Northern California HERC

Centre College is a premier national liberal arts college that serves approximately 1,400 students and provides a supportive community and a flexible, personal academic path to a meaningful life and career. Founded in 1819, Centre accomplishes its goals in an atmosphere of caring and respectful relationships among faculty, students, and staff. The College has an endowment in excess of $420 million and an operating budget of more than $65 million.

Centre welcomes and supports diversity. The College strives to create an environment where differences are celebrated, where individuals can exchange ideas and share in the richness of mutual experiences. Please view our Statement of Community.

Located in Danville, KY, the historic, picturesque 150-acre campus is 30 miles from Lexington, in the famed Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky.

The Vice President for Career and Professional Development at Centre College manages all aspects of a comprehensive and innovative Career and Professional Development program. This includes strategic oversight of career development, employer relations, office and budget management, program planning and development, and external reporting of employment data. The VP works closely with the team to identify and secure significant internship and career development opportunities for Centre students.

The Individual will lead a team of seven full time staff with a data driven approach to achieving both the goals of the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) office and the mission of Centre College. The VP leads the student-facing team responsible for implementing our Career Exploration Communities (CEC) initiative, a major component of Centre’s Strategic Plan, which works to engage students across the College in networking, building industry pathways, and developing great outcomes for all students. Centre is looking for a strategic and metric-oriented individual who is excited to connect students to future opportunities and engage alumni and friends in supporting these efforts.

This role will involve traveling and coordinating meetings to identify alumni and corporate partners with the interest and ability to provide paid internship opportunities for Centre students. The VP will work with stakeholders across campus, in business, and in our alumni community to develop resources and concrete pathways from first year to graduation and beyond to prepare students for careers or graduate program success.

The VP will oversee a team of career coaches and other career professionals who support internships, career events, networking opportunities, Career Exploration Communities, and personalized career coaching and preparation. The Career Exploration Communities, each led by a faculty champion and a staff member, include active and involved alumni boards. Working closely with Development and Alumni Relations staff and with faculty, this position will align alumni and family engagement efforts with career development initiatives. Additionally, this individual will lead the identification and recruitment of new corporate partnerships to build career development pipelines for internship and job opportunities for Centre students. The successful candidate will have proven career development and networking experience.

Responsibilities:
 
1. Employer Outreach and Partnership Development (45%) • Working closely with the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, the successful candidate will be responsible for creating an ambitious internship and workforce development pipeline and managing relationships with alumni and corporations who are capable of sponsoring paid internships and employment opportunities for Centre students. • The VP will work closely with the alumni and development team to secure a goal of 75- 100 new internship opportunities for Centre students annually. • Identify, cultivate, and secure a pipeline of paid internship opportunities for Centre students. Execute Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with select corporate partners to solidify recruiting pipelines for Centre students with multi-year employment frameworks.

2. Strategic Planning and Program Development (25%) • Lead the strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation of career services initiatives. • Identify, propose, and implement new or revised operational policies and programs for career advising and employer relations. • Develop and align career development unit objectives with the college’s strategic plan. • Work with Centre faculty and staff to increase access to high impact practices for Centre students and showcase their value to potential employers. • Supervise and manage a team of seven full time employees in CCPD and establish and execute a comprehensive and inclusive student and alumni engagement plan to include in person and virtual events, programs, job shadowing, career fairs, internship opportunities, and other initiatives aimed at connecting Centre alumni with the college, building a successful pipeline for internships opportunities, and increasing alumni and family engagement with the College.

 3. Program Planning and Development (10%) • Develop and revise programming, resource development, and publications (including web content) related to career development. • Work closely with faculty, staff, administration, and alumni to coordinate career development efforts.

4. Office and Budget Management (10%) • Manage the daily functions of the Career Services Office, including managing and evaluating staff, setting goals, and preparing yearly reviews and benchmarks. • Ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and staffing resources.

 5. Data Management and Reporting Oversight (10%) • Use data strategically to benchmark metrics, plan programs, grow successful initiatives, and report to leadership on initiatives. • Oversee the timely and accurate collection and reporting of employment data. • Serve as a liaison to internal and external stakeholders to provide information on career outcomes and services.