Student Employment Specialist

Hood College; Frederick (MD); On-site; USD 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Hood College seeks a Student Employment Specialist to strengthen on-campus student employment for retention and workforce readiness. This temporary grant-funded role works under the Director of Career Development and Experiential Education to align student work with the college’s mission and NACE competencies.

The role emphasizes collaboration with Human Resources, Financial Aid, and campus departments to create meaningful, learning-focused student jobs and a supportive employment ecosystem,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in higher education, program management, career development, financial aid, student success, human resources, or related area.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including coordinating multiple activities, managing priorities, and meeting deadlines.
• Experience building relationships with students, faculty, staff, supervisors, and other campus partners.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, handle sensitive information appropriately, and refer policy, compliance, payroll, or financial aid determinations to the appropriate College office.
• Proficient with data analysis and reporting to various audiences.

Responsibilities

• Develop and advance an expanded vision for on-campus student employment emphasizing learning and career readiness.
• Build relationships with campus departments and supervisors to identify ongoing employment needs.
• Coordinate program priorities with HR, Financial Aid, and other offices and communicate needs.
• Provide orientation to the student employment process and direct students to online forms and instructions.
• Represent Student Employment in meetings and college activities as appropriate.
• Integrate NACE Career Readiness Competencies into resources and guidance.
• Help students describe career readiness competencies and transferable skills.
• Promote strategies for documenting accomplishments and articulating value to employers.
• Develop recognition initiatives and explore certificates or badges for career competencies.
• Collaborate with career development to connect student employment with advising and experiential learning.
• Provide guidance to supervisors on creating meaningful student roles and learning goals.

Skills

Organizational skills

Collaboration

Data analysis

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in education, human services, socialsciences, or related fields

Job description

Hood College seeks a collaborative, student-centered, andcareer-readiness-focused Student Employment Specialist tostrengthen the quality, accessibility, and impact of on-campusstudent employment as part of the College’s U.S. Department ofEducation Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant,Student Success in the AI Era: Advancing Retention, Completion,and Workforce Readiness at Hood College. This position helpsmake student employment a meaningful component of student success,retention, and preparation for the workforce. This is a temporarygrant funded position.

Under the general direction of the Director of Career Developmentand Experiential Education, the Student Employment Specialist workswith campus departments to expand meaningful employmentopportunities and help students recognize, develop, and communicatethe skills gained through campus jobs. In collaboration with HumanResources, Financial Aid, campus employers and supervisors, andother College offices, the Specialist promotes alignment betweenstudent work experiences and the NACE Career ReadinessCompetencies. The position supports students in meeting financialneeds while gaining experience in the workplace, buildingconfidence, and developing skills they can discuss with prospectiveinternship and full-time employers.

Essential Duties include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Program Development and Campus Partnerships —25%

• Develop and advance an expanded vision for on-campus studentemployment that emphasizes student learning, career readiness,meaningful work, and the value of student contributions to theCollege.
• Build relationships with campus departments and supervisors toidentify ongoing employment needs and adapt current positions ifappropriate.
• Collaborate with Human Resources, Financial Aid, and otherrelevant offices to coordinate program priorities, communicatestudent and supervisor needs, and refer operational or policyquestions to the appropriate office.
• Partner with Financial Aid team to provide orientation to thestudent employment process and direct students to the appropriateonline forms, documents, information, instructions, and nextsteps.
• Represent Student Employment in meetings and College activitiesas appropriate.

Career Readiness — 25%

• Integrate the NACE Career Readiness Competencies into studentemployment resources, programming, supervisor guidance, andopportunities for student reflection.
• Help students identify and describe career readinesscompetencies and transferable skills developed through campus work,including communication, teamwork, critical thinking,professionalism, leadership, technology, career andself-development, and equity and inclusion.
• Promote practical strategies for students to documentaccomplishments, recognize growth, gather examples of their skills,and articulate the value of their campus employment to prospectiveemployers.
• Explore and develop student employment recognition initiatives,including opportunities to celebrate student employees andsupervisors who demonstrate effective mentoring, skill development,and meaningful workplace learning.
• Explore skills-based certificates, badges, or other recognitionpathways that help students document demonstrated careercompetencies gained through campus employment, in collaborationwith relevant campus partners.
• Collaborate with career development colleagues to connectstudent employment with career advising, career exploration,experiential learning, and other career-readiness services.

Supervisor Engagement and Job Design — 20%

• Provide guidance and resources to campus supervisors oncreating student jobs with clear responsibilities, learning goals,appropriate levels of challenge, and opportunities to buildworkplace competencies.
• Partner with Human Resources to develop and facilitatesupervisor orientations, workshops, and professional development ontopics such as onboarding, communication, feedback, mentoring,student learning, and career competency development.
• Encourage supervisors to discuss learning goals with studentemployees, provide constructive feedback, and help studentsrecognize how their work contributes to departmental and Collegegoals.
• Share effective practices that support consistent, inclusive,and developmentally meaningful student employment experiencesacross campus.

Student Outreach, Engagement, and Program Activities — 15%

• Promote on-campus employment opportunities and communicate theeducational, financial, and career-development value of studentwork to students and campus partners.
• Create and maintain student-facing resources that explain howto approach campus employment as a learning experience and how tocommunicate resulting skills to future employers.
• Support an inclusive student employment culture that respectsdiverse backgrounds, experiences, identities, and careergoals.

Assessment, Records, and Continuous Improvement — 15%

• Develop and use feedback methods to assess student andsupervisor experiences, perceived skill development, programparticipation, and opportunities for improvement.
• Use assessment findings, campus feedback, and emergingcareer-readiness practices to recommend improvements to studentemployment programming, supervisor resources, job design, andstudent access to meaningful work.
• Maintain and update program communications, web content,guides, and educational materials in collaboration with appropriateCollege partners.
• Share program outcomes and recommendations with the Director ofCareer Development and Experiential Education and otherstakeholders as appropriate, including how student employmentcontributes to career readiness and broader student successgoals.

Weekly Work Hours:

37.5 hours; some program activities may require occasional evening or weekend availability, as applicable. The position is an on-campus role.

Qualifications

We seek a candidate who values diversity, equity, and inclusion inall that they do. Candidates must have strong organizational skillsand a proven ability to collaborate with partners across campus insupport of Hood College’s mission as a student-centered, liberalarts institution.

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able toperform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listedbelow are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilityrequired.

Education and/or Experience

MinimumRequirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, human services, socialsciences, or related fields, or an equivalent combination ofeducation and relevant experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in higher education, programmanagement, career development, financial aid, student success,human resources, or a related area.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, includingthe ability to coordinate multiple activities, manage priorities,and meet deadlines.
• Experience building relationships with students, faculty,staff, supervisors, and other campus partners.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, handle sensitiveinformation appropriately, and refer policy, compliance, payroll,or financial aid determinations to the appropriate Collegeoffice.
• Proficient with data analysis and reporting to variousaudiences.

Preferred Skills and Characteristics

• Master’s degree in higher education administration, counseling,human resources, organizational development, or a related
• Experience building or improving student employment, careerreadiness, workforce development, or experiential learningprograms.
• Familiarity with the NACE Career Readiness Competencies andapproaches to translating experiential learning intoemployer-facing skills language.
• Experience designing and facilitating workshops, trainingsessions, orientations, or professional developmentactivities.
• Knowledge of higher education student employment practices andfamiliarity with the roles of Human Resources, Financial Aid, andcampus hiring supervisors.

Technology Skills

Proficient in MS Office tools (Microsoft Word, Excel, andPowerPoint), e-mail, and Internet. Ability to learn newapplications quickly, including organization-wide informationsystems and department-specific software applications. Familiaritywith career services platforms, HR systems, or data-reportingapplications is preferred.

Language Skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare professional correspondence, program materials, instructions, presentations, and reports. Ability to communicateclearly and professionally with internal and external individualsfrom varied backgrounds and levels of professionalexperience.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to perform basic mathematical calculations and maintainaccurate program records, including participation data, attendance,and assessment results. Ability to organize and interpretquantitative information to support program evaluation andreporting.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a number ofconcrete variables in situations where only limited standardizationexists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished inwritten, oral, diagram, or schedule form. Ability to workindependently and as a member of a group in developing andexecuting project plans. Ability to work in the theoretical arenaand apply logic as appropriate.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of thosethat must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties ofthis job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; usefingers, hands, reach with hands and arms; and talk and hear. Theemployee is required to sit. The employee may occasionally berequired to stand and lift and move up to twenty-five pounds.Specific vision abilities required include close vision. Reasonableaccommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilitiesto perform essential functions.

Work Environment

The work environment described here is representative of what anemployee will encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level is usually moderate and could includeinteraction with other employees, students, the public, telephones,and other office equipment.

Compensation

This is a position with an annual starting salary range of $49,500to $55,000 depending on circumstances including an applicant’sskills and qualifications, certain degrees and certifications,prior job experience, training, and other relevant factors. HoodCollege has provided a compensation range representing its goodfaith estimate of what the College may pay for the position at thetime of posting. The College may ultimately pay more or less thanthe posted compensation range. Hood College offers excellent benefits , including medical,dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and tuition benefits. Learn more about Hood College.

Hood College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race,color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, disability, religion, or age in recruitment, admission and access to, or treatment, oremployment in its programs, services, benefits, and activities as required by applicable laws including Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and complies with the law regarding reasonable accommodation for disabled applicants and students. Inquiries about discrimination or reasonable accommodation should be referred to the Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator at Alumnae Hall, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD. 21701 (AD 308), [phone]. For complete information on Hood College’s nondiscrimination policy, please visit http://www.hood.edu/non-discrimination/.

Grant Funding Statement

This benefits-eligible position is funded through the U.S.Department of Education Strengthening Institutions Program (TitleIII) grant and is contingent upon continued grant funding andsatisfactory performance. The position is anticipated to be fundedfor the duration of the five-year grant period. The StrengtheningInstitutions Program is supported by the Departments of Labor andEducation. A total of $2.7 million for this five-year grant will befinanced with federal funds.