Position Title:
Director, Career Readiness & Alumni Connections
Work Type:
Full time
Location:
Swarthmore College
Approved Location Type:
On Campus
Department:
Work Shift:
Day Shift (United States of America)
The Opportunity:
Swarthmore College Career Services seeks a Director of Career
Readiness & Alumni Connections to lead the vision, strategy and
implementation of a comprehensive and scalable career development
program that elevates the visibility, engagement and impact of
Career Services among students and alumni. This exciting new role
will focus on integrating career development throughout the student
experience with an emphasis on early engagement, to encourage
exploration through meaningful campus and alumni connections while
strengthening student preparedness for life after Swarthmore.
Essential Responsibilities:
The Director will set and implement strategies to infuse
occupational wellness into the first year experience through
leadership of the Career Education team to develop more robust
campus partnerships, and design programs that strengthen student
and alumni career readiness. The Director is responsible for
reexamining how alumni engage with programs to ensure the network
serves as a central pillar for student and alumni career
exploration, mentorship, and professional development. As part of
these efforts, the Director will partner with the Office of Alumni
Engagement & Development to develop more robust and streamlined
channels for alumni engagement with career programming and
co-manage the Swarthmore mentoring platform, SwatLink. The person
in this role will also collaborate closely with the Director of
Employer Connections & Assessments to monitor student outcomes
and career competencies.
Management & Supervision
- Manage & supervise team of career exploration &
readiness advisors, including setting and measuring annual
performance goals.
Contribute as an active member of the Career Services
leadership team, providing guidance and support for all major
Career Services initiatives, representing the Center/Office at
appropriate campus and off-campus functions, and standing in for
the Executive Director/AVP during absences.
In collaboration with the Executive Director & AVP, develop
a vision and implementation plan for a comprehensive, innovative,
and inclusive career and professional development service delivery
that is in alignment with the broader Career Services strategic
plan and the College’s strategic goals.
Provide leadership on cross-campus efforts to define, improve
awareness of, and assess the career and professional readiness of
Swarthmore students and alumni.
In collaboration with the Director of Employer Connections
& Assessment, develop programs, systems and initiatives that
prepare students to successfully engage with alumni, recruiters and
other employer professionals.
Oversee the content and layout for the alumni sections of the
Career Services website, and strategy for featuring of alumni
profiles on industry & affinity communities.
Campus Partnership Development & Outreach
- Establish and implement goal-oriented and data-driven
strategies to enhance and expand innovative and inclusive career
development initiatives, programming and resources that foster
career readiness skills and occupational wellness with an emphasis
on early engagement. This will include oversight and evolution of
the “dedicated first year career advisor” pre-orientation virtual
advising sessions.
- Develop and strengthen campus partnerships to infuse career
exploration and development into the student ecosystem at
Swarthmore. Cultivate collaborative relationships with faculty,
academic departments, Intercultural Centers, student organizations
and the broader student affairs division. This may entail serving
on affiliated campus committees, including the committee on the
first year experience, the Wellness Coalition, the Teaching
Learning Commons (TLC) Inquiry groups & potentially a career
services oriented faculty advising committee.
- Expand and enhance partnerships with the Center for Innovation
& Leadership, On-Campus Employment, Lang Center, and the Office
of Academic Success to bolster experiential learning opportunities
and career preparedness, including co-developing tailored
programming and initiatives.
- Stay abreast of industry trends and represent Swarthmore
College Career Center through active involvement in regional and
national associations.
- As part of the Career Services Leadership team, lead and
oversee dynamic career development content and resource generation
on the Career Center website with specific emphasis on promoting a
sense of belonging at the intersection of identities and career
interests.
Alumni Engagement & Program Development
- In consultation with the Executive Director & AVP, develop
and manage a comprehensive strategy with specific goals to increase
alumni engagement with Career Services as mentors, panelists and
program participants.
- Ideate and manage meaningful and substantive career development
volunteer opportunities and for alumni, including cultivating
streamlined processes for volunteer recruitment and referrals.
- Strengthen and expand formalized avenues for alumni to offer
mentorship to current student and young alumni.
- Serve as primary point of collaboration for career-related
alumni engagement requests from Advancement and academic
departments.
- Collaborate with Alumni Relations/Advancement to develop and
execute alumni-facing events, virtual workshops and programs for
alumni that support career advancement.
- In collaboration with the Director of Employer Connections,
determine best practices for encouraging alumni-featured employer
engagement and opportunity sharing.
- Create, execute and manage utilization strategy for Swarthmore
mentoring and networking platform, SwatLink (powered by
PeopleGrove), including serving on Swatlink steering
committee.
Advising
- Provide one-on-one career advising to current students and
alumni on career development strategies including feedback on
resumes, interview preparation, and offer negotiation.
Assessment & Outcomes
- Oversee and manage accurate tracking of alumni engagement
touchpoints for Career Services, including through Swatworks
micro-internship program and student interactions with alumni on
SwatLink, as well as the growth of student-to-alumni groups on
Swatlink.
- Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to showcase impactful
stories of engagement to college stakeholder groups.
- Collaborate with Assistant Director, Communications and
Engagement to develop materials that showcase the diverse range of
possibilities for Swarthmore students, including major and
industry-specific reports with an emphasis on utilizing data to
showcase impactful stories and methods for engagement.
What you bring:
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree (in Counseling Psychology, Counselor Education,
Student Affairs, Higher Education, Human Resources, or a related
discipline) and 4-6 years relevant experience related to career
services and/or alumni/donor engagement initiatives, or an
equivalent combination of education and experience is
required.
- Knowledge of leadership and management best practices to foster
staff professional growth and engagement through support and
guidance for professional staff in a team setting.
- Prior supervisory experience.
- In alignment with Swarthmore’s commitment to Inclusive
Excellence, it is vital that all candidates seeking employment not
only be committed to, but also demonstrate skills, knowledge and
values necessary for serving the unique needs of our diverse campus
community.
- Demonstrated presentation skills and ability to communicate
effectively in both written and verbal form with a variety of
constituents, including students, alumni, faculty, staff,
employers, parents, etc.
- Proven record of developing and implementing innovative and
interactive programming.
- Strong knowledge of career development methods, including
career readiness, and employment trends across multiple
industries.
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong relationships
and strategic partnerships.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability
to tailor messaging for different constituent groups including
students, faculty, staff & alumni
- Capability to assess and redefine priorities to adapt in
rapidly changing environments
- Adept in using and learning new technologies
- A proven ability in taking the initiative on project work
within a collaborative setting across multiple teams.
- Ability to manage deadlines and juggle multiple projects
simultaneously.
- Must be able and willing to work flexible hours, including some
evenings and weekends.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience leading a team.
- Training in Life Design is a plus.
- Familiarity with related career services platforms such as
Handshake, Peoplegrove, and Uconnect is a plus.
- Experience with assessing programs highly valued.
- Experience with creating a career development curriculum is
highly desirable.
- Ability to promote high level of motivation and excellent work
performance without bias.
Physical Demands:
- Must be able to remain in a stationary position at least 50% of
the time.
- Ability to occasionally lift and carry boxes up to 30
pounds.
PA Criminal Clearance Required
Swarthmore College requires a PA Criminal background check for all
staff positions prior to the start of employment.
Education Verification Required by Position
An education verification is required for this position because a
college degree is a required qualification for this position.
Applications received are reviewed on a rolling basis until the
position is filled. An optional cover letter indicating how your
qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position
is preferred. If you have experience that meets any of the
preferred qualifications, please include a detailed explanation of
any such experience in your cover letter and how it meets the
preferred qualification(s).
We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit
eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to
their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their
accounts on the date participation begins.
Swarthmore Benefits and Programs
Retirement
Plans
Tuition Grant Program
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Paid Time Off (Staff)
Holiday Schedule
Swarthmore College is committed to creating a culture of respect
and inclusion so that every member of our community feels a sense
of belonging. We actively seek and welcome candidates with diverse
perspectives and experiences, exceptional qualifications, and a
demonstrable commitment to a more inclusive society and world.
Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not
discriminate based on any identity or characteristic protected by
law or College Policy.
