Associate Director Career Centre

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam; Rotterdam; Hybrid; EUR 62,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement 25 holidays

End of year bonus

Remote work flexibility

NS travel card

Discount Erasmus Sport

GoodHabitz access

OpenUp wellbeing

Pension scheme

Job summary

The Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam (RSM) invites applications for Associate Director Career Centre. You will lead the Career Centre team and drive strategic direction, organisational development and people leadership across Career Services for students from degree and post-experience programmes.

You will partner with programme leadership, employers and internal stakeholders to shape services that connect education with the labour market, foster development, and

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent through experience.
• Extensive leadership experience within higher education or a similar complex, international or matrix organisation.
• Proven experience leading and developing experienced professional teams.
• Demonstrated success in organisational development, change leadership or continuous improvement initiatives.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence at all organisational levels.
• Strong strategic thinking combined with a pragmatic, hands-on approach.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Dutch.
• Experience managing budgets, planning and organisational priorities.

Responsibilities

• Shape the strategic direction of the Career Centre and translate organisational priorities into clear objectives, plans and measurable outcomes.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of Career Development Managers and Employer Relations Managers, fostering a culture of collaboration, ownership and continuous learning.
• Set departmental priorities, manage budgets and resources, and ensure the effective delivery of strategic initiatives.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with programme teams, employers and other internal and external stakeholders to strengthen the connection between education and the labour market.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement, using insights, feedback and data to further enhance Career Services and the student experience.
• Represent the Career Centre in cross-school initiatives, contributing to organisational goals and strengthening collaboration across RSM.
• Safeguard the quality, consistency and professional standards of the Career Centre while encouraging knowledge sharing and continuous development within the team.
• Monitor developments in higher education and the labour market, translating these into opportunities for the continued growth and positioning of the Career Centre.

Skills

Leadership experience

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

English and Dutch proficiency

Budget management

Education

Master's degree

Job description

As Associate Director Career Centre, you will lead the Career Centre team, consisting of experienced Career Development Managers and Employer Relations Managers who support students across RSM's degree and post-experience programmes. From helping students take their first professional steps to supporting experienced professionals in accelerating or redirecting their careers, the Career Centre plays an important role throughout the student journey.

You will play a key role in shaping the future of career development at RSM. Together with colleagues across the school, you will continue to develop Career Services that meet the changing needs of students, employers and an increasingly international labour market. This is an opportunity to combine strategic thinking, people leadership and organisational development in a role with visible impact across one of Europe's leading business schools. In doing so, you will contribute to RSM's mission of being a force for positive change.

Due to the holiday period, recruitment may take longer than usual.

As Associate Director Career Centre, you are responsible for the strategic direction, organisational development and people leadership of the Career Centre. Together with your team, you will continue to develop Career Services that strengthen the student experience and support the ambitions of RSM's educational portfolio.

You will lead an experienced team of Career Development Managers and Employer Relations Managers, providing clear direction, supporting professional development and fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture.

Working closely with the Cluster Lead Engagement & Academic Services and other senior stakeholders, you will help shape the future of the Career Centre. You will translate strategic ambitions into clear priorities, strengthen collaboration across the school and ensure Career Services continue to evolve in line with the needs of our students, programmes and employer network. For the post-experience portfolio, you will work closely with programme leadership to ensure Career Services remain aligned with programme priorities and student needs.

Success in this role depends on building trusted relationships across the organisation. You enjoy being visible and connected, and you are regularly present on campus, working closely with colleagues, students and external partners. You are someone who brings people together, creates clarity in complex environments and enables experienced professionals to perform at their best.

Your daily activities and responsibilities include:

• Shape the strategic direction of the Career Centre and translate organisational priorities into clear objectives, plans and measurable outcomes.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of Career Development Managers and Employer Relations Managers, fostering a culture of collaboration, ownership and continuous learning.
• Set departmental priorities, manage budgets and resources, and ensure the effective delivery of strategic initiatives.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with programme teams, employers and other internal and external stakeholders to strengthen the connection between education and the labour market.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement, using insights, feedback and data to further enhance Career Services and the student experience.
• Represent the Career Centre in cross-school initiatives, contributing to organisational goals and strengthening collaboration across RSM.
• Safeguard the quality, consistency and professional standards of the Career Centre while encouraging knowledge sharing and continuous development within the team.
• Monitor developments in higher education and the labour market, translating these into opportunities for the continued growth and positioning of the Career Centre.

Job requirements

To be successful in this position, you will need to have the following knowledge, expertise or skills.

• A master's degree or equivalent through experience.
• Extensive leadership experience within higher education or a similar complex, international or matrix organisation.
• Proven experience leading and developing experienced professional teams.
• Demonstrated success in organisational development, change leadership or continuous improvement initiatives.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence at all organisational levels.
• Strong strategic thinking combined with a pragmatic, hands‑on approach.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Dutch
• Experience managing budgets, planning and organisational priorities.

Preferably you also have

• Experience in career development, employability, employer engagement or talent development.
• An understanding of rankings, accreditation or student experience within higher education

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer an ambitious, international and dynamic environment, in which we compete with the top business schools in Europe. You will be part of a close, innovation-driven team on a vibrant university campus. Your ambition and personal drive will be greatly valued and we invest in personal development. We make sure you feel good about yourself, that you enjoy your work and that you grow in your profession.

You will also get:

• A salary between €5.200 - €6.400gross per month on fulltime basis (ex. 8% holiday allowance), based on your education, knowledge and work experience.
• 25 holidays and 12 ADV days.
• Variable end of year performance bonus.
• The flexibility with regards to work from home.
• Travel cost reimbursement (the possibility to travel with NS business card)
• Discount on membership of Erasmus Sport.
• Access to online learning platform GoodHabitz and wellbeing platform OpenUp.
• Regular fun work events and drinks.
• Participation in our collective pension scheme: premium full paid by RSM, voluntary employee contribution is optional.

Employer

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam (RSM BV) is one of Europe’s most international and innovative business schools. Its primary focus is to develop business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. RSM BV is privately funded and providesa first‑class portfolio of MBA and executive programmes with an international team of 150 staff working from the university campus in Rotterdam.

RSM BV offers an environment where the staff is encouraged to embrace change as a challenge in helping the organisation reaching its goals and those of its students. The working atmosphere at RSM BV is informal and communication lines are short. Being an independent and commercial company within the Erasmus University, the situation of RSM BV is sometimes complex and challenging. At the same time the company itself it small enough to maintain personal contacts and be able to have an overview of what’s going on throughout the organisation. The environment is culturally diverse and very international.

RSM BV is located in a pleasant and relatively small office, based at the Erasmus University campus in Rotterdam. It’s a lively environment, with students, staff and different companies and restaurants. The office is easy to reach by public transport as well as by car.

RSM BV is an equal opportunity employer and explicitly encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities and nationalities. RSM BV values internal mobility; therefore internal candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the RSM BV website: www.rsm.nl Opens external