Director, Career Education & Early Engagement

University of Miami•Coral Gables, FL

20h

About The Position

The Director, Career Education & Early Engagement provides strategic leadership, implementation, coordination, and oversight of the Toppel Career Center’s Career Education & Readiness function. The role focuses on engaging University of Miami students early and building career readiness from the beginning of their undergraduate or graduate experience. The Director leads a team comprising an Associate Director, three Career Specialists, and 10–20 student interns and peer career coaches, and serves on the Toppel Career Center Leadership Team. The position reports to the Executive Director of the Toppel Career Center. The Director develops a stage-based approach to career readiness, overseeing career coaching, educational programming, outreach, professional development, and virtual and in-person initiatives. The role advances departmental objectives in alignment with the Center’s vision, strategic plan, University priorities, policies, and procedures. It requires independent decision-making and awareness of emerging career services trends and practices at state, regional, and national levels. The position oversees early-engagement programs and resources for undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni; develops partnerships across campus and with employers and alumni; and leads assessment of participation and outcomes. The Director also manages Career Education’s annual operating budget, contributes to financial oversight as a member of the Leadership Team, maintains a weekly career coaching schedule as needed, and staffs some evening and weekend events.

Requirements

Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, or a related area.
Five to seven years of professional experience in higher education, student affairs, career development, human resources/recruiting, or a related area.
Excellent written and verbal communication.
Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
Knowledge of career development theory and student development, particularly in exploration, decision-making, and early career readiness.
Ability to design outreach and engagement strategies that reach diverse populations, including undergraduate, graduate, first-generation, and transfer students.
Ability to assess, organize, and prioritize multiple tasks.
Ability to make complex, independent decisions and programmatic recommendations to Center and University leadership.
Ability to present career-related topics to small and large audiences and varied stakeholders.
Skills in strategic planning and using data to measure engagement and outcomes.
Skills in staff training and supervision.
Ability to build partnerships with faculty, advisors, and campus units.
Proficiency with career services platforms such as 12Twenty, Handshake, Interstride, and Big Interview.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing and leading career exploration, first-year, or early-engagement programming.
Experience supporting both undergraduate and graduate student populations.

Responsibilities

Develop and communicate the strategic direction and vision for early career engagement, using career development theory, labor market trends, student data, emerging issues, and peer-institution benchmarking.
Design and lead a developmental, stage-based approach to career readiness that helps students explore interests, values, strengths, majors, fields, and career pathways and build foundational skills.
Align Career Education initiatives with the Center’s mission and strategic plan, institutional priorities, and University commitments to student success, value, and outcomes.
Set and monitor engagement goals for first-year, new transfer, and new graduate students, including participation in career exploration, coaching, and experiential learning.
Partner with Employer Engagement colleagues on early-stage programming that introduces students to industries, professionals, and exploration opportunities such as job shadowing and informational interviews.
Direct career coaching training and development, and collaborate with leadership to create educational programming, online resources, self-assessment tools, webinars, workshops, and outreach initiatives.
Oversee staff training on current trends, student development, exploration and decision-making, and industry recruiting practices.
Lead regular Career Education team meetings and establish and monitor individual and team goals and data in collaboration with the Executive Director.
Research emerging practices in early career exploration and readiness, recommend initiatives, and lead communication and engagement with key stakeholders.
Develop, implement, and refine outreach and marketing strategies to raise awareness of career education and services, with emphasis on early engagement and reaching first-generation students, transfer students, and students not yet engaged with the Center.
Represent the University and Career Center in regional and national professional associations and initiatives related to career education and student success.
Recruit, train, develop, supervise, and evaluate professional and student staff, including the Associate Director, Career Specialists, and 10–20 student peer career coaches and interns.
Develop the peer career coach model as a channel for reaching new students and building a peer culture of career readiness.
Oversee the development and expansion of Career Education & Early Engagement programs, resources, and services, including the Career Champions Certification Program, Faculty & Staff Engagement Hub, First Year Directions career curriculum, and endowed student funds.
Expand early-engagement offerings, including first-year and new-student programming, career exploration events and workshops, major and career pathway resources, and programming tailored to graduate and professional students; work with Cane Navigators and academic advising colleagues.
Deliver career-related workshops and classroom presentations across the University, including at orientation, in first-year courses, and at early stages of graduate programs.
Collaborate with academic partners, advising, residential life, student affairs, and other campus units to integrate career readiness into curricular and co-curricular experiences from students’ first term.
Oversee the planning, execution, and evaluation of Career Education events and workshops.
Lead Career Education assessment with the Director of Data Strategy & Analytics, using engagement, participation, and student-outcome data to improve programs and inform strategic decisions.
Track engagement metrics, including first-year and early-stage participation, and hold staff accountable to established expectations.
Collaborate with Alumni Relations to expand Cane2Cane participation, strengthen student-alumni networking, and develop ways for alumni to engage early in students’ career journeys.
Develop and manage the annual operating budget for Career Education & Early Engagement programs and services in compliance with University financial policies and procedures.
Contribute to analysis and evaluation of departmental expenditures to support fiscal responsibility and cost effectiveness.
Plan, implement, and evaluate innovative programming as market trends and student needs change.
Maintain a weekly career coaching schedule as needed.
Serve as liaison to assigned offices and departments in coordination with the Associate Vice President and Executive Director.
Participate in regular meetings with team members.
Staff events during some evening and weekend hours.