Assistant Director - Outreach - Center for Career Development & Academic Exploration - UTK

Reporting to the Director of Career Development & Education, the Assistant Director of Outreach leads strategic campus engagement efforts. This role manages outreach and event initiatives in collaboration with non-academic campus units, directs the Peer Career Advisor (PCA) program including recruitment, training, and performance management, and supervises a team of Career Educators responsible for social media, resource development, and general programming. The Assistant Director also coordinates office-wide career outcomes outreach, oversees the development of educational resources, and plays a key leadership role within the department. This position ensures that career education is accessible, visible, and effectively integrated across campus through events, partnerships, and student-centered initiatives.

Campus Outreach and Event Management

• Develop and maintain outreach strategy for the Center for Career Development and work to embed career development in non-academic units on campus
• Serve as a liaison to non-academic departments across campus divisions including Student Success, Student Life, Athletics to enhance collaborations and partnerships
• Coordinate outreach events by gathering event details, assigning staff, and determining office presence at the event
• Collaborate with campus partners to host events/programs such as networking events, mingles and panels that allow students to engage with employers and alumni based on campus partner needs
• Manage and market the presentation request and photo booth protocols for the department
• Communicate and market career readiness resources
• Oversee general career programming, presentations, Student Success Express, and other career initiatives hosted by the Career Educators
• Serve as the Event Liaison for the office for the Division of Student Success to ensure divisional awareness of programs and coordinate office swag requests
• Lead the event planning process and data collection for the office by serving as a Blackthorn Full User to input office events and ensure accurate event data management
• Complete ongoing evaluation and assessment to measure the effectiveness of programming

Peer Career Advisor Program (PCA) Coordination

• Direct all aspects of the PCA program with a cohort of paraprofessional employees
• Coordinate recruitment and selection processes, conduct training and supervision on topics including career exploration, career planning resources, conducting resume critiques and practice interviews, programming, marketing, and communication skills
• Facilitate Lead PCA selection and supervision
• Manage assessment, data, and reporting related to the PCA program
• Serve as a Salesforce Super User to ensure understanding of the program and advocacy on behalf of PCAs
• Lead project hour requests from staff and PCA/staff matching for semester professional development projects
• Oversee PCA expectations and conduct evaluation meetings as necessary
• Support the Career Educators with supervision of Lead PCAs
• Collaborate with division-wide initiatives to design and implement holistic training opportunities for student staff, ensuring development in professional skills, leadership, and cross-functional competencies

Supervision & Leadership

• Supervise two Career Educators who manage social media, general career events/presentations, Student Success Express, and other outreach initiatives
• Lead Outreach Team that consists of 2 Career Educators and a cohort of Peer Career Advisors by creating a team goals/metrics, determining task breakdown of team members, and leading biweekly team meetings
• Serve on leadership team for department to ensure most effective operations, analyze long-term impact of decisions and plans, and establish and evaluate standards of performance.
• Serve on various Center for Career Development and Academic Exploration departmental committees.

Other Departmental, Divisional, and Professional Responsibilities:

• Assist in other departmental activities, events, and programs that align with Center for Career Development and Academic Exploration's mission including career fairs.
• Participate in professional development activities to ensure professional growth and knowledge needed to provide effective leadership and stay abreast of emerging trends in career coaching.

Career Outcomes Outreach

• Coordinate office staffing and participation in all career outcomes-related outreach events (e.g., Grad Finale, graduation events with Alumni Affairs)
• Collaborate with colleges to gather career outcomes data from students at in-person graduation events utilizing career coaches
• Develop and manage partnerships with campus units to create additional career outcomes data collection opportunities
• With support from the Director of Career Coaching & Education and the Division of Student Success (DSS) Communications Team, broadly market the Career Outcomes Survey across campus
• Work with the career systems manager and DSS Communications to identify students and alumni who have not completed the career outcomes survey and ensure they receive the appropriate email, calling, and text messaging outreach each month
• Oversee PCA support for social media-based career outcomes searches
• Provide and promote the Career Outcomes Toolkit to Academic Advisors, DSS Coaches, and campus partners

Career Education Communication & Resource Development

• Oversee the marketing and social media plan for the office led by a Career Educator and PCA social media team; Ensure career development education through marketing materials
• Support the Career Educator that supervises the Graphic Design Student for the office and serves as the divisional Communication Liaison for the office
• Manage the office website and Employee Hub structure, make updates as needed
• Coordinate with Career Educators to update printed materials related to career education such as but not limited to, Vol Guide to Resume Writing & Cover Letters, Vol Guide to Interviews

Required Qualifications

• Education:
  • Master’s Degree
• Experience:
  • Minimum of three years’ full-time experience in higher education at time of hire. Two years of graduate or part-time work will count as one year of professional experience.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to create and maintain collaborative relationships and professional networks
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to project professionalism to constituents
• Skill in preparing clear and concise reports, policies, procedures, correspondences and other written materials
• Demonstrated ability to plan, organize and coordinate events and programs

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience:
  • Experience in a college/university career center
  • Experience with a paraprofessional program
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
  • Knowledge of career services management systems such as Handshake and 12Twenty, with the ability to run and interpret reports
  • Knowledge of career outcomes data collection methods, reporting, and analysis
  • Familiarity with customer relationship management tools such as Salesforce and event management platforms such as Blackthorn
  • Knowledge of job search strategies, career development theories, best practices, and related resources

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: MR10
• Anticipated hiring range: Minimum $60,000
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments. To be assured of full consideration, completed applications with all requested materials should be submitted.

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of 3 Professional References