Director of Career Services

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 agreements. The Director of Career Services owns the student-facing dimension of employer engagement ensuring that students connect directly with recruiters and hiring managers and that opportunities translate into placements.

• Plan and execute student-facing employer engagement including career fairs on-campus and virtual interviews industry panels employer information sessions and recruiting visits.
• Manage day-to-day employer touchpoints including individual hiring manager relationships job and internship postings and recruiter logistics on campus.
• Activate institutional partnerships secured by the AVP translating them into concrete student opportunities on-campus presence and recruiting pipelines.
• Provide regular feedback to the AVP on employer needs student outcomes and emerging gaps to inform broader industry partnership strategy.
• Partner with the Office of Alumni Engagement to activate the Stephens alumni network as mentors employers and recruiters of current students.
• Coordinate with the AVP to ensure Stephens students are well represented in priority markets including New York Los Angeles Chicago Kansas City St. Louis and beyond.

V. Partnership and Collaboration

• Work closely with academic departments to understand program-specific career pathways and ensure career services complement curricular goals.
• Partner with Advancement and Alumni Engagement on initiatives that connect current students with alumni mentors donors and industry leaders.
• Collaborate with Admissions and Marketing to articulate career outcomes as a core part of the Stephens value proposition.
• Represent Stephens at professional associations (such as NACE) regional consortia and within womens college networks.

• Masters degree in higher education counseling student affairs business human resources or a related field.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in career services talent development employer relations or a closely related field with at least two years of supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated success building employer partnerships and securing internship or experiential learning opportunities for students.
• Strong understanding of current career development frameworks labor market trends and best practices in experiential learning.
• Excellent interpersonal written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage credibly with students faculty alumni employers and senior leaders.
• Commitment to the mission of womens education and the holistic development of students.

Preferred

• Experience in a small private college womens college or mission-driven institution.
• Familiarity with career services platforms (such as Handshake Symplicity or 12Twenty) and outcomes reporting tools.
• Experience supporting students in creative industries (performing arts fashion design) and/or in health sciences and education.
• Track record of securing external funding grants or sponsorships to support student opportunities.
• Knowledge of NACE standards and first-destination survey methodology.

Founded in 1833 Stephens College is the second-oldest womens college in the United States dedicated to providing innovative experiential and career-focused education across various disciplines. Located in Columbia Missouri Stephens College continues to be a leader in womens education fostering a community where students are empowered to lead innovate and excel. The college also provides flexible co-educational masters degrees and certificates for working professionals and is home to the co-educational Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Stephens College.

Ranked (over and over again) as one of the best college towns in America Columbia Missouri is home to 36000 college students and 118000 residents. Columbia conveniently located approximately 100 miles from both Kansas City and St. Louis has it all: big-time college sports film music and arts festivals a high-energy arts community amazing recreation and a great downtown with lots of places to eat shop snack and check out the latest bands. The Columbia community offers outstanding health care options as well as excellent educational opportunities for every level of student (including our own Childrens School).

Stephens is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will recruit and employ qualified personnel without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation national origin age disability or status as a veteran.