Assistant Director, Rural Careers

Department

ESA Career Advancement Senior Leadership

About the Department

Career Advancement serves a student population of approximately 7,000 arts and sciences undergraduate students, in addition to alumni who have graduated within the last five years. Career Advancement plays a vital role in ensuring our students’ success after graduation. Career Advancement offers innovative and comprehensive career development services focusing on pre-professional preparation, experiential education, and access to internship and full-time opportunities. Through career advising, programs, and comprehensive resources, Career Advancement supports undergraduate students and alumni as they develop the skills necessary to manage their career development while working with alumni and employers to provide students with meaningful opportunities. For more information, please visit the Career Advancement website at careeradvancement.uchicago.edu.

Job Summary

UChicago Career Advancement’s programs build on the world-class UChicago liberal arts foundation to give students a competitive edge in their professional development and recruiting in a wide range of roles. As a new role funded by philanthropy, the person in this role will utilize previous industry expertise to prepare students for professional success through employer outreach, one-on-one advising and coaching, planning and executing programs and workshops, and supporting program administration including reporting and analytics. This role will support program management, including but not limited to employer outreach, event planning, tactical coordination, and student engagement. The position requires a passion for building new relationships, serving as a strategic thought partner, and representing the University with a commitment to excellence, customer service, and creative, problem-solving mindset. The ideal candidate will be an energetic, adaptable, solutions-oriented, and talented individual contributor with a record of success in complex, fast-paced environments where collaboration is critical to success.

Responsibilities

• Serves as career adviser for a cohort of 1st – 4th year students in the undergraduate College. Engages in proactive communication and engagement to support career development and success in securing internships and full-time jobs.
• Communicates frequently with students to share opportunities and help them stay on track for success. Proactively identifies opportunities to ensure students are prepared for and receive career development opportunities. 
• Manages and maintains efficient methods to track student data, quantify student engagement, and report on student outcomes both internally and with external STARS partner institutions. Tracks student progress in securing a job or internship using Salesforce.
• Leads identification of and conducts outreach to employers in both the public, private, and non-profit sectors for internships and full-time opportunities. Identifies and sources job and internship opportunities across rural America that match student career interests.
• Reaches out to employers and alumni to develop relationships and source opportunities for student across STARS partner institutions ranging from job shadowing and site visits to internships.
• Creates and implements employer development plan in areas of opportunity; and sets employer strategy of retention using data, feedback, research and analysis, and relationship management.
• Collaborates and liaises with STARS partner institution career teams to implement career exploration, profession development, internship, and job opportunities driving outcomes for rural students across institutions
• Advises and counsels students concerning employment opportunities and careers by acting as a liaison between students and prospective employers.
• Supports drafting strategic communications for high level donors, University leadership, and employer partners.
• Provides support as necessary for data management and analytics, correspondence, and reporting to senior leadership and other constituents.
• Manages and administers Treks and Career Exploration Week visits to domestic and international business centers, virtual or on-site, as relevant. This includes, but is not limited to, connecting with firms and alumni, and developing the visit schedule and logistics.
• Advises and counsels students concerning employment opportunities and careers by acting as a liaison between students and prospective employers.
• Conducts mock interviews, reviews resumes and cover letters, and coordinates other interview related programming in both individual and group settings.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requi