Regularly assesses, monitor data, and iterate approaches to promote equitable support and outcomes across all student groups
• Supports key initiatives and experiences within the Division of Student Success and the University, such as opening weekend, orientation, commencement, family weekend, traditional events, etc.
• Serves as a responsible committee representative as requested.
• Attends necessary meetings and informs staff regarding relevant information
• Promote efficiency and courtesy throughout the University community and ensure consistency with the Division of Student Success mission and values.
• Remains cognizant of the University's mission and identity, constantly promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and student voices' importance. Communicate effectively with your supervisor concerning the pertinent unit and/or University matters.
• Other duties as assigned that are within the best interest of the division.

• Thorough understanding of and commitment to the goals and responsibilities of the centralized Career Connection Center, including the Office of Student Employment.
• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to infusing diversity, equity, and inclusion into action through leadership, team development, programming, and policies.
• Nationwide professional contacts in both the university and employment sectors.
• Strong written and verbal communication that resonates with diverse stakeholders.
• Effective organizational and management skills.
• Demonstrated public relations/marketing abilities to be used for the university and career services specifically, including proactive outreach to populations with lower engagement in CCC offerings
• The ability to effectively manage and supervise staff to encourage inclusion, collaboration, and personal growth.
• Effectively work and collaborate with all units and departments within the university to achieve the necessary goals of the career center and the division

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in a discipline directly related to staffing, employment, career development, planning, or other human resources concern. This may include business, educational administration, counseling, college student personnel, or a related field.
• Five to eight years or more experience in career planning and employment work, preferably in a centralized operation.
• Experience in program development, supervision, evaluation, budgeting, and computerization is necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to design or oversee programs that promote equitable post-graduate outcomes, particularly for BIPOC, first-generation, low-income, neurodiverse, and international students.
• The ability to interact effectively with people, possess excellent communication skills and leadership and be dedicated to the National Association of Colleges and Employer's (NACE) principles and practices of career planning, employment, and recruitment.

As of June 1, 2023 Clark University no longer requires employees or students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, Clark urges all community members to follow CDC guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination, which recommend that everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines including booster doses. This is important for your own personal health as well as the health of our community.

Clark University embraces equal opportunity as a core value: we believe that cultivating an environment that embraces and promotes diversity is fundamental to the success of our students, our employees and our community. This commitment applies to every aspect of education, services, and employment policies and practices at Clark. Our commitment to diversity informs our efforts in recruitment, hiring and retention. All positions at Clark share in the responsibility for building a community that values diversity and the uniqueness of others by exhibiting integrity and respect in interacting with all members of the Clark community to create an atmosphere of fairness and belonging. We strongly encourage members from historically underrepresented communities, inclusive of all women, to apply.

Clark University offers a generous benefit package for full and, if applicable, part-time employees that include; paid time off, generous retirement plan, group health and dental insurance, life insurance, and tuition, along with use of many campus amenities. For a complete list of benefits for eligible employees visit here.

To review the Clark University Police Department Annual Security and Fire Safety Report visit here.

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About Clark University

Founded in 1887, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university committed toscholarship and inquiry that addresses social and human imperatives on a global basis. It is the place where Robert Goddard invented the modern rocket, where Sigmund Freud delivered his only lectures in the United States, and where current students stake their claim to the Clark motto, “Challenge Convention, Change Our World,” which is the rallying cry that inspires our community every day. Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University educates its undergraduate and graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world, and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative effort. The University’s engages students in such areas as biology, chemistry, economics, geography, psychology, urban education, management, environmental science and policy, Holocaust and genocide studies, and international development and social change. Clark University’s pioneering model of higher education, LEEP (Liberation Education and Effective Practice) compels undergraduate students to thrive in authentic world and workplace settings, and prepares them for lives and careers of consequence.

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