About the Role

The Director of Career and Life Design provides strategic leadership for career education, employer engagement, and institutional career integration. This position leads a student-centered, data-informed, and outcomes-driven approach to career development, ensuring that all students from their first year through their final year are equipped with the skills, experiences, and connections to navigate their professional futures successfully. The director actively collaborates with other colleagues in Student Success, Well-Being, and Belonging; Academic Affairs; institutional leaders; employers; and regional economic development partners to integrate career learning into the student experience and strengthen talent pipelines. This position manages a staff of three and reports to the Vice President for Student Success, Well-Being, and Belonging.

Specific duties include the following:

Student-Facing Career Education

• Provide direct career coaching and advising.
• Lead the Career Toolkit (a six-week hybrid course for one credit) and facilitate active learning sessions for the First-Year Foundations course each fall.
• Lead the fall and spring Career Connection Conference (C3).
• Design and facilitate career workshops, events, and programs to support students at all stages of career exploration and preparation.
• Oversee content and updating of office internal and external web sites, including Handshake.
• Ensure career development initiatives are accessible and responsive to students from varied backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations.
• Foster an inclusive approach to career education, employer engagement, and mentoring programs that meets the needs of all students.

 Employer and Talent Development Partnerships

• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with regional employers, industry professionals, and economic development stakeholders to enhance talent pipelines and student opportunities.
• Collaborate with external organizations to create internship, job, and mentorship opportunities for students and alumnae/i.
• Represent the university at regional and national career development associations and employer engagement summits.

 Institutional Strategy and Cross-Campus Collaboration

• Work closely with faculty to integrate career education into academic curricula.
• Strengthen employer and alumnae/i engagement through networking and mentoring initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional career initiatives in alignment with the university’s strategic plan and mission.
• Collaborate with Student Success, Well-Being, and Belonging units to ensure career services are holistically integrated into the student experience.

 Administrative and Fiscal Oversight

• Manage budgeting and resource allocation for the department.
• Drive the First Destination Survey and the 5/10-year alumnae/i survey, ensuring data-driven insights inform decision-making and institutional strategy.
• Direct a data-informed unit, collecting and analyzing statistical data to evaluate program effectiveness and student learning.
• Provide assistance in grant writing, administration, and reporting to support career initiatives.
• Stay informed of evolving career and workforce trends, student success strategies, and employer needs.

Position Qualifications

Successful applicants must have the following qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience.
• Knowledge of workforce and economic development strategies to enhance career pathways for students.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, counseling, detail, accuracy, organizational, multitasking, project management, presentation, training, and supervisory skills.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, collaboration, and relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong background in data-informed decision-making, assessment, and program evaluation.
• Understanding of and commitment to working in and fostering an environment of belonging and pluralism.
• Microsoft Office proficiency.
• Ability and willingness to work evenings as needed.

Preferred candidates will have the following:

• Master’s degree.
• Work experience in higher education.
• Experience with career management systems (e.g., Handshake).
• Experience with grant writing, administration, and reporting.

About Hollins University

Hollins is an independent, liberal arts university in Roanoke, Virginia offering undergraduate education for women and selected graduate programs for men and women. Founded in 1842 as Virginia’s oldest chartered historically women’s college, Hollins provides abundant opportunities to students for research, study abroad, and leadership training, and provides access to real-world experience through internships around the globe supported by an extensive alumnae/i network.

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