Assistant Director, Career Services

Claremont McKenna College•Claremont, MN

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Director, Career Services supports student career development and external relationships for Claremont McKenna College’s (CMC) scholars programs, particularly the Robert Day Scholars Program (RDS). This role is part of the staff team in CMC’s Soll Center for Student Opportunity, which was ranked #6 nationally in 2024 by The Princeton Review for its career and job placement services. The Assistant Director is responsible for organizing and executing initiatives to support students’ personal and professional development, aiding in external relations with alumni and recruiters, and evaluating evolving trends to help plan future program initiatives. The position offers the opportunity to lead existing programs and initiatives, as well as to ideate and drive new ones. A central aspect of the role is to help shape and support the prestigious Robert Day Scholars Program, which prepares highly motivated students for future leadership roles across various industries through rigorous coursework and co-curricular programming. The Assistant Director plays a vital role in continually building on the success of this program.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or any combination of education and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities is required.
A minimum of two years of experience in student coaching/development, career services, recruiting, or related field is required.
Track record of working with and coaching/counseling/teaching college students; adept at modern coaching techniques for current generation of students.
High customer service orientation for this student-centric and external relations role.
Positive attitude, attentiveness, responsiveness, and strong verbal and written communication skills.
High organizational skills.
Ability to manage and conduct hands-on tactical execution of programs.
Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills across departments and stakeholders, both internal and external.
Demonstrate sound judgement and decision-making.
Proficiency in independently working, planning, issue-resolution, and decision-making.
Ability to thrive and problem-solve in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, independently managing multiple simultaneous projects/tasks.
Proactively anticipate and reactively resolve issues.
Adept at continuous improvement.
Provide basic reports utilizing data, metrics, and external research.
Ability to maintain student confidentiality.
Ability to learn and apply new methods and tools including AI tools.
Proficiency with Excel, PowerPoint, CRM/ATS platforms, shared/cloud-based platforms (e.g. Outlook, Box, SharePoint).
Domestic travel is required, up to 10% of the time.
The successful candidate will be required to undergo a full consumer background check.

Nice To Haves

Basic knowledge of finance/accounting or consulting industry landscapes and/or recruiting dynamics is preferred.

Responsibilities

Support one-on-one career guidance, goal-setting, recruiting, interviewing, and professional and soft-skills coaching to students.
Guide, track, and report on RDS students’ career pathing, outcomes, and longer-term success.
Establish and improve more effective ways to communicate and coordinate with students, faculty, and alumni across cohorts and career industry sectors.
Help on-board and nurture each newly inducted RDS cohort; build RDS community across cohorts and alumni.
Lead review, coordination, and approvals of RDS student experiential funding requests and processes; collaborate with other staff members on executing various tasks.
Stay abreast of changing external market needs and dynamics to proactively drive or influence program changes/improvements to best serve students.
Proactively cultivate and manage new/existing relationships with external companies, firms, recruiters, alumni across industry sectors to assist with student pathways toward successful internship and full-time job placements.
Manage requests from employers and alumni including preparing student materials, facilitating student introductions, managing workshops and meetings.
Assist in developing marketing, communications, and content (external and internal) to support the Robert Day Scholars Program.
Build and improve student recruiting resources, and improve processes and tools including assisting with deploying dynamic, automated tools.
Oversee systems to track employer engagement, job placements, and external market trends using data to guide planning and continuous improvement.
Provide updates on current recruiting landscapes and trends across industries.
With the Director, assist with planning and coordinating the program Advisory Board bi-annual Board meetings; help manage the meeting minutes and other tasks.
Proactively and continuously plan, execute, and improve a range of programs, processes, tools, and communication.
Serve as lead project manager for key initiatives throughout the year (e.g. new cohort selection process, recognition/celebration events).
Build and analyze reports to support the programs.
Ideate and help drive improvements of internal processes and automation.
Collaborate and functionally oversee select programs, events, and tasks assigned to the Administrative Assistant and Student Intern(s), as needed.
Partner with other CMC staff to build, execute, and improve programs and events.
Manage databases, CRM systems, and tools for metrics and tracking dashboards including placement rates, employer satisfaction, and longer-term professional achievements.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Regular attendance is considered an essential job function; the inability to meet attendance requirements may preclude the employee from retaining employment.
Demonstrate a student-facing, high service approach.
Take and follow directions.
Work cooperatively with others.
Receive and respond appropriately to constructive criticism.
Display a positive attitude.
Balance multiple tasks and priorities.
Perform other essential duties and tasks specific to the position.