The Assistant Director functions within Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA) as a member of a team that provides comprehensive career and employment services for undergraduate and graduate students across Northwestern’s academic units.
The Assistant Director manages key employer and alumni relationships and develops and cultivates new recruiting partnerships that benefit Northwestern students. This role regularly interfaces with alumni, recruiters, donors, students, and other Northwestern community members. This role manages relationships with organizations hiring positions for both undergraduate and graduate students in the following sectors: arts and culture, education/research, technology, healthcare, and environmental sciences.
The Assistant Director also leads the planning, development, and evaluation of special project areas that play a critical role in the team examples of which may include but are not limited to large-scale event planning and management (virtually and in-person) such as career fairs, coordination of strategic employer visits to campus and events therein, management of NCA’s comprehensive on-campus interview program, securing and maintaining key corporate sponsorships, programming and partnerships with the Northwestern Alumni Association. This position focuses on supporting our Ph.D. advising team by providing strategic guidance to employers that recruit advanced degree candidates.
Pay: The salary range for this Assistant Director position is $63,000-68,000 annually, depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.
Principal Accountabilities:
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(15%) Advise and counsel employers on strategic direction based on benchmarks, understanding of the field, and strategic decision making
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(15%) Understand employer’s individual needs and circumstances, many complex in nature, and creates, implements and monitors recommendations, partner with internal/external constituencies and resources that meet these needs.
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(15%) Completes administrative activities such as assessment, operations planning, data management, and reporting.
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(15%) Researches best practices and peer institutions and market/economic conditions and recommends changes and enhancements to improve administrative effectiveness, services and/or resources.
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(10%) Connects students with alumni and professionals for employment opportunities. Maintains knowledge of job market trends and hiring practices in a range of fields.
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(10%) Collaborates with student affairs, academic departments, student organizations and administrative offices to develop programs and publicize opportunities spanning a broad range of industries and geographies.
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(10%) Builds and maintains a network of potential employers and alumni that can provide opportunities for mentoring, internships and/or jobs.
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(10%) Engages with associations, organizations, alumni, and employers to encourage experiential education and professional development.
Minimum Qualifications:
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Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience and 3 years' career counseling/advising in higher education or 3 years' of industry experience; or other relevant experience required; OR
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Successful completion of a full course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a master's or JD or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience and 2 years' career counseling/advising in higher education or 2 years' of industry experience; or other relevant experience required.
Minimum Competencies:
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Proficiency in collaborating with management level representatives of external partnerships.
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Ability to quickly adapt to and respond to a variety of student inquiries.
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Ability to consult with a wide range of employer representatives and to market experiential education and internships to business, industry, non-profit, and government employers.
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Strong oral, written, organizational and presentations skills.
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Ability to work effectively as an individual contributor and a team member.
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Ability to respond and manage multiple constituencies and to work with diverse populations.
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Ability to work independently and with little oversight
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Ability to strategically develop, implement and execute projects
Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html tolearn more.
Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.
Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.
Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.
The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.