Sr. Assistant Director, 4WARD Career Pathways Program
Position Announcement
Sr. Assistant Director, 4WARD Career Pathways Program
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, seeks a dynamic team leader to serve as the inaugural Sr. Assistant Director, 4WARD Career Pathways Program within the Office of Career Exploration and Success.
Application Deadline to Apply: 11:59 pm on October 9, 2024
Institution Overview
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, the flagship campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a renowned academic institution that boasts a vibrant and diverse community of learners. With its enrollment numbers exceeding 43,000 students, Rutgers-New Brunswick offers a broad range of programs across its schools and colleges, providing students with ample opportunities for intellectual growth and personal development. The campus's rich history, state-of-the-art facilities, and distinguished faculty contribute to a dynamic learning environment that prepares students for success in their chosen fields and equips them with the skills necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world.
About Career Exploration and Success
Career Exploration and Success (CES) is committed to assisting students with making connections between their academic experience and career paths. We provide career-related advising, resources, and programs to help individuals discover their interests, values, and skills, explore careers and majors, develop skills through internships and experiential opportunities, and pursue their post-graduate goals. We build relationships with alumni, employers, and graduate schools to optimize internship, job, and career opportunities while also creating strategic partnerships with campus departments to assist students in developing and articulating co-curricular experiences that will help to ensure they are competitive in their future pursuits.
CES is comprised of four units, each with its own director who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of their unit, making hiring decisions, providing leadership to their unit, managing their unit's budget, solving challenges and celebrating wins, and making decisions aligned with overarching goals.
About the Career Discovery Unit
One of four units within the Office of Career Exploration and Success, the Career Discovery unit guides students through the early stages of their career journey. Its primary objective is to assist them in discovering their interests, skills, and values, while facilitating the exploration of potential career pathways to inform future decision-making. The unit consists of 11 full-time staff members and five graduate coordinators organized into three teams led by associate directors: the First-year Career Engagement Team, the Career Exploration Team, and the Career Pathways Team (associated with this role).
About the Career Pathways Team and Graduate Student Career Pathways Program
Aligned with the Career Discovery Unit's mission, the Career Pathways Team directs its efforts toward empowering students to leverage their individuality as a strength. This entails guiding them through their career trajectories, facilitating mentor connections, and presenting them with employers that resonate with their values, inspiring students to delve into these connections proactively.
The 4WARD Career Pathways Program is an exclusive, high-impact, two-year experience designed to assist participants in reaching post-graduation success. First-year undergraduate participants are assigned a career success strategist for two years and paired with an industry mentor during year two of the program. Students will clarify their career goals, have access to unique recruiting resources to unlock internship experiences and engage in opportunities designed to make them more competitive in their future career pursuits. The program is specifically tailored to first-generation undergraduate students and others coming to Rutgers—New Brunswick without a well-established career network.
About the Associate Director, Career Pathways
As Associate Director and direct supervisor, Stacey Kohler leads a portfolio of student career communities that offer tailored resources to Rutgers—New Brunswick's diverse student body. Her responsibilities include overseeing Career Advocacy and Professional Inclusion initiatives, the 4WARD Career Pathways Program for undergraduates, and the Graduate Student Career Pathways Program. She also provides direct support and resources to military-affiliated students, student-athletes, and international students. Before her promotion, Stacey managed the 4WARD Career Pathways Program as an Assistant Director. With nearly a decade of experience in career services, she excels at supporting students and fostering collaborative campus partnerships. Prior to joining Rutgers, Stacey worked in the public school system.
About the Director of Career Discovery
Sue Pye is the director of Career Discovery. Sue has decades of experience leading high-impact experiential education initiatives, working with campus partners to develop career curricula, and leading successful teams. Before Rutgers, she worked in career services at Seton Hall University and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). She began her full-time career in higher education in residence life, working at Kean University, William Paterson University, and the College of Saint Elizabeth.
About the Executive Director
Sue Pye, Director of Career Discovery, reports to William (Wil) Jones, Executive Director of Career Exploration and Success. Wil was officially named Executive Director in 2021 by Rutgers University-New Brunswick Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway. Jones previously served in various roles within CES, including Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives, Senior Director, and interim Executive Director. At Rutgers, he co-founded the industry-centric career community approach to career development – which has become a national model – to diversify office offerings and help students think about their professional goals beyond the confines of their academic discipline. Before joining Rutgers, Wil oversaw various functions at the University of Maryland Career Center, including helping student leaders translate their experiences to the world of work by making connections to the skills employers sought.
Position Description
The Office of Career Exploration and Success seeks an individual to develop and lead the 4WARD Career Pathways Initiative as the Sr. Assistant Director. Reporting to the Associate Director for Career Pathways, the Sr. Assistant Director will lead an initiative for undergraduate students, particularly first-generation students, students with disabilities, and low-income students. This includes managing a comprehensive program that leverages support for students seeking to clarify their career goals, explore industry pathways, develop various career competencies, and connect with industry professionals and alumni. The Sr. Assistant Director will serve as the primary liaison to all Trio-focused programs, and they will manage the First-generation Career Student Community, including an advisory board comprised of campus partners, employers, and student leaders. They will also be the lead liaison for the offices supporting students with disabilities and those supporting low-income students.
Management of 4WARD Career Pathways Program
The incumbent will oversee career preparation initiatives tailored for first-generation students, students with disabilities, and low-income students, encompassing a program aimed at helping them connect with career competencies and various industries. This program is an exclusive, high-impact, multi-year experience designed to assist participants in obtaining a high-impact internship by their third year at Rutgers. First-year undergraduate participants are assigned a career success strategist for two years and paired with an industry mentor during year two of the program. Students will clarify their career goals, have access to unique recruiting resources to unlock internship experiences and engage in opportunities designed to make them more competitive in their future career pursuits.
Leadership and Community Engagement
The Sr. Assistant Director will establish and nurture connections with other career professionals within Career Exploration and Success, as well as across the campus, who interact with graduate students. Additionally, they will lead the First-Generation Student Career Community Advisory Board to oversee the management of career preparation programs, recruitment events, and future student-alumni mentoring activities tailored specifically for the community. The board will consist of faculty/staff, industry professionals, and student leaders aligned with the career community. Moreover, the incumbent will cultivate relationships with campus entities dedicated to serving graduate students, such as TRIO-related Programs, Office of Disability Services, EOF Programs, and more. Furthermore, the Sr. Assistant Director will be the main point of contact for career presentation requests from affiliated organizations and campus partners.
Career Advising:
The Sr. Assistant Director will provide direct career advising service delivery primarily for students navigating their career journey (i.e., discover themselves, explore career and academic pathways, develop skills and competencies, and pursue their goals). They will also identify methods to expand advising capacity for this population. Delivery modes include 1:1, group, in-person, and/or virtual.
Programming
The assistant director will present a minimum number of career journey programs per year associated with their career communities. They will also present a minimum number of requested programs from faculty, staff (both internal and external to CES), and organizations associated with their community. The assistant director will directly manage a signature event each semester for their identified career communities. The goal of these events is to explore career paths and discuss issues relevant to that community through student and alumni connections.
Miscellaneous Duties
The Sr. Assistant Director will actively participate in various meetings, professional development activities, and other responsibilities as assigned. They will also work to increase the Rutgers University brand within the career services field through conference presentations, award nomination submissions, professional online community involvement, and other such activities.
Candidate Profile
To be considered for the assistant director position, candidates must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Experience and Education: UHR requires a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience. UHR also requires a minimum of five years of relevant experience in a relevant program coordination or administrative function. However, a master's degree is strongly preferred.
- Skills and Competencies: Should have an in-depth understanding of NACE Career Readiness Competencies and aspects of career development unique to graduate students. Must demonstrate the ability to work effectively in teams, problem-solve, and manage projects and timelines. Should also have a track record of successfully increasing engagement by audiences and proficiency with standard office software packages.
Preferred Qualifications: Master's degree is highly preferred. Experience within industry, career services, internship development, or workforce development settings is also preferred.
Flexible Work Arrangement Program
Rutgers is pleased to announce the extension of the FlexWork@RU Pilot Program through August 31, 2025. Full-time staff members within Career Exploration and Success are permitted to either a 4:1 compressed work week or up to two days per week of remote work.
The flexible work arrangements outlined in Rutgers Policy 60.3.22 are part of a pilot program that is effective September 1, 2022 and extended through August 31, 2025. Therefore, there is no guarantee that this flexible work arrangement will continue beyond that date. Flexible work arrangements are not permanent, are subject to change or cancellation and contingent on the employee receiving approval in the FlexWork@RU Application System. Additional information may be found at https://futureofwork.rutgers.edu.
Additionally, CES has implemented #FocusFriday, a department-wide practice where internal meetings between CES colleagues are discouraged every Friday. This dedicated time enables staff to concentrate on accomplishing their goals. Periodic meditation or mental health breaks throughout the day are also supported. To further support productivity, CES encourages the utilization of automated "Focus Blocks" through Microsoft Outlook. These automated blocks allow staff members to schedule designated periods of uninterrupted work time, further maximizing productivity and focus.
Benefits Program
Rutgers offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. For details, please go to http://uhr.rutgers.edu/benefits/benefits-overview.
Rutgers also offers a benefit program to eligible full-time postdoctoral fellow students. For details, please go to https://finance.rutgers.edu/healthcare-risk/insurance/postdoctoral-health-insurance.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or any other category covered by law in its admission, programs, activities, or employment matters. For additional information, please see the Non-Discrimination Statement at the following web address: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/non-discrimination-statement
Search Committee:
William Jones, william.jones@rutgers.edu (Search Committee Chair)
Executive Director - Career Exploration and Success
Full search committee coming soon
Apply Today
Application Deadline to Apply: 11:59 pm on October 9, 2024