Director of Career Planning & Development

Job Summary:

Provides leadership and supports the mission and strategic plan of the university and the Cox Compass Center. Responsible for all activities of Career Planning & Development including overseeing, assessing, reporting, and marketing of career development activities and programs. Supervises Career Planning & Development staff and oversees budgetary and other administrative functions of the office. Serves as the primary liaison between potential employers and the university, its students, and alumni.

Duties/Responsibilities:

This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties or responsibility requirements. Employees may be required to perform other job-related instructions as requested by the supervisor, subject to reasonable accommodation.

• Provides leadership for the Office of Career Planning & Development and is part of a collaborative team in the Robert and Mary Cox Compass Center. Hires, mentors, and supervises professional full-time staff and student staff members. Coordinates professional development activities for CP&D staff, students, and faculty. Completes annual professional full-time staff evaluations. Develops a budget, supervises expenditures, and maintains fiscal responsibility. Requests funds as needed to stay competitive and to develop innovative programs. Maintains membership and active involvement in professional organization(s) to ensure professional growth and knowledge needed to provide effective leadership and program development. Coordinates Handshake and other software or web-based tools for student success. Directs or delegates the maintenance of the internship registration processes. Directs or delegates social media efforts for CP&D. Learns and analyzes trends, regulations, and current events affecting career services.
• Leads efforts to provide innovative career planning and development to current and prospective students, employers, faculty, staff, and alumni of Drury University. Provides and delegates career planning assistance through appointments with individuals and workshops. Provides and delegates career advising expertise to students and alumni regarding the job-search process, interviewing, resumé and letter writing, and all other facets of career planning. Integrates career development information into Cox Compass Center practices for student success. Assists students in fulfilling the promise of Drury Fusion by making connections between their academic and career opportunities and future professional lives. Administers and interprets assessments including the Focus 2 to help students and alums make connections between skills, interests, and abilities as they prepare for graduate school and the world of work. Has knowledge of social media trends in relation to the job search and networking. Instructs courses that include career development curriculum, as needed.
• Leads and evaluates existing Career Planning & Development services and programs. Assesses constituents' needs and adds new innovative programming as appropriate. Develops and implements long-term strategic plans, short-term operation plans, and determines strategic priorities for enhancing student outcomes. Develops and refines vision, mission, and goals statements and objectives as part of comprehensive assessment plan. Collaborates with Compass Center staff on assessment initiatives.
• Develops and executes a comprehensive marketing plan targeting all stakeholders to amplify Career Planning & Development services and their role in student success and Drury's mission. Represents Drury University to parents and prospective students. Represents office at local and regional recruiting events. Cultivates local, regional, state, and national relationships for the purpose of expanding employment opportunities and resources for students and alumni.
• Oversees collection and reporting of internship and first-destination outcomes and other data. Shares outcomes data through annual report and executive summaries with appropriate constituents such as the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
• Supports the mission and strategic plan of the university and the Cox Compass Center. Participates in appropriate campus committees. Serves as the primary liaison between potential employers and the university, its students, and alumni on a state, national, and international scale. Closely coordinates communication with deans, department chairs, and other faculty to ensure faculty and administrators are aware of Career Planning & Development's mission, objectives, policies, and services. Coordinates and grows existing partnerships with Office of University Advancement, Student Government Association, and other Drury units for student success.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required and Preferred Skills/Abilities:

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. All job requirements listed indicate the minimum knowledge, skills, and/or ability deemed necessary to perform the job proficiently. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communications skills for assisting visitors, students, alumni, staff, faculty, employers, board of trustees, and other university constituents. Ability to represent Drury in a professional manner to students, staff, faculty, alums, prospective students, parents, and outside constituencies.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience in higher education.
• Demonstrated commitment to community engagement and service.
• Previous certification or training in career, personality, and leadership-related inventories and assessments is preferred.
• Proficient management skills in order to direct department resources, including the ability to use technology tools and software to plan and monitor budgets. Familiarity with Handshake and other innovative web-based tools is preferred.
• Ability to lead, delegate responsibility to, and supervise staff.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with full-time academic advisors, faculty advisors, administrators, and student affairs colleagues for student success.
• Demonstrated experience with programming and networking for all student populations that are part of a university community.
• Demonstrated ability to provide meaningful career counseling and developmental programming for broad range of majors at a comprehensive liberal arts university.
• Ability to collect raw data and convert it to statistical data for the purpose of conducting assessments, evaluations, and writing reports.
• Ability to organize effectively, including maintaining a broad knowledge of information about the college and its organizations, characteristics, purposes, and philosophies. Ability to prioritize and perform multiple tasks, provide attention to detail, and concentrate for proofreading work and providing accurate information.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment and with a broad range of internal and external constituents including students, student government, employers, alumni, faculty, and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate, evaluate, and develop new procedures, and implement positive changes for the continued success of students, constituencies, the Cox Compass Center, and Drury University.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage student situations in accordance with FERPA.
• Ability to handle stressful situations, dealing effectively with conflicts between students and employers.
• Willingness to work occasional weekends and evenings to provide programming and/or marketing for special events (e.g., Admissions, Drury Fusion, and Orientation events).
• Familiarity with CPT/OPT processes and procedures is preferred.

Education and Experience:

• Master's Degree in counseling, the liberal arts, education, business, STEM field, student affairs, human resources, or a related field.
• Must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in career counseling or coaching services, human resources, recruiting, talent development, or relevant experience.
• PHR, SPRH, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification and previous certification or training in career, personality and leadership-related inventories and assessments preferred.

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervise up to two full-time staff members as well as one to two student staff members. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the University's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and trainings employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and discipling employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance; and stoop or kneel. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.

WORKING AT DU HAS ITS BENEFITS:

• Generous time off including 4+ weeks of paid time off starting your first year
• Free tuition for your whole family
• Free tickets to Drury home sporting events
• Health and wellness benefits at extremely competitive rates
• Free use of onsite fitness center on Springfield campus
• Discounted meals and Drury merchandise on campus