Senior Advisor, Career Development

The Senior Advisor, Career Development (“Senior Advisor”) spearheads the Firm’s established career placement practice, known as Dechert Career Pathways. Dechert Career Pathways is a confidential in-house resource designed to support attorneys exploring external career paths and opportunities.
The role primarily involves providing career coaching, creating a pipeline of career opportunities, conducting outreach to partners and associates, and maintaining an understanding of job markets to guide clients and inform the Firm's strategies. The individual will lead career services programming, develop supportive resources, monitor the effectiveness of initiatives, and maintain strong relationships with alumni.
The Senior Advisor will also provide outplacement counseling to certain business service professionals, conduct exit interviews and work with the Talent Development team to analyze departure data and generate regular exit trend reports for firm leadership.

This is a hybrid position that can be located in our Philadelphia, New York or Washington DC offices.

Job Description

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Lead, own and continue to build Dechert Career Pathways, which is utilized widely by both internal attorneys and alumni of the Firm.

• Develop and implement strategies to create a pipeline of opportunities for attorneys and alumni.

• Conduct outreach and develop relationships with Firm partners and associates to identify potential collaborations for career development opportunities.

• Develop best practices for matching individuals with opportunities and publicizing those opportunities internally and externally.

• Provide coaching to attorneys and alumni, assisting them in defining their career goals, job search efforts, resume preparation, interview preparation, and networking.

• Maintain an understanding of job markets and opportunities to provide guidance to clients and inform the firm's career development strategies.

• Create and lead career services programming, including workshops, seminars, and networking events.

• Develop resources and content to support attorneys, business service professionals and alumni in their placement efforts, including job search tools, interview guides, and networking strategies.

• Monitor and report on the effectiveness of career development initiatives and make recommendations for improvements based on data analysis.

• Maintain strong relationships with alumni, keeping them engaged with the firm and informed about career development opportunities and resources.

• Provide outplacement counseling to business service professionals who are involuntarily leaving the firm.

• Conduct exit interviews for departing personnel and work with the Talent Development team to analyze departure data and generate exit reports for firm leadership.

• Other tasks as needed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Strong leadership skills with ability to influence and advise partners on direction, with strong execution and follow-through.

• Ability to develop strong relationships and trust with coaching clients and partners.

• Detail-oriented, organized and proven ability to prioritize multiple projects and meet tight deadlines.

• Self-starter: pragmatic, innovative and able to perform well in a fast-paced, deadline driven and service-oriented environment.

• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills, working closely with partners.

• Capable of using a variety of data (revenue, cost, etc.) to inform decision-making.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Excellent listening and organizational skills.

• Ability to travel as and when needed.

• Strong sense of empathy, positive outlook, and ability to motivate others.

​

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s Degree required, Certificate in Coaching required, and. J.D. preferred.

• 10+ years of work experience, including coaching experience required.

• Legal industry experience required, with experience as a practicing lawyer preferred.

• Knowledge of US and International legal job boards and recruiters preferred. ​

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Additional Job Description

At the time of this posting, the salary range for this position in New York and Washington, DC is $150,000.00 to $200,000.00 annually.  Actual compensation is commensurate with job related knowledge, skills, experience and location of the position.

Location(s)

New YorkPhiladelphia, Washington DC

Time Type

Full time

Dechert LLP is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination.  The Firm prohibits unlawful discrimination in any term or condition of employment against any employee or applicant for employment because of the individual’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, membership or service in the armed forces, or any other characteristic protected by law.