Sr. Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Pathways
Position Announcement
Sr. Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Pathways
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, seeks a dynamic team leader to serve as the inaugural Sr. Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Pathways (UHR Title: Career Counseling Officer) within the Office of Career Exploration and Success.
Application Deadline to Apply: 11:59 pm on June 12, 2026
About Rutgers–New Brunswick: Building a Career-Ready Campus
Rutgers University–New Brunswick, the flagship campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading public research university with a vibrant and diverse community of more than 43,000 students. Across its schools and colleges, Rutgers–New Brunswick offers a broad range of academic programs that foster intellectual growth, personal development, and career readiness. The campus’s rich history, distinguished faculty, and commitment to innovation create a dynamic learning environment that prepares students to succeed in an ever-changing world.
As part of its commitment to student success, Rutgers is advancing a university-wide “Building a Career-Ready Campus” initiative, led by the Assistant Vice Provost for Career Development and aligned with a Chancellor-level goal of achieving a 90% post-graduation career outcomes rate by 2030. This work brings together faculty, staff, employers, and alumni to embed career readiness across the student experience, with mentoring programs serving as one of six strategic priorities to expand access to networks, strengthen career preparation, and advance social mobility.
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 10 full-time staff members and five graduate coordinators organized into two teams led by associate directors: the New Student Career Engagement Team and the Scarlet Career Mentoring Network Team (associated with this role).
About the Scarlet Career Mentoring Network Team and Graduate Student Career Pathways Program
Aligned with the Career Discovery Unit's mission, the Scarlet Career Mentoring Network Team leads the design and delivery of accessible, scalable mentoring initiatives that connect Rutgers students with industry partners and professionals to support career exploration, skill development, and long-term success. The team expands access to networks and opportunities that advance social mobility while empowering students to leverage their individuality as a strength and move forward with confidence.
The Graduate Student Career Pathways Program centers on structured mentoring experiences that connect graduate students with industry professionals and alumni to support career exploration, skill development, and informed decision-making. Through these mentoring relationships, the program helps students clarify career goals, explore diverse pathways, build career readiness competencies, and expand their professional networks, while complementing this work with targeted programming and engagement opportunities for graduate students.
About the Associate Director, Scarlet Career Mentoring Network
As Associate Director and direct supervisor, Stacey Kohler leads a portfolio of career mentoring programs that offer tailored resources to Rutgers—New Brunswick's diverse student body. Her responsibilities include overseeing the 4WARD Career Pathways Program for undergraduates, the Graduate Student Career Pathways Program, the International Career Pathways program, and the Scarlet Career mentoring Course. Before her promotion to associate director, Stacey managed the 4WARD Career Pathways Program as an Assistant Director and also worked with graduate students on their career journey. 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, leading teams, and even liaising with graduate school programs in a previous role. 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 Assistant Vice Provost and 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 and later promoted to Assistant Vice Provost. 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 Graduate Student Career Pathways Initiative as the Career Counseling Officer (Operational Title: Sr. Assistant Director, Graduate Student Career Pathways). Reporting to the Associate Director, Scarlet Career Mentoring Network, the Career Counseling Officer will lead an initiative for graduate students, focusing much on doctoral students seeking careers in industry.
A central component of this role is the design, implementation, and expansion of mentoring-based programming for graduate students, including the development of structured opportunities that connect students with faculty, alumni, and industry professionals. This work is integrated within a broader career pathways framework that supports graduate students in clarifying career goals, exploring industry pathways, developing career competencies, and building professional networks.
This includes developing a comprehensive program that leverages support for graduate students seeking to clarify their career goals, explore industry pathways, develop various career competencies, and connect with industry professionals and alumni. The Career Counseling Officer will serve as the primary liaison to the School of Graduate Studies and Graduate Student Life, and they will manage the Graduate Student Career Pathways Community, including an advisory board comprised of campus partners, employers, and student leaders.
Management of Graduate Student Career Pathways Program
The Career Counseling Officer will oversee career preparation initiatives tailored for graduate students, encompassing a program aimed at helping them connect with career competencies and various industries. A key component of this work includes the design and implementation of mentoring-based programming that connects graduate students with faculty, alumni, and industry professionals.
They will enlist campus partners as Career Pathways Fellows who will aid in executing this program. The position will recruit, select, and manage these fellows, including coordinating participation and ensuring alignment with program goals. Additionally, the incumbent will organize a significant career event for graduate students and facilitate student-alumni mentoring programs and other activities aligned with the duties of this position.
Leadership and Community Engagement
The Career Counseling Officer 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 Graduate Student Career Pathways Community Advisory Board to oversee the management of career preparation programs, recruitment events, and mentoring activities tailored specifically for the community.
The board will consist of faculty/staff, industry professionals, and student leaders aligned with the career community. The incumbent will cultivate relationships with campus entities dedicated to serving graduate students, such as the School of Graduate Studies, Graduate Student Life, and the Rutgers Graduate Student Association. Furthermore, the Career Counseling Officer will act as the main point of contact for career presentation requests from graduate student-affiliated organizations and campus partners.
Career Advising:
The Career Counseling Officer will provide direct career advising services primarily for doctoral 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 and implement strategies to expand advising capacity for this population, including group programming and scalable advising approaches.
Miscellaneous Duties
The Career Counseling Officer will actively participate in meetings, professional development activities, and other responsibilities as assigned. They will also work to increase Rutgers University’s presence within the career services field through conference presentations, award nominations, professional community engagement, and related 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 with five years of relevant experience or a Master's degree with three years of relevant experience. UHR also requires a minimum of five years of relevant experience in a relevant program coordination or administrative function. However, a doctoral 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: Doctoral degree is strongly preferred. Experience within industry, career services, or workforce development settings is also preferred.
Flexible Work Arrangement Program
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 through the Rutgers FlexWork@RU Program. 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.
Equal Opportunity Employer
It is university policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we encourage all qualified applicants to apply. For additional information please see the Non-Discrimination Statement at the following web address: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/non-discrimination-statement.
Search Committee:
Jaime Flagg, jf1184@echo.rutgers.edu (Search Committee Chair)
Sr. Assistant Director, Career Success Strategy - Career Exploration and Success
Full search committee coming soon.
Apply Today
Application Deadline to Apply: 11:59 pm on June 12, 2026