Director of Career Services

Description

The Director of Career Services will design and deliver an integrated career development experience that prepares Stephens’ students, an audience of ambitious women and gender-expansive learners pursuing distinctive academic paths, to launch meaningful careers and prepare to lead lives of purpose.

The Director of Career Services leads a comprehensive portfolio spanning career advising, internships, and employer relations, working in close partnership with the Associate Vice President for Experiential Learning and Industry Partnerships to identify, secure, and promote internship and employment opportunities for Stephens’ students. Together with faculty, alumni, and external employers, the Director ensures that every student graduates with the skills, networks, and self-knowledge to translate a Stephens education into post-graduate success.

Position Responsibilities:

I. Strategic Leadership  

• Report to the Vice President for Student Success and Engagement and partner closely with the Associate Vice President for Experiential Learning and Industry Partnerships on internships, employer relations, and industry engagement strategy.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive vision for career services aligned with the Stephens College mission, strategic plan, and the evolving needs of women and gender-expansive students entering the workforce.
• Establish measurable goals for student engagement, internship placement, first-destination outcomes, and employer partnerships; report regularly to senior leadership, faculty, and the Board of Trustees.
• Assess the effectiveness of programs, policies and procedures associated with the career services provided; interpret and generate an annual report to be included in the Student Success & Engagement overall annual report.
• Champion career readiness as a campus-wide priority, partnering with academic affairs, student life, admissions, and advancement to embed career development across the student experience.
• Manage the department budget, staff, technology platforms, and assessment activities to ensure responsible stewardship of resources.

II. Career Advising and Student Development

• Lead a team that provides one-on-one and group advising on career exploration, resume and portfolio development, interview preparation, graduate school planning, and salary negotiation.
• Design programming that addresses the distinctive opportunities and challenges facing women and gender-expansive professionals, including confidence building, navigating workplace dynamics, and pursuing leadership roles.
• Develop career resources tailored to Stephens' signature programs (including performing arts, fashion, health sciences, and education) as well as to first-generation, transfer, online, and adult learners.
• Use career assessments, faculty input, labor market data and trends, and student feedback to continuously refine services and to assist students in developing career pathways that align with their major program of study.

III. Internships and Experiential Learning

The Associate Vice President for Experiential Learning and Industry Partnerships leads the strategic development of the internship pipeline, including the cultivation of host organizations and the structural design of experiential learning programs. The Director of Career Services owns the student-facing internship experience, from preparation through placement to reflection.

• Prepare students for internship applications through resume and portfolio development, interview coaching, application strategy, and professional readiness coaching.
• Promote internship opportunities to students, match students to appropriate placements, and provide ongoing advising throughout their experiential learning experiences.
• Manage the operational systems that support internships, including tracking student participation, monitoring placement quality, gathering student and employer feedback, and reporting on outcomes.
• Collaborate with faculty and the AVP on the integration of experiential learning into the curriculum, including for-credit internship courses, capstone experiences, and industry-based projects.
• Surface unmet student demand and emerging fields to the AVP to inform pipeline development; in coordination with Advancement and the AVP, identify funding opportunities (donor-supported stipends, grants, employer partnerships) to support students pursuing unpaid or under-resourced experiences

IV. Employer Relations

The Associate Vice President for Experiential Learning and Industry Partnerships leads industry-level strategy, including the cultivation of formal institutional partnerships, contracts, and large-scale employer agree