Student Employment Specialist

Frederick, Maryland•Frederick, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Hood College seeks a collaborative, student-centered, and career-readiness-focused Student Employment Specialist to strengthen the quality, accessibility, and impact of on-campus student employment. Funded through the College’s U.S. Department of Education Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant, Student Success in the AI Era: Advancing Retention, Completion, and Workforce Readiness at Hood College, the position helps make student employment a meaningful component of student success, retention, and workforce preparation. The Specialist works under the general direction of the Director of Career Development and Experiential Education and partners with campus departments to expand meaningful employment opportunities and help students recognize, develop, and communicate the skills gained through campus jobs. In collaboration with Human Resources, Financial Aid, campus employers and supervisors, and other College offices, the Specialist promotes alignment between student work experiences and the NACE Career Readiness Competencies. The role supports students in meeting financial needs while gaining workplace experience, building confidence, and developing skills they can discuss with prospective internship and full-time employers. The position is an on-campus, temporary, grant-funded role with 37.5 weekly work hours. Some program activities may require occasional evening or weekend availability. It is benefits-eligible and contingent on continued grant funding and satisfactory performance; it is anticipated to be funded for the duration of the five-year grant period. The Specialist develops campus partnerships and student employment programming; integrates career-readiness competencies into resources and activities; advises supervisors on job design, mentoring, and student learning; promotes employment opportunities and student engagement; and assesses program experiences and outcomes. The role also maintains program communications and materials and shares outcomes and recommendations with the Director of Career Development and Experiential Education and other stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in education, human services, social sciences, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least 2 years of experience in higher education, program management, career development, financial aid, student success, human resources, or a related area.
Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple activities, manage priorities, and meet deadlines.
Experience building relationships with students, faculty, staff, supervisors, and other campus partners.
Ability to exercise sound judgment, handle sensitive information appropriately, and refer policy, compliance, payroll, or financial aid determinations to the appropriate College office.
Proficiency in data analysis and reporting to various audiences.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, e-mail, and the Internet.
Ability to learn new applications quickly, including organization-wide information systems and department-specific software.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparing professional correspondence, program materials, instructions, presentations, and reports.
Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with internal and external individuals from varied backgrounds and levels of professional experience.
Ability to perform basic mathematical calculations and maintain accurate program records, including participation data, attendance, and assessment results.
Ability to organize and interpret quantitative information to support program evaluation and reporting.
Ability to solve practical problems and handle situations with multiple concrete variables and limited standardization.
Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
Ability to work independently and as part of a group in developing and executing project plans.
Ability to work in the theoretical arena and apply logic as appropriate.
Values diversity, equity, and inclusion and has strong organizational skills and a proven ability to collaborate with campus partners in support of Hood College’s student-centered, liberal arts mission.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in higher education administration, counseling, human resources, organizational development, or a related field.
Experience building or improving student employment, career-readiness, workforce-development, or experiential-learning programs.
Familiarity with the NACE Career Readiness Competencies and approaches to translating experiential learning into employer-facing skills language.
Experience designing and facilitating workshops, training sessions, orientations, or professional-development activities.
Knowledge of higher education student employment practices and familiarity with the roles of Human Resources, Financial Aid, and campus hiring supervisors.
Familiarity with career services platforms, HR systems, or data-reporting applications.

Responsibilities

Develop and advance an expanded vision for on-campus student employment that emphasizes student learning, career readiness, meaningful work, and the value of student contributions to the College.
Build relationships with campus departments and supervisors to identify ongoing employment needs and adapt current positions when appropriate.
Collaborate with Human Resources, Financial Aid, and other relevant offices to coordinate program priorities, communicate student and supervisor needs, and refer operational or policy questions to the appropriate office.
Partner with Financial Aid to orient students to the student employment process and direct them to relevant online forms, documents, information, instructions, and next steps.
Represent Student Employment in meetings and College activities as appropriate.
Integrate the NACE Career Readiness Competencies into student employment resources, programming, supervisor guidance, and opportunities for student reflection.
Help students identify and describe career-readiness competencies and transferable skills developed through campus work, including communication, teamwork, critical thinking, professionalism, leadership, technology, career and self-development, and equity and inclusion.
Promote practical strategies for students to document accomplishments, recognize growth, gather examples of their skills, and explain the value of campus employment to prospective employers.
Explore and develop recognition initiatives for student employees and supervisors who demonstrate effective mentoring, skill development, and meaningful workplace learning.
Explore skills-based certificates, badges, or other recognition pathways for documenting demonstrated career competencies, in collaboration with campus partners.
Collaborate with career development colleagues to connect student employment with career advising, career exploration, experiential learning, and other career-readiness services.
Provide campus supervisors with guidance and resources for creating student jobs with clear responsibilities, learning goals, appropriate challenge, and opportunities to develop workplace competencies.
Partner with Human Resources to develop and facilitate supervisor orientations, workshops, and professional development on onboarding, communication, feedback, mentoring, student learning, and career competency development.
Encourage supervisors to discuss learning goals with student employees, provide constructive feedback, and help students recognize how their work contributes to departmental and College goals.
Share effective practices that support consistent, inclusive, and developmentally meaningful student employment experiences across campus.
Promote on-campus employment opportunities and communicate the educational, financial, and career-development value of student work to students and campus partners.
Create and maintain student-facing resources about approaching campus employment as a learning experience and communicating resulting skills to future employers.
Support an inclusive student employment culture that respects diverse backgrounds, experiences, identities, and career goals.
Develop and use feedback methods to assess student and supervisor experiences, perceived skill development, program participation, and opportunities for improvement.
Use assessment findings, campus feedback, and emerging career-readiness practices to recommend improvements to programming, supervisor resources, job design, and student access to meaningful work.
Maintain and update program communications, web content, guides, and educational materials with appropriate College partners.
Share program outcomes and recommendations with the Director of Career Development and Experiential Education and other stakeholders, including how student employment contributes to career readiness and broader student success goals.