Posted: 18-Jun-25
Location: Northfield, Minnesota
Salary: $75,800 - $78,400
Employment Type:
Organization Type:
Required Education:
Position Overview:
Career Coaches serve a vital role in the Carleton Career Center, providing developmentally-appropriate generalist and industry-based career coaching and programs to current students and alumni across their life-span. Using a person-centered, strengths-based model, career coaches facilitate the early exploration process, supporting students to clarify and articulate their personal values, interests, skills, and identities and learn about the range of professional options available to them beyond college. At the upper level, coaches support students to build core career readiness skills including application materials, networking, and search skills and facilitate deep reflection to assist students to make decisions related to job search, graduate or professional school, or alternate outcomes.
In addition to supporting individual student and alumni clients through coaching and programming, the Assistant Director of Career Development, Career Coach supervises the Career Center’s team of peer coaches, known on campus as Student Career Assistants. In this capacity, the Assistant Director is an important mentor who manages schedules, coordinates with the broader Career Center team to plan pre-arrival training, facilitates ongoing training and professional development related to the coaching role, and completes observations and evaluations of student staff in coaching roles.
All members of the Career Center team build partnerships and relationships with faculty, staff, alumni, families, and employers to create awareness of the support available to students and to ensure that students receive timely advice and benefit from the strengths of the entire community. Each member of the coaching team will serve as a liaison to designated programs or departments to support this work.
Compensation:
The expected starting salary range for this position is between $75,800 and $78,400. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility.
Essential Job Functions/Responsibilities:
Career Coaching & Career Development Programming
- Deploy industry recognized strategies to provide individual and group coaching for students to support career discernment and skill building
- Coach students to develop and refine skills in resume writing, networking, interviewing, and job-search strategies, as well as articulating the value of a liberal arts education.
- Support students to understand the preparation, hiring timelines, and expectations of their intended industry and provide resources to support their continued development.
- Participate in the design, development, and delivery of career-related workshops, programs, panels, and resources to serve both the general and targeted student populations.
- Lead projects aligned with student career development priorities as assigned.
- Cultivate relationships with faculty, staff, and students, as well as alumni, families, employers, and graduate schools to share the resources of the career center, build strategic collaborations, and stay current on industry trends and hiring practices.
- Serve as a liaison to campus offices and student organizations aligned with assigned coaching areas.
- Participate in continuous professional development to ensure the acquisition and maintenance of professional skills and industry knowledge.
- Utilize best practices to engage and support traditionally underrepresented students with the goal of increasing access to and utilization of the Career Center.
- Support data driven practice through the assessment of Career Center initiatives
- Collaborate with the Career Center team to support the design and implementation of a four-year career development curriculum for students, including the use of intentional programming, communication, and student learning assessment.
- In collaboration with the Director of the Career Center, design and lead the implementation of a comprehensive professional development and programming initiative designed to support the team in engaging students from a variety of communities including: first generation students, international students, students with disabilities, students of color and student athletes.
Supervise and manage the Student Career Assistants Working in a Peer Coach Capacity
Responsibilities include:
- Collaborate with student staff supervisors to recruit, select, and hire peer coaching staff each academic year
- Coordinate with student staff supervisors to plan annual student staff training, including professional development around core services including, but not limited to: application materials, networking, Career Center resources and platforms.
- Plan and implement regular professional development sessions for peer coaches, with a focus on skill-building and learning outcomes
- Collaborate with professional staff to involve peer coaches in Career Center programs and initiatives
- Regularly conduct observations and evaluate the performance of peer coaches, providing ongoing mentorship and feedback to support their professional growth.
- Monitor student staff use of student information systems to ensure adherence to office data and privacy practices as well as applicable policies including FERPA
- Represent the Career Center on the Peer Leader Committee and coordinate career-related participation in large campus-wide programming, including New Student Week
Education/Experience/Skills:
Required:
- Master’s degree
- Demonstrated experience in supporting a diverse range of students through one-to-one coaching or advising
- Proven ability to design and facilitate engaging programming for students
- Familiarity with student learning assessment and/or program assessment
- Excellent written and oral communication skills including public presentation and group facilitation abilities
- Track record of building relationships with stakeholders
- Flexibility to conduct some evening and weekend events and programs
Preferred:
- At least three years of experience in higher education
- Experience working in a college career center and advising students on career-related topics and professional development
- Experience supervising student or professional staff
- Experience designing, planning, and managing high-profile programs
- A thorough understanding of the liberal arts and experience working with that student population
Must have the ability to understand and follow written and oral work instructions, operations, safety procedures, and hazardous labels.
Note: This position description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.
Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the hire is complete. We accept only online applications.
Carleton College is an AA/EEO Employer: We are committed to developing our staff to better reflect the diversity of our student body and American society. Members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Carleton also offers a robust suite of benefits including: A generous 403(b) retirement plan with a 10% employer contribution and 2% employee contribution. Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance. Paid time-off, including 20 vacation days, 8 paid holidays, 3, floating holidays, 2 weather days, and extra days at the end of the calendar year to make a continuous week off before New Year’s. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees. A dependent tuition program after six years of service.
Founded in 1866, Carleton College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college of roughly 2,000 students located in the historic river town of Northfield, Minnesota. Carleton College occupies more than 1,000 scenic acres of campus, arboretum, over 100 campus buildings, and athletic fields. Located 40 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Carleton offers access to the cultural advantages of a major metropolitan area.