Position Detail - Associate Director of Career Exploration

Position Type: Staff Full-time
Hours per week: 37.5   
Weeks per year: 52
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM 
Salary Range: $55,000 - $60,000/year

Department Summary & Job Purpose:

The Career Development Center (CDC) at Mount Holyoke College fosters lives of intent and purpose through career curiosity, confidence, and knowledge. We support students with all aspects of career development, including exploring their interests, refining career paths, building relevant skills and connections, and gaining practical experience. In addition to advising, resources, workshops, alum and employer events, and jobs and internships, we also improve access to opportunities through the college’s Student Employment and Lynk Summer Funding programs.

Mount Holyoke is currently searching for an Associate Director (AD), Career Exploration to join our team in the Career Development Center. The Associate Director for Career Exploration supports the Career Development Center’s mission and strategic goals by leading the CDC’s work on early student engagement, self-assessment, and career exploration and through supporting and serving the college’s diverse student population. Keeps abreast of current student concerns related to careers and identifies programmatic ways to support students with these topics.

The successful candidate will need to manage multiple priorities, assess and evaluate shorter-term and longer-term goals, and work with a range of students, alumnae, faculty, and staff. We seek a candidate with significant experience and expertise in providing career advising for diverse undergraduate students, particularly focused on career exploration and self-assessment; excellent oral and written presentation skills; a history of success with program development, project management, and staff supervision; and the ability to work effectively in situations including as a team leader, collaborative team member, and independently.

Core Job Duties and Responsibilities: 

• CAREER EXPLORATION & EARLY ENGAGEMENT (20%)
  Identifies student needs and oversees the development of programming in relation to early engagement, self-assessment, and career exploration, both within the Career Development Center and through campus partnerships. Through these programs and tools, students should develop greater awareness of career options and insight into their own strengths, goals, career aspirations, and areas for growth. Ensures strong early student engagement, with a focus on the first-year and sophomore classes.
  • Keeps abreast of career assessment inventories and selects the appropriate tools for CDC use, considering input from all career advisors.
  • Ensure that all CDC advisors are prepared to engage effectively in career exploration advising.
  • Presents at First Year Orientation, supports first-year seminars, and organizes the Sophomore Institute,
  • Develops and delivers career development programming focused on early engagement.
  • Collaborates with the AD of Integrated Advising to ensure that advising content and programs are connected, consistent, and inclusive of all stages of student career development.

• FOUNDATIONAL CAREER SKILL BUILDING (25%)
  Manages on-demand professional advising program (i.e. Drop-ins, Advisor of the Day, and/or Career Studios), including:
  • With input from CDC advisors, annually design a same-day advising program for students working on resumes, cover letters, inquiry letters, and other elements of the job application process.
  • With input from CDC advisors, annually design a system that accommodates urgent advising needs for students unable to utilize other advising formats.
  • Ensure that same-day advising is efficient, effective, inclusive, and utilized
  • Supervises a team of Peer Career Assistants to:
    • Deliver introductory career development content to students through workshops, social media, and/or ambassadorship activities.
    • Review resumes submitted by students to the CDC’s Handshake database and make decisions on accepting or requiring improvements to resumes.
    • Ensure continuity of service through student worker fluctuations.

• INDIVIDUAL CAREER COUNSELING (40%)
  Works collaboratively with fellow career advisors, counsels students, and recent alums within all areas of the career development process, including individual advising, designing and facilitating workshops and programs, and collaborating with campus offices and academic departments. Administers and interprets career assessment inventories and additional advising duties as assigned. Keeps abreast of career development trends to ensure current, accurate career advising.

• CENTRAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER INITIATIVES (15%)
  Collaborate with colleagues and/or lead task forces to advance key CDC priorities, contributing to ongoing CDC initiatives such as liaison systems and advisor groups.

• Other duties may be assigned.

This regular, 12-month position reports to the Senior Associate Director, Experience & Exploration, and works closely with CDC staff members who focus on advising, communications, experiential learning, and data and assessment.

Occasional evening and/or weekend work is required, as well as occasional travel. As a student-centered position, this role is primarily an in-person one. Limited remote work hours may be permitted for tasks that are independent in nature. Increased opportunities for remote work are typically available during January and summer break periods. Hybrid work agreements are made at the discretion of the Executive Director.

Qualifications: 

The individual will have a Masters's degree (or a Bachelor's degree plus commensurate experience) in a related field such as Higher Ed or Counseling and 3 to 5 years of experience in Counseling or in Higher Education required.

Mount Holyoke College strives to build and maintain a campus environment that is inclusive, pluralistic, and free of discrimination. We strongly encourage you to apply if you are from a marginalized or underrepresented group.

We encourage applicants to apply even if they don’t match every qualification below – as career development professionals, we don’t believe in the concept of a “perfect” candidate.

A well-qualified candidate will bring:

• Demonstrated commitment to principles of community and diversity and the ability and desire to effectively and consistently relate to a diverse student population.
• Experience in the career, intellectual and developmental needs of undergraduates and ability to translate needs and concepts into programmatic actions.
• Experience administering one or more self-assessment instruments such as StrengthsFinder, MTBI, Focus, Strong Interest Inventory, Do What You Are, or similar.
• Ability to stay abreast of trends in the fields and trends in students' interests and to develop programs that meet emerging needs.
  Excellent presentation and workshop design and delivery skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with supervision, including team leadership is preferred.

License/Certifications:

• Candidates with certifications for the administration of one or more self-assessment instruments such as StrengthsFinder, MTBI, Focus, Strong Interest Inventory, etc. are preferred.

Physical Demands: 

• Sedentary
• Talking: Sufficient clarity of speech required includes those which permit the employee to discern verbal instructions and communicate effectively in person and by telephone.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound.
• Visual acuity: The employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; viewing a computer terminal, and reading

Working Conditions: 

• The employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (such as in typical office or administrative work).  

Background Checks:

Mount Holyoke College is committed to providing a safe and secure environment, supported by qualified employees that will allow all of its students, faculty, staff and those associated with them to successfully carry out the mission of the college. As a condition of employment, the College will conduct appropriate background checks for all new hires. Mount Holyoke has designated the Office of Human Resources as the office responsible for ensuring that background checks (CORI, SORI, Credit History, Driver Credential) are completed and utilized in the hiring process and Five College Office of Compliance and Risk Management as the office responsible for facilitating background checks as articulated in this policy.

Special Instructions for Applicants: 

Apply online; application materials must include:

1. A cover letter summarizing interests and qualifications
2. A complete resume or curriculum vitae
3. Contact information for 3 professional references

Mount Holyoke College is a women’s college that is gender diverse. The College is committed to providing equal access and opportunity in employment and education to all employees and students. In compliance with state and federal law, Mount Holyoke College does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, genetic information, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, ancestry, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected status under federal, state or local law. The College does not discriminate on the basis of gender in the recruitment and admission of students to its graduate program.

Mount Holyoke College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.