The Director of Experiential and Career Education is a full-time professional staff member in the Division of Campus Life and Student Success and reports to the Executive Director of CaPD. This position provides strong operational and thought leadership for experiential and career education at the University.
CaPD provides education and services for approximately 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business Administration, and the School of Music, as well as alumni from each of these programs. Career and Professional Development is a team of six full-time staff including an executive director, a director, two assistant directors, one coordinator, and an administrative specialist. Part-time staff includes a graduate assistant, two student employees, and five Career Peers.
The Director provides strong operational and thought leadership for the development and implementation of mission-driven, experiential and career education, programs, services, and resources aimed at promoting the professional success of students and alumni; supervises one full-time professional staff member (Assistant Director of Internships); actively demonstrates commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; works with faculty and staff to integrate career readiness into the curriculum and co-curriculum strategically focusing on internships, project-based learning/micro-internships, and student employment. The Director’s work will emphasize facilitating social mobility through equitable access to connections and experiences for all students regardless of background or social capital (Evolution of Career Services in Higher Education 1900 – 2030; Dey & Cruzvergara, 2019).
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- In concert with the Executive Director, provide leadership and strategic direction for experiential and career education tied to University, Division, and Office mission and vision statements
- Provide leadership regarding the delivery of experiential education and career exploration services, resources, and programming for students
- Supervise, mentor, and guide the professional development of the Assistant Director of Experiential and Career Education including integrating continuing work on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Maintain and enhance internal office operations focused on communication channels, quality and efficiency, a student-centered ethos, and collaborative work with campus partners
- Provide one-on-one and group advising to students when needed to support the Assistant Director of Experiential and Career Education; support career exploration and experiential education to align with student academic and professional goals. Present on a wide variety of experiential and career education topics
- Outreach to new and existing employers to provide increasing numbers of experiential educational opportunities for students; conduct site visits to current and potential internship/project-based learning sites to evaluate learning/work environments, and provide support to employers in developing high-quality internship/micro-internship programs
- Collect and maintain data on students to gain a more thorough understanding of those completing academic and non-academic internships and to make connections among experiential and career education, student learning, and career readiness and success
- Develop and sustain fundraising channels to support Internship Impact Fund; provide annual reports on internship funding to donors and campus stakeholders
- Establish and promote new opportunities for experiential education, particularly micro-internships and short-term project-based work; improve student access to local, out-of-state, and international experiential education opportunities through employer development activities, collaboration with faculty, and knowledge of international internship providers
- Co-lead the Discovery Program in conjunction with Academic Advising
- Provide oversight and leadership for administration of experiential and career education, particularly as related to internship registration and faculty professional development
- Provide support to academic departments interested in increasing their students’ participation in internships and project-based learning
- Collaborate with department chairs and faculty internship instructors to serve as a resource for best practices in the supervision of students participating in academic internship courses
- Manage the process for undergraduate academic internship registration in conjunction with the Registrar, IT, CLaSS Director or Assessment & Operational Effectiveness, academic leaders and departments
- Integrate career and professional development, focusing on the Professional and Career Readiness Competencies, into the curriculum and co-curriculum through collaboration with campus partners including faculty, academic deans, Alumni and Parent Engagement, and CLaSS
- Serve as liaison to Center for Community Engagement, Office of Student Employment, WORLD Center for International Learning, and School of Business Administration Office for Experiential Learning Requirement
- Provide career advising to students and alumni; specialize in providing major and career guidance to first-year and sophomore students when needed to support Assistant Director of Experiential and Career Education
- Responsible for staying up-to-date on research and current trends in experiential and career education and related resources
- Represent CaPD and/or the Campus Life and Student Success division on appropriate committees and teams
- Perform other duties as assigned related to the University’s, Division’s, and CaPD’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities
UNIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT:
We value the members of our community and embrace diversity in all its forms as a great asset. We value individuality, creative thinking, innovative problem-solving, collaboration, and community. We seek to create a dynamic culture that is a force for change, growth, and equity. To ensure sustained progress towards these principles, we aim to foster an environment that truly celebrates the variety of backgrounds, capabilities, contributions, and perspectives of all members in our community, with a vision emphasizing unified strength through diversity. Through our work, we continually gain an awareness of and appreciation for our differences and develop our skill in working across cultural lines. Additionally, we must acknowledge that our systems and structures are based on historical inequities and strive to fully understand and address how this impacts individuals.
We remain diligent in identifying and removing barriers to one’s sense of belonging on our campuses by:
- Acknowledging that we are stronger because of our differences.
- Accepting individual responsibility for promoting a diverse and inclusive environment.
- Aspiring to be a diverse community that values inclusive excellence, anddemonstrates awareness of how individual
actions influence social impact.
- Acting as a steadfast learning institution that offers continuous opportunities to deepen mutual
communication in ways that support inclusivity, equity, and respect.
We recognize that we still have progress to make in becoming truly inclusive and equitable. We unequivocally commit to create a culture where each individual is welcomed and belongs as an essential part of the fabric of the Stetson community.
CaPD’s vision, mission and goals closely align with and are visibly supported by the CLaSS strategic plan (https://www.stetson.edu/administration/campus-life/home/media/CLaSS_Strategic_Plan.pdf) and Stetson University’s strategic plan (https://www.stetson.edu/other/strategic-planning/media/Roll%20Ahead%20Graphic%208-2019.pdf).
MINIMUM EDUCATION: Master's degree
Required Skills
- Dynamic individual with strong verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with students, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and employers in a comprehensive university environment
Required Experience
- Master’s degree and at least five years’ experience in an area related to business, education, and/or experiential education.
Salary Grade: 9
Completed COVID-19 Vaccine status required