Associate Director for Alum Career Connections

Vassar College•Poughkeepsie, NY

About The Position

Vassar College is deeply committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees by promoting an environment of transparency and respect for differences. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds who meet the qualifications of a posting. If you need to request an accommodation to fully participate in the search process, please contact [email protected] . Position Summary Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Engagement and Executive Director of the AAVC, the Associate Director for Alum Career Connections is responsible for the design, implementation, and management of a comprehensive strategy to foster career support, professional development, and robust peer-to-peer networking among the college’s alum base. The primary focus of this position is to enhance young alum engagement by providing critical early-career resources, while actively cultivating alums of all career stages to lead, advise, and participate in these networks. The Associate Director will serve as the chief liaison between Advancement and the Center for Career Education (CCE), ensuring aligned efforts that maximize opportunities and support for the alum community.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field.
Minimum of 4-6 years of experience in higher education, alum relations, career services, community management, or a related field requiring extensive volunteer/constituent engagement.
Ability to see the connections between alum engagement, professional development, and fundraising goals.
Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple complex projects concurrently.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and comfort with public speaking.
Ability to navigate and effectively collaborate across two distinct functional areas (Advancement and Career Education).
Ability to interact effectively with a diverse community.
Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Higher Education, Counseling, or Business Administration.
Prior experience working within an Advancement, Career Education or Alumni Relations office.
Familiarity with database/CRM systems used to track constituent engagement (e.g., managing a self-serve directory).
Knowledge of career counseling theory/practice.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a strategy to organize and mobilize alums into viable, industry-based professional networks to facilitate targeted connections and content.
Actively identify, recruit, and steward high-level alum volunteers across all career stages to serve as network leaders, content contributors, and advisors within their respective industries.
Own the strategy for promoting and utilizing the alum Career Directory.
Encourage alums to volunteer their availability for networking and informational conversations (self-served mentoring), and develop guidelines to maximize the efficacy of this tool.
Design programming specifically tailored to the professional development needs of young alums (0-10 years out), aiming to deepen their engagement with the college during critical career-building years.
Execute a calendar of career-focused networking events (virtual, in-person, and hybrid) and targeted professional development opportunities for alums.
Coordinate alum volunteers to lead industry talks, skills workshops, and panels focused on career pivots, market trends, leadership, and upskilling for the alum audience.
Track participation and success metrics to inform future strategy and demonstrate ROI on engagement goals.
Serve as the principal link between Advancement and the Center for Career Education (CCE) to co-coordinate partnership programs and identify cross-functional opportunities.
Collaborate with CCE’s External Engagement team to leverage alum networks for job and internship pipelines.
Act as a bridge for alums seeking 1:1 guidance, ensuring a seamless handoff to CCE’s counseling and specialty advising teams.
Work closely with Engagement and fundraising colleagues to deepen prospect engagement by identifying alum network leaders and successful participants who demonstrate the capacity and inclination for further philanthropic support.