Strategic Planning Director jobs in Akron, OH

SUMMARY:

The Career Planning office is housed within the integrated area of APEX, (Advising, Planning, Experiential Learning) at The College of Wooster. This highly collaborative team educates students to explore, investigate and launch their professional lives after Wooster. The department is uniquely positioned to provide holistic support to all students at Wooster. Career Planning staff members offer a range of career exploration & development programming to guide students to integrate their academic, professional, and personal goals.

The Associate Director will collaborate with departments across campus to independently customize programming that focuses on accessible and equitable career readiness efforts. With a team of student peer ambassadors, this staff member will design, customize, and manage career exploration programming relevant to the specific needs of a diverse community contributing to an inclusive career development process. The focus of this role is to increase early engagement of all students in the career planning process advising students to explore, identify, and launch their unique career journeys.

ESSENTIAL DEPARTMENTAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Outreach Program Management:

• Serve as an expert with career planning team to build and deliver career programming to support the diversity of student needs.
• Foster strong connections with academic and administrative departments that work with populations that are underrepresented in career development initiatives.
• Serve as key contributor to the office's inclusion efforts actively working to increase access and dismantle barriers.
• Serve as the liaison with the Division of Student Affairs building upon strong partnerships and collaborative programming.
• Cultivate strong relationships with identity-based student organizations and advisors.
• Provide expertise when working with the Alumni & Family Engagement Office and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion engaging alumni in the career development of First Generation, International, LGBTQ , and BIPOC students.
• As the authority in career planning and development it is required to stay ahead of emerging and promising practices in career planning, particularly as they relate to inclusion and equity.

Curriculum to Career Programming

• Cultivate partnerships and lead programming efforts with academic and administrative units to create opportunities for student engagement.
• Provide expertise and evidence-based practices to the cross functional team creating and implementing the "curriculum to career" initiative.
• Create and implement specialized curriculum for faculty and staff seeking to incorporate career development and readiness into their work with students.
• Develop and facilitate tailored classroom workshops on career development to meet learning goals
• Partner with other staff in APEX to share these practices.

Career Advising:

• Conduct individual and group advising sessions with students on an array of topics including career exploration, career investigation, life design, internship, and job search strategies, and writing professional correspondence (resume, cover letter, personal statement, etc.).
• Advise students on the variety of experiences they can engage in to make explicit connections between college and careers, including participation in Pathways, Life by Design class, and other experiential learning opportunities.
• Frequently provide the division and colleagues with the most recent employer/recruiting trends for liberal arts students.

Law Professions & Graduate School Advising:

• Advise and coach students through graduate and law school selection, testing, application, and overall admission process.
• Provide expertise as an integral member to the Law Professions Committee.
• Implement programming to support students pursuing law after graduation.
• Foster connections with and attend Midwest Association of Pre-Law Advisors (MAPLA) events bi-annually.

Supervision and Management

• Recruit, hire, train and supervise the Career Peer Ambassador paraprofessional team (5-8 students) and program to expand access to career readiness resources.
• Manage internal operations of the Career Planning department in the absence of the Director.

Career Readiness Resource Management

• Regularly assess and review virtual career readiness resources, platforms, and tools
• Serve as an expert in software/platform updates and their application to the career planning process.
• Expertly review print materials and coordinate updates when necessary
• Lead efforts to educate students, staff & faculty on how to incorporate career related resources into their work.
• Create relevant content that is accessible to all students, staff and faculty.

Requirements:

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Master's degree in education, higher education, counseling, business, or a closely related field is preferred. 4 years of experience in advising & counseling students, recruiting, education, human resources or a closely related field

KNOWLEDGE:

• Able to create and implement integrated, best practice experiences for undergraduate student learning and career development
• Knowledge of career development process and services within a higher education context
• Broad understanding of the value of a liberal arts education
• General understanding of college student development
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty
• Technologically proficient; strong computer skills and familiarity with complex databases

SKILLS:

• Interest in working in a highly collaborative team environment
• Ability to work independently and on a team
• Supervise, manage, or lead others
• Experience Advising/Coaching/Counseling individuals
• Contribute to strategic planning process
• Follow through on implementing projects
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills
• Strong written and oral communication skills

ABILITIES:

• Demonstrates ability and/or experience promoting cultural competency, universal accessibility and/or diversity

• Acknowledge and comply with all departmental SOP, safety, and college requirements.

• Strong professional ethics and discretion with an attitude of respect for all employed at The College of Wooster.

• Commitment to The College of Wooster's mission, vision, and values and demonstrated ability to create and sustain an organizational climate based on inclusion, social justice, and equity.

  
  

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This role is in an office environment. This is a primarily sedentary role but requires some delivery and travel between building and departments. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Flexible work schedule with some evening and weekend work.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to set for long periods; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk and climb stairs. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/may move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Could occasional rearrangement furniture. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional Information:

The College of Wooster does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex/gender, gender identity, gender expression, medical condition, political affiliation, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, disability, age, marital status, family responsibilities, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy, or by state, local, or federal law. All offers of employment are subject to verification of the legal right to work in the United States as required by federal law. The College of Wooster is committed by policy and practice to diversity, equity and inclusion. For more information see our nondiscrimination policy.

Application Instructions:

For highest consideration please submit a resume, cover letter, and a list of 3 professional references which includes name, telephone number and email address.