Career Services Senior Associate Director, Graduate Students & Postdocs

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Career Services Senior Associate Director, Graduate Students & Postdocs

Job Profile Title

Associate Director D, Student Services, Advising

Job Description Summary

University of Pennsylvania Career Services, positioned within the division of University Life, is seeking a Senior Associate Director to lead, innovate, and manage all career services, programs and outreach for graduate students, graduate alumni, and postdocs in 9 Schools at Penn as part of the Graduate Student/Postdoc Team. The individual hired will supervise this team consisting of 1.5 Associate Directors and a Coordinator (0.5 time), in addition to providing individual career advising to students/postdocs and alumni along with planning and presenting workshops regarding all facets of career planning and professional development. The Senior Associate Director will collaborate with campus partners, engage with employers interested in hiring Penn graduate students/postdocs and alumni, coordinate events including career fairs, and play a leading role in developing digital content/resources. Career Services offers a wonderful opportunity to be at the nexus of Penn students/postdocs, alumni, employers, and campus partners, and provides an engaging environment to apply your skills in effective communication, relationship building, program/event managing, and leadership/supervision.

Job Description

Responsibilities

• Advises graduate students and post-docs regarding academic development, graduation planning, and career strategy. Develops new and enhances existing resources to connect students with experiences in and out of the classroom. Identifies academic opportunities and resources for students as they develop both academic goals and career aspirations.
• Maintains a high-level of knowledge of academic offerings in addition to employment markets through employer and alumni interviews and industry resources; reports trends and changes to career services/advising and relevant academic programs; and identifies internship opportunities 
• Establishes topic expertise to provide cutting-edge training and student academic achievement and success resources to staff. Creates and presents workshops to meet professional development and learning outcomes in partnership with faculty. Contributes to sustaining and enhancing an inclusive working and learning environment 
• Establishes methods and opportunities for regular communication and information exchange through collaborative relationships with faculty and staff in assigned academic programs to achieve academic and professional development goals. Develop regular reports to collect feedback from students, analyze career placements after graduation and track alumni. 
• Communicates with other teams in student services to exchange information, promote each other's events, and effectively refer students f