About DU Advancement
The University of Denver is building an advancement enterprise that mirrors the excellence of our great institution. Advancement efforts at DU have a tremendous impact through our relationships with DU’s remarkable students, dedicated donors, inspiring alumni, engaged families, and wonderful friends. DU is committed to building and fostering a culture of deep engagement and philanthropy in support of our institution as we implement the DU IMPACT 2025 vision. As a part of that effort, we are continuing to grow a team of collaborative, curious, results-oriented, and mission-driven advancement professionals who value inclusivity and who possess a deep respect for one another and for our shared profession.
About Career & Professional Development
Career and Professional Development (CPD) is a part of the Global Networks team within DU’s Advancement office. CPD is one of four offices on campus providing career development services to a diverse community of DU students and alumni. CPD serves all of the undergraduate programs, University College, multiple graduate programs, and alumni not served by the other career services offices on campus. We provide a full range of services including one-on-one career advising, workshops, programming/events, career fairs, on-campus recruiting, access to thousands of jobs, internships and alumni and employer connections. Career & Professional Development is a very fast-paced, busy office that connects with students, faculty, staff, a wide variety of departments and divisions across campus, employers, parents and the community. CPD is implementing a strategic plan for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion that includes six bold goals to achieve by 2025 based on feedback from stakeholders including students, alumni, and employers.
About the Opportunity
The University of Denver is seeking an experienced, driven, and passionate partner to join our Advancement team as the Executive Director of Employer Connections & Alumni Career Engagement. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced professional to join a dynamic, growing and purposeful enterprise united around a compelling mission charted by Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. The Executive Director will work with a community of talented professionals united to advance this mission, representing the bold ideas outlined in the strategic plan to inspire philanthropy and engagement.
As part of the IMPACT 2025 Strategic Plan, the University of Denver is actively building a contemporary career development model that prepares students for careers and lives of purpose. Through a rich ecosystem of career engagement and support that includes employers, alumni, faculty, staff and parents, we are engaging more students than ever in career development to launch them into successful paths upon graduation while also cultivating gratitude and affinity for the DU community that continues after graduation. Career & Professional Development is uniquely aligned within the Advancement Division to intentionally leverage the global DU network of advocates including alumni, parents and friends for career support and employment connections. The Executive Director will support this innovative direction by strategically marketing DU talent to relevant organizations cultivating a network of leaders across a variety of industries, and developing rich engagement experiences for top employers, thus growing internship and full-time employment pathways for students and alumni. In this endeavor, the Executive Director will work closely and collaboratively with the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Corporate Relations and unit-based employer relations colleagues at the Daniels College of Business, Graduate School of Social Work, and Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
Position Summary
This position reports directly to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career & Professional Development within DU Advancement. The Executive Director of Employer Connections is responsible for executing a market-driven outreach strategy that effectively assesses employer talent needs and markets DU students from a solution-focused orientation. Additionally, the Executive Director will develop relationships with alumni and other external partners that enhance the DU professional and hiring network. The Executive Director will ensure innovative and high-quality engagement opportunities that connect employers to DU talent. In that capacity, they will manage an employer engagement team and supervise an alumni career services team that build market driven strategic relationships with a diverse array of local, national and global organizations and create meaningful learning and professional growth opportunities for alumni. Using market information and employment trends, the Executive Director will further develop a strategic and nimble employer outreach plan that meets the needs of a diverse student audience. Additionally, the Executive Director will partner with relevant campus leaders engaged with organizations including the AVC of Corporate Relations, development officers, alumni engagement officers, deans and college based employer relations and alumni engagement teams to ensure coordinated employer interaction and tracking across campus that leads to a seamless OneDU approach to network development and stewardship. Through the Executive Director’s leadership, the University of Denver will grow the number of employers deeply engaged with the university, thus growing student engagement in career development, increasing student internship participation, improving our already outstanding first-destination outcomes, and supporting alumni in their careers. The Executive Director collaborates extensively on the development and implementation of a strategy to align employer connections and relationships with alumni working in a range of industries in order to provide the best possible hiring landscape for DU graduates, and to support DU graduates as their careers evolve over the course of their lives.
Essential Functions
Employer Relations:
- Leverage data, market trend information and student industry interest to grow and maintain intentional strategic employer relationships across a wide array of industry sectors, creating opportunities for all academic areas of study with a focus on under-represented industries.
- Generate excitement for and awareness of University of Denver talent with external constituents at professional association, chamber and relevant community events to increase high quality hiring pathways for students and alumni.
- Analyze employer talent needs in relation to DU academic programs and the 4D Experience, and create strong mutually beneficially partnerships with organizations.
- Utilize a strong marketplace knowledge to develop tactics for growing regional, national and global employer relationships including the leveraging of alumni and parent networks.
- Create stewardship strategy for employer contacts in consultation with key campus partners and collaborate with marketing and communications to develop high quality materials and communication tools that enhance employer engagement and promote DU as a talent source of choice.
- Track and report relevant employer engagement outreach and metrics to show progress toward organizational goals and ensure strong communication to campus partners and leadership.
- Partner with employer connections leaders on strategies for assessing employer satisfaction with outreach & experiences provided by DU to ensure outstanding customer service; gather employer feedback on student preparedness and communicate educational needs with other units as needed.
- Enhance strategies for partnering with employers on their DEI goals and advancing CPD’s DEI strategic plan.
- Develop programmatic pathways for employers to engage with undergraduate and graduate students such as career fairs, networking events, on campus interviews, company site visits, career education programs, creation of resume books etc.; ensure successful management and execution of programs and events.
- Working closely with the AVC of Corporate Relations, assess corporate interest and capacity for deeper engagement with the University of Denver and partner with executive education, university research partners, corporate relations etc. to ensure deepening organizational relationships with the University.
Alumni Career & Professional Development:
- Oversee the strategic alignment of career services for alumni with employer connections at the University of Denver, fostering a network of employer contacts and alumni industry leadership contacts.
- Directly supervise and mentor a Director for Alumni Career & Professional Development, who is responsible for managing and scaling career development engagement among the alumni population and who supervises an Assistant Director.
- Work with campus partners, including development, alumni engagement, and unit-based colleagues to offer employer and alumni connections to students and alumni, launch innovative programs that connect alumni with students, and to ensure alumni have access to high quality career programs.
- Build out strategy for growth of Alumni Career & Professional Development into the Denver community and ensure collaboration between employer community is tied into alumni engagement in a variety of ways.
Leadership
- Responsible for leading the overall CPD strategy for external community relationships, including key alumni and employers, who will advance the goals of CPD and DU Advancement.
- In alignment with IMPACT 2025 and the department vision, develop and implement a plan for employer development and engagement which grows strategic employer partnerships to increase opportunities for students and alumni.
- Convene an employer connections working group of campus leaders that interface with organizations to ensure coordinated outreach, tracking processes, and reporting to ensure seamless employer experience on campus.
- Hire, train and supervise employer relations team members to ensure outstanding and coordinated performance toward both team and organizational goals.
- Effectively manage a programmatic operating budget, including identifying employer sponsorship opportunities, monitoring transactions and assisting in budget modeling and forecasting processes.
- Utilize NACE guidelines and NACRO best practices to create and monitor appropriate employer relations policies and procedures for employers, faculty & staff.
- Partner with Advancement Marketing & Communications to develop a marketing plan that ensures a high level of engagement with employer job postings and programs.
Partnerships & University Citizenship
- Serve as a proactive and collaborative partner with career development, alumni engagement, corporate development, parent & family relations and other employer relations staff on campus, to foster strategic, effective, and collaborative employer development practices.
- Develop a consistent communication plan for informing campus stakeholders of employer relationships, job & internship opportunities, programming successes and overall team progress toward goals.
- Model “One DU” leadership.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Knowledge of industry and job market trends and awareness of employer relations and career development.
- Proven ability to work with a high level of independence, maintain confidentiality, prioritize assignments, and manage time effectively.
- Demonstrated interpersonal skills to foster and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, employers, volunteers, and University Officials. Ability to interact effectively with diverse groups having competing interests and priorities within the University and community.
- Demonstrated experience and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Demonstrated experience leading strategic planning and facilitating teams through change.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and work experience (Veterans with equivalent combination of military certification/education and experience may substitute for the degree qualification).
7 years of related experience, including experience in employer or corporate relations. - 3 years of supervisory experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree or MBA.
- Experience in a higher education, or similar complex environment.
Working Environment
- Standard open office environment.
- Noise level is quiet to moderate.
- Eligible for hybrid work.
Physical Activities
- Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
- Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs.
Work Schedule
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., some nights and weekends as required
Application Deadline
For best consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) October 9, 2023.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 16.
Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $115,000 – $155,000.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver .
Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Equal Pay Act; Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights (“POWR”) Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver’s Non-Discrimination-Statement .
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.
Advertised: September 21, 2023
Applications close: