Director, Center For Career And Professional Development

Summary

The Director of the Center for Career and Professional Development provides visionary leadership for a comprehensive, student-centered career development strategy that prepares students and alumni for meaningful careers, lifelong learning, and professional success. The Director develops innovative programs, employer partnerships, experiential learning opportunities, and career readiness initiatives that align with Regis College's mission and strategic priorities.

Working collaboratively across the university, the Director serves as a key partner to Academic Advising, faculty, student affairs, enrollment management, alumni relations, and employers to create an integrated student success model that supports students from enrollment through career placement and professional advancement.

The Director fosters a culture of career readiness, professional development, and workforce engagement while leveraging data, technology, and labor market insights to continually enhance student outcomes.

Essential Functions

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategic plan for the Center for Career and Professional Development that aligns with institutional priorities and workforce trends.
• Provide strategic leadership for career readiness and professional development initiatives that support student retention, engagement, persistence, and post-graduate success.
• Establish measurable goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and assessment strategies related to career outcomes and student success.
• Analyze employment and labor market data to inform programming, employer engagement, and career pathway development.
• Lead innovation in career education, including digital career services, AI-enhanced career tools, and emerging workforce competencies.

Career Development and Professional Readiness

• Design, implement, and continually evaluate a comprehensive career development and professional readiness framework that supports students throughout their academic journey and beyond graduation.
• Collaborate with Academic Advising and academic departments to integrate career development into the student experience to connect classroom learning with career and professional outcomes.
• Collaborate with faculty and academic leaders to support internships, experiential learning, undergraduate research, and other experiential learning opportunities.
• Collaborate with institutional partners to create opportunities that strengthen students' professional confidence, engagement, and career preparedness.
• Foster the development of transferable professional competencies, leadership capacity, workplace effectiveness, and adaptability through curricular and co-curricular partnerships.

Collaboration with Academic Advising

• Partner closely with Academic Advising to create an integrated student success and career development framework.
• Develop intentional touchpoints between advising and career planning throughout the student lifecycle.
• Collaborate on initiatives that help students connect academic goals, career pathways, and experiential learning opportunities.
• Provide both faculty and academic advisors with training on career development resources, labor market trends, and career readiness competencies.
• Utilize shared student success data to identify and support students in achieving academic and career goals.
• Develop collaborative programming that assists students in making informed decisions regarding majors, careers, internships, and graduate education.

Employer and Community Engagement

• Ensure students have access to meaningful experiential learning, professional networking, mentorship, and employment opportunities that enhance post-graduate success.
• Serve as the university's primary liaison to employers, industry leaders, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and workforce partners.
• Develop and strengthen employer partnerships that create internship, mentorship, and employment opportunities.
• Expand employer engagement through career fairs, networking events, industry panels, recruiting initiatives, and experiential learning programs.

Assessment, Technology, and Data Analytics

• Identify emerging workforce needs and communicate trends to academic leadership and faculty partners.
• Manage career services, technology platforms, and student engagement systems.
• Track and report career outcomes, employment data, internship participation, and student engagement metrics.
• Develop systems to document and assess student participation in experiential learning opportunities.
• Assist in the development of a system to measure postgraduation employment.
• Conduct and analyze the data in the First Destination Survey.
• Work collaboratively with Institutional Research to complete surveys, reports, and internal documents.
• Produce reports and presentations for institutional leadership and accreditation purposes.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies and applicable reporting requirements.

Center for Career and Professional Development Operations

• Develop and manage departmental budget, resources, and operational priorities.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, continual improvement, and exceptional student service.
• Establish policies, procedures, and best practices that support departmental effectiveness.
• Serve on various university committees.
• Perform other related duties as required.