Assistant Director, Employer Relations and Development

Department

ESA Deputy Director - Direct Reports

About the Department

Career Advancement serves a student population of approximately 7,000 arts and sciences undergraduate students, in addition to alumni who have graduated within the last five years. Career Advancement plays a vital role in ensuring our students’ success after graduation. Career Advancement offers innovative and comprehensive career development services with a focus on pre-professional preparation, experiential education, and opportunities. Through career advising, programs, and comprehensive resources, Career Advancement supports undergraduate students and alumni as they develop the skills necessary to manage their career development, while working with alumni and employers to provide students with meaningful opportunities. For more information, please visit the Career Advancement website at careeradvancement.uchicago.edu.

Job Summary

UChicago Career Advancement builds on the world-class UChicago liberal arts foundation to give students a competitive edge in their professional development. The Employer Relations and Development (ERD) team establishes and enhances relationships across industries and in multiple geographic regions to connect UChicago undergraduates with leading organizations and drive their career success and outcomes.

The Assistant Director will proactively respond to student demand for industry- and region-relevant internships and contribute to a collaborative, dynamic, and high-performing Employer Relations and Development team. The Assistant Director will drive the growth of new employer partnerships, fostering the UChicago brand with employers. This includes but is not limited to scaling up the number and diversity of internship opportunities in business and finance sectors, engaging with the UChicago parent and alumni community, facilitating on-campus and/or virtual career programs and employer engagements, and promoting new professional and experiential programs in target regions and industries.

The position requires a passion for building new relationships, serving as a strategic thought partner, and representing the University with a commitment to excellence, customer service, and creative, problem-solving mindset. The ideal candidate will be an energetic, adaptable, solutions-oriented, and talented individual contributor with a record of success in complex, fast-paced environments where collaboration is critical to success. The Assistant Director will be a critical contributor to the growth of the University’s premiere Jeff Metcalf Internship Program that places students into 4,500+ substantive, paid internships each year. This role will support the management of outcomes reporting, analyze data, and proactively identify and respond to recruiting trends. The Assistant Director will collaborate with student organizations as well as campus and external partners to fulfill University’s commitment to students’ success during and beyond College. The Assistant Director will lead employer relationship building and management within their assigned portfolio, creating incremental internship and full-time opportunities for students, and helping employers make early connections to talent.

Employer Relations and Development staff provide superior customer service to all employer partners recruiting UChicago students, including managing robust on-campus recruiting, supporting employers with navigating the entirety of the recruiting process, and ensuring a positive campus experience. This staff member will also work collaboratively with the team to support the launch and execution of special projects and initiatives, experiential education programs, career programming, industry and flagship events.

The Assistant Director will also be responsible for the success of assigned students and driving their summer internship placement. This includes ensuring first-year career cohorts have access to substantive internship opportunities the summer after their first year. The Assistant Director will be instrumental in meeting this goal by developing new relationships with organizations, collaborating with career advisers in the creative promotion of opportunities to meet employer commitment and align with student interests, and support strategic career programming.

Responsibilities

• Creates and implements strategic employer development plan with a special focus on business sectors including but not limited to finance, trading, restructuring, private equity, fintech, and corporate roles.
• Drives student outcomes through strategic employer development and conducts targeted outreach to create incremental job opportunities based on student demand.
• Cultivates new contacts through alumni, parent, and donor networks to drive employer development, build affinity, and new career opportunities for students.
• Executes effective employer engagement strategy using student data, recruiting trends, employer feedback, research and analysis, and relationship management.
• Identifies new opportunities, enhances employer visibility, and supports the offering of meaningful work experiences.
• Supports the promotion of Career Advancement’s programming including career treks, competitions, Metcalf internships, Metcalf Clinics, career fairs, etc.
• Makes student recommendations to specific organizations, tracks student progress in the recruiting cycle, and maintains timely correspondence with employers and students.
• Supports Career Advancement’s early engagement model by creating opportunities for students based on student demand, career interests, and geographic interests.
• Recommends students to employer partners, tracks their recruiting progress, ideates new opportunities, and collaborates with career advisers to drive student placement and success.
• Counsels and advises students interested in pursuing a career in a variety of fields; presents at career programming sessions focused on student career readiness.
• Assists students with professional resumes/cover letters, mock interviews, career guidance and industry exploration discussions, summer internship placement, post-graduate plans, and graduate school applications.
• Manages budgets, logistics, and all components of recruiting workflows.
• Supports project management for employer relations team.
• Analyzes markets and trends as they relate to job searches. Assesses student feedback and evaluations and collaborates with other career services staff members, student organizations, or other staff to determine program offerings and innovations.
• Researches organizations that are hiring and partners with a wide variety of employers to ensure recruitment strategies meet their needs. Maintains contact with a portfolio of employers to serve as their dedicated Career Advancement liaison.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree.

Experience:

• Demonstrated success in maintaining collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
• Client-facing experience strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with working with senior-level professionals.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Utilize Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other digital platforms for meetings and events.
• Familiarity with Salesforce.
• Foreign language proficiency is a plus.

Preferred Competencies

• Thrive in a dynamic environment and respond to change positively.
• Strong interpersonal skills, strong customer service, and a high level of professionalism when interacting with internal and external constituents.
• High degree of professionalism when interacting with internal and external clients.
• Deep commitment to customer service, prioritize and balance different work streams, meet deadlines, and work successfully in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Exemplary organizational skills and attention to detail required.
• Communicate to large groups as well as one-on-one with students, senior management, faculty, donors, and alumni.
• Comfortable with varying degrees of ambiguity and make informed decisions.
• Develop creative solutions to unique problems.
• Outcomes-driven and action-oriented attitude to maintain composure and positivity during periods of high-volume, fast-paced work.
• Problem-solving and reasoning, critical thinking and decision-making skills.
• Exemplary project management skills.
• Handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion and maintain confidentiality.
• Patient and tolerant attitude toward demanding clients and work.

Working Conditions

• Work evening hours and weekends on an occasional basis.
• Travel domestically and abroad, generally two or three times per year.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter/Statement of Interest (required)
• Three Professional References Contact Information (required)

Job Family

Student Affairs & Services

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$87,550.00 - $113,300.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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