Career Center

Director of Career Development Programs, Break Through Tech

About Break Through Tech

Break Through Tech works at the intersection of academia and industry to propel more underrepresented women into higher education and careers in tech -- with a particular emphasis on Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and first- generation college going women and non-binary students. In New York, the program has already served over 3000 undergraduate women; facilitating, encouraging, and enabling a significant increase in the participation of women in higher education in fields related to technology.

Hosted by Cornell Tech, the Break Through Tech AI Program is the newest offering from Break Through Tech on a mission to credential and fast-track undergraduate women into careers in the fastest-growing areas of tech: data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Developed with industry leaders, the Break Through Tech AI Program includes three high-level components that are considered critical for increasing the competitiveness and marketability of students pursuing AI/ML engineering roles: (1) skills-based training, (2) industry-relevant portfolios, and (3) career development programming, including mentorship and job placement support. Over the next three years, the Break Through AI Program will expand nationwide to foster a diverse next generation of AI leaders who will build AI technologies that are fairer and more representative of our society.

Position Summary

Cornell Tech seeks a Director of Career Development Programs, Break Through Tech who will play a critical role in the design of our career development product as part of the initiative's Central Program Office. This individual will play a strategic and critical role in the design and delivery of career and leadership development curricula to ensure that Break Through Tech AI participants acquire strong job outcomes. This individual will oversee the development of our online course, including content and resources specific to portfolio development, technical interview preparation, excelling in your tech internship, and leadership, as well as instructional guides for small-group mentorship sessions from industry experts. Moreover, this individual will oversee our career development product architecture, research new and evolving market trends, and identify new career development product opportunities.

This individual will act as a strategic partner to provide dotted-line support for up to 4 Career Services Leads across 4 Host Sites nationally who are delivering our career development programming between students and employers. They will design and oversee the strategy to recruit, train, and engage a cohort of early-career professional mentors from technical fields. The ideal candidate comes with experience developing curriculum for or leading mission-aligned programs. This person should possess deep project or program management expertise with demonstrated ability to lead projects to successful completion that deliver impact. The ideal candidate must be very organized and detail-oriented, can set clear goals and track progress, and is receptive to feedback. They should be comfortable navigating ambiguity and demonstrate capability to build structures and processes that scale through others. This person should also demonstrate judgment to independently make decisions, drive recommendations to the central Program Office, and prioritize their time to stay on mission. The ideal candidate will have experience working with various audiences, particularly program staff and industry, and can collaborate and influence others to achieve outcomes in a highly cross-functional organization without positional authority. Prior work experience at a technology or engineering company or in instructional design, program management, product, recruiting, or learning and development a plus.

The Director of Career Development Programs will report directly to the Senior Director of the Break Through Tech AI Program.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible 3-year term position with the possibility of renewal. This position requires occasional work on evenings and weekends, particularly during the academic year. The responsibilities may be completed remotely or hybrid, to be determined by supervisor. Remote and onsite expectations are subject to change. Please note: there will be several in-person team meetings per year held at our NYC campus. All travel-related expenses will be covered.

Essential functions include:

- Lead improvements and curriculum design of Break Through Tech's Career Prep online course. - 50%

• Lead the design of a Career Development and Mentorship online course, including modules on tech career development, interview preparation, and values-based leadership. Oversee the documentation, release, and measurement of the student outcomes resulting from this curriculum.
• Design curriculum for Machine Learning and AI cohort-based Mentorship program, including industry case studies, talking points, and other assets for use in synchronous virtual mentor meetings.
• Establish, implement, and promote best practices in backwards design content development, and provide expert guidance on content and technology best practices in the fields of career development and leadership.
• Work with product designers, learners, and industry experts to collaborate on high-level design choices for the knowledge, skills and mindsets that will be taught in each curricula, and to conceive of and collaborate on new ideas for enhancing student learning outcomes.
• Complete market research and learn from competitor benchmarks to identify curricula best practices and refine this curriculum year-over-year.

- Oversee the regional implementation of career preparation programming and Mentor recruitment across 4 Site. - 30%

- Develop and maintain relationships with central Program Staff, Break Through Tech AI local teams, and corporate partners. - 15%

- Other position-related responsibilities and projects - 5%

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree with 5-7 years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Passion for diversity in tech, education, and social impact.
• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Demonstrated success working in leadership roles in program or project management in the areas of education, training, talent development, internship and/or mentorship programs, and/or student services.
• Must have experience with curriculum design and a strong pedagogical understanding of curriculum. Must be an advocate for applied learning and strongly believe that knowledge, skills, and behaviors are that are taught in this model must be applied in the workplace.
• Must have significant understanding of the entry-level job application process for tech roles in the United States. Can backwards plan from high-level curriculum goals to content design decisions to ensure to deliver employment outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to think both strategically and tactically, operationalizing strategies for scale and efficiency across multiple audiences and university types while keeping in mind technical constraints, product requirements, and company goals.
• Must have strong organizational skills and should be skilled at managing competing priorities, creating order out of ambiguity and meeting deadlines for deliverables on time.
• Ability to define and analyze data from a variety of sources to ensure programs are achieving measurable impact.
• Exceptional written communication skills to ensure that all instructional and training assets meet our standards for excellence and quality of instruction.
• Must be a solutions-oriented and self-starter that is comfortable and optimistic while navigating ambiguity as part of a dynamic and continuously evolving team.
• Strong interpersonal skills and cross-functional partnership abilities to affect change in complex organizations without wielding formal authority.
• Proven ability to work in a team context with demonstrated ability to mentor, develop, and support staff. Highest standards of integrity to develop trust with current students, faculty, staff, and employers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in a technology or analytical domain
• Experience with Canvas or equivalent learning management system
• Experience with Salesforce or equivalent CRM tool.
• Familiarity with related educational/entrepreneurial programs at other universities and organizations (capstone projects, cooperative projects, incubators, accelerators, etc.).
• Specific experience working with both tech faculty and corporate partners.
• Professional experience in/related to tech, particularly data science, machine learning, or artificial intelligence

Cornell's Culture of Inclusion and Community Standards

As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture.

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Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

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