Director of Career and Professional Achievement

Jackson College•Jackson, MI

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Career and Professional Achievement provides institution-wide leadership for Jackson College’s career and professional achievement strategy. The position is expected to move career development from an optional, transactional service to an integrated, high-touch learning experience embedded from recruitment and onboarding through completion, transfer, employment, and career advancement. The Director leads the Jets Career Achievement Center and ensures that every student can connect a Jackson College education to a meaningful next step. A central responsibility is to lead, in partnership with the provost, faculty, deans, curriculum committees, navigators, and other College leaders, the design, approval, launch, scaling, and continuous improvement of a required one-credit Career Essentials course for all degree- and certificate-seeking students. The course will address career and labor-market exploration; a career and education plan; résumé, cover-letter, and portfolio development; interview and job-search preparation; professional communication and workplace expectations; a responsible professional social-media and digital presence; networking and mentorship; internships, externships, job shadows, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning; responsible use of artificial intelligence and technology; and strategies for securing, onboarding into, retaining, and advancing in employment. The Career Essentials course and the Center’s services must serve transfer and workforce students equally. For transfer-intending students, the course will connect intended major, transfer institution, experiential learning, and long-term career direction. The Director will work with academic leadership and transfer partners to embed the course within program maps without adding avoidable credits, delaying completion, or weakening transfer pathways. The Director also provides strategic oversight for career coaching, employer engagement, internships and externships, work-based learning, apprenticeships, career technology, alumni career support, and post-completion outcomes. The position builds durable partnerships with employers, workforce agencies, community organizations, faculty, academic leadership, student achievement teams, alumni, and transfer institutions; supervises assigned staff; manages resources; and establishes measurable goals and continuous-improvement processes aligned with Jackson College’s Student Achievement Imperative.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in career development, education, business, human resources, counseling, workforce development, student affairs, organizational leadership, or a related field.
At least five years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher-education career services, workforce development, employer engagement, talent acquisition, academic program leadership, work-based learning, or a closely related field, including at least two years of staff, program, or cross-functional leadership.
Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and evaluating career-readiness programming, curriculum, a credit-bearing course, or another scalable student-learning initiative.
Demonstrated success developing employer partnerships and expanding internships, apprenticeships, work-based learning, recruitment, or employment opportunities.
Experience establishing measurable goals, managing multiple priorities, using data for improvement, and presenting results to varied audiences.
Experience with career technology, student-success platforms, learning-management systems, customer-relationship management, data systems, or related digital tools.
Strong strategic, supervisory, project-management, communication, presentation, relationship-building, and change-leadership skills.
Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends and to travel locally to employer, partner, and College locations.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
Must have the ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from employees, regulatory agencies, or members of the community.
The position requires the ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
Must have the ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference and the ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
The position requires the ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
The position regularly performs work in office, classroom, event, virtual, and employer-site settings; operates a computer and other standard office technology; communicates in person and electronically; and moves throughout College and partner locations.
The employee may occasionally move materials weighing up to 25 pounds.
Local travel and occasional evening or weekend work are required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Experience in a community college or other broad-access institution serving transfer, career and technical, adult, dual-enrolled, online, apprenticeship, and justice-involved learners.
Experience scaling a required career-readiness, college-success, or professional-development course across multiple academic programs.
Working knowledge of nationally recognized career-readiness competencies and first-destination standards.
Knowledge of Workforce Pell, federal earnings and value accountability, WIOA, Perkins, registered apprenticeships, Michigan workforce initiatives, and state or federal grant requirements.
Experience using labor-market information, wage records, employer data, and outcomes dashboards to improve programs and communicate value.
Experience managing budgets, grants, contracts, employer sponsorships, or philanthropic support.
A recognized career-development, coaching, workforce, human-resources, or project-management credential.
Experience incorporating responsible artificial intelligence, digital identity, skills-based hiring, and emerging technology into career preparation.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year career and professional achievement strategy aligned with Jackson College’s mission, Student Achievement Imperative, academic master planning, enrollment strategy, workforce development priorities, and regional economic needs.
Lead the Jets Career Achievement Center as both a visible central hub and a distributed, college-wide network in which faculty, navigators, staff, employers, alumni, and transfer partners share responsibility for career development.
Ensure consistent access to career preparation for transfer students, career and technical students, apprentices, adult learners, dual-enrolled students, online students, students at all College locations, Corrections Education Program students, alumni, and other populations served by the College.
Develop, implement, and evaluate career exploration, coaching, readiness, professional-development, job-search, networking, employment, and career-advancement services.
Establish annual priorities, service standards, staffing plans, technology needs, operating procedures, budgets, and performance measures for the Center.
Create and convene a Career and Employer Advisory Council that includes employers, alumni, faculty, students, workforce partners, and transfer representatives and that complements existing program advisory committees.
Monitor national, federal, and Michigan policy and practice developments affecting career readiness, employment outcomes, Workforce Pell, apprenticeships, work-based learning, skills-based hiring, artificial intelligence, and post-secondary value; translate relevant changes into institutional action.
Represent Jackson College at business, industry, workforce, economic-development, community, transfer, and professional events.
Lead, in partnership with faculty and academic leadership, the curriculum design, approval, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of a required one-credit Career Essentials course for all degree- and certificate-seeking students.
Recommend placement of the course early in the student journey, normally within the first 15 earned credits, and develop later milestone activities before internship, transfer, and completion so career preparation is not a one-time event.
Establish common learning outcomes aligned with nationally recognized career-readiness competencies and Jackson College’s expectations for communication, critical thinking, professionalism, teamwork, leadership, technology, and career self-management.
Develop program-specific and transfer-specific sections, examples, employer content, and assignments while maintaining common College-wide outcomes and quality standards.
Work with deans, faculty, curriculum committees, advising, Financial Aid, the Registrar, and transfer partners to place the course within degree maps, preserve transferability, meet accreditation or licensure needs, and avoid excess credits or unnecessary cost.
Require practical student deliverables, including a documented career and education plan, résumé, professional profile or digital portfolio, mock interview, networking plan, work-based-learning plan, and next-step employment or transfer action plan.
Develop consistent syllabi, rubrics, assessment tools, learning-management-system content, and instructor resources; ensure content is accessible and available through strong in-person and synchronous options supported by digital resources.
Recruit, train, coordinate, and evaluate faculty, staff, adjunct instructors, career coaches, employer guests, and other contributors who deliver or support the course.
Use pre- and post-assessment, student work products, employer feedback, completion data, and later employment or transfer outcomes to improve the course.
Track registration and successful completion; work with navigators and academic leaders to intervene when students have not enrolled, completed required deliverables, or demonstrated expected competencies.
Provide leadership for career exploration, career coaching, career readiness, résumé and portfolio development, interview preparation, professional communication, job-search strategy, professional branding, and employment preparation.
Use current labor-market, wage, benefit, demand, education, transfer, and credential information to help students make informed program and career decisions.
Help students establish and responsibly manage a professional social-media presence, digital identity, online reputation, networking profile, and portfolio while protecting personal information and maintaining authenticity.
Prepare students for contemporary hiring practices, including online applications, virtual and recorded interviews, skills-based hiring, assessment tools, applicant-tracking systems, and responsible use of artificial intelligence in the job search.
Expand preparation beyond obtaining a job to include workplace onboarding, attendance and reliability, communication with supervisors, teamwork, conflict management, receiving feedback, understanding compensation and benefits, job retention, advancement, and lifelong career management.
Develop mentoring, alumni, professional-association, and networking opportunities that increase students’ access to people who can help them enter and advance in a field.
Coordinate career fairs, employer recruitment events, job fairs, student showcases, networking events, mock interviews, career treks, and other career-related activities.
Partner with Human Resources and campus supervisors to make student employment a structured career-learning experience with clear competencies, coaching, and feedback.
Collaborate with four-year transfer partners and their career centers so transfer students have an intentional bridge from Jackson College to major-specific experiences, internships, and employment preparation.
Provide appropriate career support for alumni, including job transition, advancement, professional development, networking, and lifelong learning.
Coordinate with navigators and community partners to connect students with transportation, clothing, technology, childcare, mental-health, reentry, and other supports that can affect participation in work-based learning or employment.
Serve as a primary institutional leader and representative for career services, employer engagement, work-based learning, internships, externships, apprenticeships, and employment partnerships.
Build, cultivate, and manage a segmented employer partnership pipeline that creates sustainable pathways from education to employment and career advancement.
Lead employer recruitment, onboarding, relationship management, communication, and stewardship; maintain clear partnership agreements, service expectations, and points of contact.
Increase the number, quality, and variety of employment, internship, externship, apprenticeship, co-op, job-shadow, project-based, and other experiential opportunities available to students.
Create an opt-in résumé and talent-portfolio repository and employer talent-matching process that helps qualified students and alumni become visible to regional employers.
Help employers use skills-based hiring by translating Jackson College learning, credentials, projects, and work experiences into clearly demonstrated competencies.
Develop employer feedback loops regarding workforce needs, student performance, career readiness, curriculum alignment, job quality, hiring results, and opportunities for continued partnership.
Work with faculty and academic leadership to bring employers and industry professionals into classrooms, advisory activities, program review, demonstrations, mentoring, career conversations, and student projects.
Establish employer service and satisfaction standards, measure employer experience, and develop strategies that increase repeat recruiting, internship conversion, hiring, and long-term engagement.
Coordinate with Michigan Works!, workforce boards, economic-development organizations, chambers, professional associations, transfer institutions, and community partners to extend the College’s reach and avoid duplication.
Provide strategic oversight for internships, externships, co-ops, job shadows, apprenticeships, service learning, project-based learning, undergraduate research, student employment, and other forms of work-based and experiential learning.
Establish goals and processes that substantially increase student participation, with a preference for paid experiences whenever feasible.
Develop and maintain quality standards, learning agreements, employer expectations, student-readiness requirements, supervisor orientation, reflection activities, evaluations, documentation, and risk-management procedures.
Collaborate with academic departments to integrate work-based learning into program maps and align experiences with learning outcomes, employer expectations, and the student’s academic and career pathway.
Develop employer and student feedback processes and use the results to improve the quality, accessibility, and value of work-based learning.
Identify and address barriers that prevent students from participating, including scheduling, transportation, technology, clothing, background requirements, and unpaid opportunity costs.
Provide strategic leadership for the development, management, compliance, and growth of Jackson College’s registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship portfolio.
Strengthen Jackson College’s role as an apprenticeship intermediary and support the award and articulation of college credit for rigorous on-the-job learning where appropriate.
Support the development and continued eligibility of high-quality short-term programs, including Workforce Pell programs, by coordinating employer validation, work-based learning, completion, placement, earnings, and student-transition processes with the appropriate College offices.
Track participation, completion, conversion to employment, related employment, wages, retention, advancement, and employer outcomes for internships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning.
Develop annual goals and a transparent performance dashboard for the Career Essentials course, career coaching, employer engagement, work-based learning, apprenticeships, transfer preparation, employment, and alumni engagement.
Measure course enrollment and completion, completion of required career artifacts, demonstrated career-readiness competencies, use of coaching, and student satisfaction.
Lead a first-destination process consistent with nationally recognized standards, including a strong knowledge rate and outcomes reported within six months of completion.
Track and report employment status, related employment, continuing education or transfer, starting compensation when available, job retention, career advancement, employer satisfaction, and other meaningful post-completion outcomes.
Partner with Institutional Research and Effectiveness, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Academic Affairs, and external agencies to use College data, state wage records, labor-market data, College Scorecard data, and employer information responsibly and accurately.
Support College compliance and improvement related to program-level completion, placement, earnings, value, Workforce Pell, WIOA, Perkins, apprenticeship, grant, accreditation, and other applicable federal or state measures.
Analyze outcomes by program, credential, location, modality, and student population; identify areas of lower participation or performance and lead practical corrective action.
Examine the relationship between career-course participation, coaching, work-based learning, retention, completion, transfer, employment, and earnings; use findings to improve institutional practice.
Provide regular reports and recommendations to College leadership, faculty, the Board as requested, and other stakeholders; support clear public communication of career and post-completion outcomes.
Maintain appropriate confidentiality, data governance, and FERPA compliance in all student, employer, wage, and outcome records.
Directly supervise assigned Career Center personnel, including the Work-Based Learning Services Coordinator, and provide direction to part-time instructors, student employees, interns, temporary employees, contractors, and other contributors as assigned.
Set clear goals, provide coaching and professional development, evaluate performance, and hold staff accountable for service quality and measurable outcomes.
Lead a distributed delivery model by coordinating faculty, navigators, staff, employer volunteers, and adjunct instructors who contribute to the Career Essentials course and career programming.
Develop and administer the Center’s operating budget; manage contracts, technology, events, and resources; and pursue grants, employer sponsorships, philanthropic support, and braided funding aligned with College priorities.
Select, implement, and continuously improve career technology, customer-relationship management, job and internship platforms, assessment tools, résumé and portfolio systems, labor-market tools, and learning-management-system resources.
Maintain standard operating procedures, service standards, records, agreements, audit documentation, and compliance processes for career services, work-based learning, apprenticeships, and employer engagement.
Ensure services, course materials, technology, events, and employer practices are accessible and consistent with College policy and applicable law, including FERPA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, employment law, grant requirements, and student-record requirements.
Responsible for understanding, supporting, and actively demonstrating the College’s beliefs, values, mission, and vision and being in agreement to be evaluated by the same.
Perform other duties of a similar nature or level as assigned.