The Assistant Director of Alumni and Employer Relations is a newly created position in the Center for Life’s Work. The Assistant Director also collaborates closely with Alumni Relations Program providing benefits, services, and opportunities for engagement with 33,000 alumni, while also supporting the campus community with continuous connection with our graduates and collaborative programming. The Assistant Director is responsible for strategy, leadership, and management around connecting and engaging alumni and employers with student career and professional development needs.

Under the oversight of the Executive Director and with a dotted line to the Director of Alumni Relations, the Assistant Director provides leadership to cultivate and strengthen communication with and between employers, students, alumni, faculty, development, foundations, and corporate relations and expands new employment opportunities, connections, and fundraising/revenue potential. The Assistant Director manages a comprehensive alumni and friends of the college career volunteer program; explores new options and fresh ideas to keep pace with emerging trends and technologies, and creates a deep sense of connection between the College and volunteers. Through development of key partnerships and relationships, the Assistant Director will engage volunteers as mentors and speakers, as well as expand opportunities in experiential learning and for pursuit of their post graduate plans. The Assistant Director will conduct outreach with personal attention and make increased use of technology and data, to foster greater collaboration and alumni engagement supporting key goals of student success, experiential learning, marketing and communications, enrollment management and fundraising.

Relationship Development –
Establish and develop partnerships with alumni and employers locally and nationally with a goal of increasing opportunities (mentoring, field-specific advising, and recruiting connections) for students and alumni. Maintain and steward existing employer connections by providing assistance and advice on strategies for reaching and engaging students. Expand employer contacts by identifying underrepresented industries/career areas of interest to our students, researching employers in these industries and reaching out to them for job/internship postings, on-campus visits and participation in job fairs and other career events. Join and participate in local and regional recruiting organizations for the purpose of building employer contacts. Manage campus employer visits, supervise the posting and approval of job notices, survey and monitor employer needs and modify Center for Life’s Work practices to better meet those needs. Collaborate with Alumni Relations and Development to oversee pipeline and placement of volunteers in appropriate roles. (50%)

Project Management
Market, recruit, and manage the alumni and friends of the college mentor/career advisor program. Together with Alumni Relations, plan, implement and staff student-alumni events as well as career and professional development programming. Launch, market and maintain programming for online and in-person events, to support experiential learning and professional development for alumni and students in collaboration with key campus stakeholders. Update and monitor alumni career web pages. Enter data into college systems and ensure data sharing with relevant campus areas. (25%)
Strategic Planning – With Executive Director and Alumni Relations, set the strategic vision for alumni and employer engagement and management; monitor and report progress toward goals and objectives. Coordinate efforts and tracking with key campus offices and Institutional Advancement. Consult with CLW staff to both share information and to anticipate and create programs and services that respond to career trends. Establish regular analysis of engagement efforts and needs; report findings; implement initiatives to address gaps. Implement and assess satisfaction surveys. Generate reports for Directors of Alumni Relations and Career Services. Manage budget for alumni and employer activities. (15%)

Collaborate with key stakeholders to improve alumni data. Gather data on the success of alumni by increasing response rate to alumni surveys and “update your info” link on the alumni website. Improve the College’s overall Knowledge Rate by collecting data through social media searches and direct outreach, particularly to graduates of the last decade. Offer support for first destination and one-year out surveys and future initiatives. (5%)

Participate in ongoing professional development through conferences, webinars and involvement with professional organizations. (5%)

All other duties as assigned

Bachelor’s degree required in human resources, management, or a related field.

At least 3 years of experience in alumni professional development programs, or similar experience in education, non-profit management or a field or industry that emphasizes relationship building, networking, and overseeing both online and event-driven programming and communications.

Ability to work a flexible schedule including some nights and weekends as required. Must be able to travel occasionally on behalf of the College, to maintain a high level of visibility with our alumni population, and to participate regularly in alumni events and activities.

Be able to think strategically and creatively, and the ability to transform new ideas into executable and successful programs. Demonstrated the ability to collaborate and leverage initiatives and programs for multiple purposes.

Accuracy and attention to detail are essential.

Conversant with relevant technologies and their use in support of communicating and marketing career and alumni programs and managing and measuring results.
Abilities to develop, market, and effectively explain a wide variety of career and professional development benefits, services, programs, and volunteer engagement opportunities to alumni, students and the campus community.

Exceptional organizational skills and be able to attend to and prioritize projects.

Ability to successfully manage interpersonal working relationships. As appropriate, collaborate with staff in other units and divisions to achieve the goals of the College.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Handles confidential information sensitively and appropriately.

Demonstrates commitment to working in a diverse workplace and to building a pluralistic community by promoting an increased understanding of individual differences and perspectives that will enable workforce cohesiveness.

High emphasis placed on professionalism, efficiency and a positive attitude.
Annual participation in professional development; focuses on acquiring, improving and applying technological and other skills that are essential to achieving the goals of the College.

Master’s degree in human resources, management, higher education/student affairs, or a related field strongly preferred.

5+ years of experience in alumni professional development programs, or similar experience in education, non-profit management or a field or industry that emphasizes relationship building, networking, and overseeing both online and event-driven programming and communications.

Position will have supervisory responsibilities for full or part-time staff, graduate assistants, and student workers.

This position requires candidates to sit for extended periods of time and has the potential to lift up to 20 lbs.

Microsoft Office, Colleague, career and alumni management systems, social media tools