Associate Vice President for Student Professional Development

Elon University • Elon, NC

9d • Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Vice President for Student Professional Development is a senior leader responsible for advancing the university’s mission through building, scaling, and sustaining high-impact employer partnerships that drive internships, experiential learning, and full-time employment outcomes for students and alumni. This position provides strategic vision and executive oversight for all career services functions, with a focus on employer engagement, relationship management, workforce alignment, and student career outcomes. The Associate Vice President is a builder who will serve as Elon’s chief architect of employer strategy, developing innovative, scalable partnerships that align academic programs with workforce needs, expanding meaningful experiential learning opportunities, and strengthening postgraduate employment success.

Requirements

• Relationship-building and business development
• Strategic, student-centered thinking
• Deep understanding of workforce trends and the recruiting landscape
• Inspired collaboration
• Systems orientation
• Management of multiple priorities in a highly-complex environment
• Cultural fluency
• Executive communication
• Commitment to excellence

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree required; Advanced degree preferred
• 10-15 years of significant leadership and progressive accomplishments in complex environments
• Demonstrated excellence in: Building best-class organizational relationships
• Recruiting, inspiring, and leading teams
• Developing strategy and animating action
• Driving measurable outcomes

Responsibilities

• Position Elon as a premier talent partner for regional, national, and global employers.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive, data-driven employer engagement strategy aligned with the university’s strategic plan and centering on excellence in student outcomes.
• Build deep, long-term partnerships with employers by assembling a team that is externally focused.
• Establish and deliver upon measurable, meaningful goals related to employer partnerships, internships, job placement, and career outcomes.
• Advise senior leadership on workforce trends, industry alignment, and career success metrics.
• Build and sustain executive-level relationships with employers across key industry sectors.
• Leverage Elon’s alumni, parent, and donor networks to expand partnerships that generate internships, co-ops, research collaborations, on-campus recruiting, and full-time employment pipelines.
• Lead corporate outreach efforts, including targeted industry engagement strategies and employer advisory boards.
• Collaborate with campus partners to align employer engagement with corporate sponsorships and philanthropic opportunities.
• Promote equitable access to opportunities through diverse and inclusive employer partnerships.
• Partner with academic leadership to align curricula with evolving industry needs.
• Identify emerging workforce trends and translate insights into programmatic opportunities.
• Develop sector-based career pathways and employer pipelines in high-growth fields.
• Facilitate employer input into curriculum design, credentialing, and experiential learning.
• Establish and monitor KPIs related to job placement, internship participation, employer satisfaction, and graduate outcomes.
• Lead post-graduation outcomes reporting and ensure compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards.
• Use data analytics to drive continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.
• Lead inspired planning aligned with the university’s strategic plan, Boldly Elon.
• Manage a team of 30 across three campuses, including six direct reports, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and precision in execution.
• Represent Elon at industry forums, workforce development boards, chambers of commerce, and other venues that elevate the university’s brand.
• Partner with the Office of Admissions to champion career outcomes for prospective students and families.

Benefits

• 28 annual days off, including holidays and vacation.
• Immediate tuition remission for undergraduate courses
• Tuition remission for approved graduate-level courses after 12 months of employment.
• Retirement plan with an 8 percent contribution from the university.
• Immediate eligibility for health, dental and vision insurance, along with free acute care and lab services at our onsite Health & Wellness Clinic.
• Free use of campus fitness facilities.
• Free admission to musical and theater performances, guest speakers, religious and ethnic observances, recitals, art exhibitions, entertainment and our Division I Phoenix athletics.
• Eligibility for tuition remission at Elon for spouses, qualifying domestic partners and dependents begins at two years of service.
• After two years of employment, eligibility begins for participation in the Tuition Exchange, a national scholarship exchange program that enables dependents to enroll in nationally recognized partner colleges and universities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive