Director/Assistant Dean for Career Services - College of Law

The College of Law at West Virginia University invites applications for the position Director/Assistant Dean for Career Services. This position is responsible for leading a comprehensive Career Services program, including outreach and employer development, programming and special events, career counseling for all students, marketing of services provided to students, alumni and employers, and the compilation and dissemination of all required and requested statistical employment reports for the College of Law. This experienced professional must be visionary, strategic, creative, energetic, personable, and an effective day-today manager of career services initiatives to complement the College’s mission, vision, and strategic plan. The Director/Assistant Dean will supervise staff, which includes an Assistant Director.

In order to be successful in this position, the ideal candidate will:

Major Areas of Responsibilities

• Serve as the chief career services officer of the College.
• Develop and implement an annual comprehensive career services program. Design and execute a strategy to support students’ career development goals, including an ambitious program of soliciting and developing job opportunities, developing progressive programming, and providing proactive career counseling.
• Lead the strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation of career services initiatives.
• Lead the overall daily operations of career services.
• Compile and maintain accurate statistical employment reports for various purposes.
• Integrate information, policies, and resources for the determination of decisions, solutions, alternatives, and other outcomes associated with career services.

 

Outreach and Employer Development

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with legal employers and recruiters to cultivate employment opportunities in areas including but not limited to law firms, government agencies, J.D. advantage positions, and judicial clerkships.
• Direct on campus interview programs and resume collections.
• Develop and market on campus interview programs, including creating publications and advertising materials, coordinating mailings, and forecasting target markets.
• Conduct outreach to expand job opportunities for students through a concerted program of employer development. This program will include personal visits, annual mailings, telephone contact, and website and other marketing strategies.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of constituencies. Develop and implement outreach initiatives for Career Services.
• Integrate emerging technologies in career services programming.

 

• Create and conduct educational programming, workshops and seminars on the legal profession, career opportunities and job search techniques, including programming to prepare students for their job search, such as resume and cover letter workshops, career options programming, networking receptions, and mock interviews.
• Coordinate participation in all job fairs and specialty employment programs off campus; advertise and coordinate student participation in such.

 

• Counsel students and alumni regarding career planning, goals, options and opportunities, as well as job search strategies.
• Meet with students and alumni in person, one on one, in groups, and through telephonic consultations.
• Assess those students in need of referral to other university or community services; refer as appropriate.
• Perform all counseling with a sense of professionalism and compassion while remaining mindful of confidentiality.

 

• Create and implement strategic marketing plan, in coordination with the college’s director of marketing and communications that promotes the programs, services, and offerings of career services.
• Coordinate the maintenance of the career services web content on the College website.
• Prepare presentations, statistical reports; draft reports for internal and external constituencies.
• Write and edit all career services publications and policies.
• Review and edit cover letters, resumes, and other job search correspondence.

 

• Lead the strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation of the career services initiatives in alignment with the college strategic plan.
• Provide continuous assessment of career services initiatives and evaluation of such offerings leading to the development and implementation of new or revised program offerings.
• Utilize assessment techniques and analyze data impacting the effectiveness and efficiency of career services initiatives.
• Assess offerings and overall operations of the career services program compared to national benchmarks and best practices.
• Compile and maintain all statistical information on employment for use in national surveys, including U.S. News & World Report, American Bar Association, Law School Transparency, National Jurist, and all National Association of Law Placement (NALP) surveys.
• Identify emerging trends and technologies in academic law career services.

Supervision

• Develop staff job descriptions, recommend, and administer personnel policies.
• Recruit, hire, evaluate, promote, and manage staff according to University policies.
• Define expectations for staff performance and set performance goals.
• Serve as a positive role model to staff on professionalism, professional ethics, and professional knowledge.

 

• Cultivate collaborative relationships and actively engage with various constituents, including students, faculty, student organizations, employers, alumni, Development Office, College of Law Visiting Committee, and other university departments.
• Participate in and attend College events, including speaking at law school orientation and admissions programs, graduation, alumni receptions, Homecoming, symposiums, and other events.
• Attend National Association of Law Placement (NALP) meetings; join relevant committees, provide service to NALP and actively participate in professional organizations to maintain an awareness of new trends and developments in the law career services field.
• Coordinate attendance by College representative to regional career service consortia, including POWER and the Pittsburgh City Group; attend meetings, share resources.
• Join and contact any groups that would expose the law school and students to local legal communities, including bar associations, legal interest groups, legal service groups, etc.
• Provide an engaging and stimulating career services environment and culture.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• Participate in professional development opportunities to enhance leadership skills and Other duties/responsibilities as may be assigned by the Dean of the College of Law or the Associate Dean for Administration.