Senior Director for Healthcare Career Pathways

Vanderbilt University•Nashville, TN

2h•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director for Healthcare Career Pathways is a senior leader within Career Advancement and Engagement (CAE) at Vanderbilt University responsible for guiding the university’s strategy for preparing students for careers across the healthcare sector. This role leads advising, experiential learning development, and employer engagement initiatives that prepare students for careers in healthcare delivery, healthcare administration, public health, biotechnology, and related fields. The Senior Director also oversees the Health Professions Advising Office (HPAO), which provides specialized advising and preparation for students pursuing professional programs in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant programs, and other health professions. This position ensures that healthcare career preparation, health professions advising, experiential learning opportunities, and employer engagement operate as a coordinated pathway that supports students from early exploration through successful admission to graduate health programs or entry into healthcare careers. Reporting to the Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement, the Senior Director collaborates closely with employer relations leadership, faculty, and campus partners to expand experiential learning opportunities, strengthen institutional partnerships with healthcare organizations, and improve student outcomes across healthcare career pathways. Career Advancement & Engagement at Vanderbilt University is building a pathway-based career ecosystem that aligns academic experience, experiential learning, and employer engagement to improve student outcomes at scale. Through advising, internships, industry partnerships, and AI-enabled tools, CAE helps students explore, prepare for, and launch into meaningful careers across a broad range of industries. This model expands access to opportunities, strengthens employer relationships, and positions Vanderbilt as a leading source of talent in a rapidly evolving workforce.

Requirements

Master’s degree required, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Minimum 8–10 years of relevant professional experience required, with 5 or more years experience in non-clinical healthcare business setting.
Demonstrated ability to build partnerships with healthcare organizations, alumni networks, and institutional stakeholders.
Experience managing teams or complex programs required.
Strong communication, relationship-building, and strategic planning skills required.
Ability to travel 15% of time.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in public health, healthcare administration, higher education administration, or related field preferred.
Experience in healthcare administration, health professions advising, healthcare policy, or related fields preferred.
Experience advising students pursuing health professional programs or healthcare careers strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Leads Vanderbilt’s healthcare career pathway strategy, supporting students pursuing careers across healthcare industries including healthcare systems, public health, life sciences, and health-related policy fields.
Develops milestone-driven preparation models that help students move from early exploration to internships, experiential learning opportunities, and professional opportunities within healthcare fields.
Identifies priority healthcare employers and organizations and collaborates with employer relations leadership to expand institutional partnerships.
Oversees the Health Professions Advising Office (HPAO) and its advising programs supporting students pursuing admission to medical school and other health professional programs.
Ensures the delivery of high-quality advising, preparation resources, and application support for students pursuing careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant programs, and related fields.
Guides the development of advising models, programming, and resources that support students through competitive application processes for health professional schools.
Ensures alignment between HPAO advising, experiential learning opportunities, and broader healthcare career preparation initiatives.
Oversees the development of experiential learning opportunities aligned with healthcare careers, including internships, clinical exposure opportunities, industry treks, and healthcare-related projects.
Works with healthcare employers, faculty, and alumni partners to expand experiential opportunities that strengthen student readiness for healthcare careers and graduate programs.
Ensures experiential learning opportunities align with Immersion Vanderbilt and other institutional experiential learning priorities.
Leads teams responsible for advising students pursuing healthcare careers and professional health programs.
Ensures students receive coordinated support that integrates advising, experiential learning, and professional preparation.
Supports students in developing competitive academic and experiential profiles for healthcare careers and graduate health programs.
Partners with faculty, academic departments, and campus programs involved in health related education and research.
Collaborates with Development and Alumni Relations to engage alumni and healthcare leaders in mentoring, experiential learning opportunities, and career programming.
Works closely with university partners to strengthen Vanderbilt’s healthcare career pipeline and employer relationships.
Develops and monitors metrics related to student engagement, healthcare internships, and admission outcomes for health professional programs.
Uses industry trends and student outcome data to inform pathway strategy and program development.
Continuously evaluates and refines advising and experiential learning models to improve student outcomes.