Director of Career Development & Partnerships

Eastern Michigan University; Ypsilanti (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Eastern Michigan University seeks a Director of Career Development to provide strategic and administrative leadership for the Career Development Center, guiding programs, initiatives, and partnerships that support student success across the university.

The role requires building employer relations, expanding experiential learning and networking opportunities, and advancing technology-enabled career resources while ensuring accessibility for a diverse student population.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Higher Education, College Student Personnel, Counseling, Human Resources, Business, Communications, Marketing, or a related field is required.
• At least five years of progressively responsible professional experience in career development, higher education, workforce development, employer relations, student success, experiential learning, or a related area is required.
• Experience supervising, developing, or leading staff is required.
• Ability to develop and implement programs, initiatives, or partnerships from concept through execution is required.
• Strong interpersonal, written, verbal, organizational, and collaborative leadership skills are required.
• Experience using technology, data, assessment, and feedback to improve programs, services, or constituent experiences is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of career development programs and initiatives.
• Develop a comprehensive vision for career development that integrates exploration and preparation.
• Identify opportunities to innovate and expand programming.
• Build partnerships with academic units, faculty, advisors, alumni engagement, and other university units.
• Develop strategies for engaging students early in career exploration and development.
• Collaborate with employers, alumni, and community partners to create opportunities for students.
• Expand internships, mentoring, and employer engagement experiences.
• Coordinate programs, workshops, events, resources to strengthen career readiness.
• Provide leadership for career fairs, employer engagement programs, and industry events.
• Ensure programs are accessible to EMU’s diverse student population.
• Represent the Center and lead marketing and outreach efforts.

Skills

Leadership

Staff supervision

Stakeholder collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Education

Master’s degree in Higher Education or related field

Tools

CRM systems

Career management platforms

AI / emerging technologies

Job description

Eastern Michigan University seeks a Director of Career Development to provide strategic and administrative leadership for the Career Development Center, guiding programs, initiatives, and partnerships that support student success across the university.

The role requires building employer relations, expanding experiential learning and networking opportunities, and advancing technology-enabled career resources while ensuring accessibility for a diverse student population.