Please submit both a cover letter and resume with your application to be considered for this position.

The Associate Director of Employer Relations is part of the Career Center at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual leader responsible for the strategic management of the Career Center’s Employer Relations program. Their primary role is to increase the volume, caliber, and diversity of internship and full-time professional opportunities for Vanderbilt University students. The Associate Director of Employer Relations manages the Employer Relations team and develops and manages a comprehensive recruiting program, including on-campus recruiting, career fairs, and other recruiting initiatives.    

 The Employer Relations team serves as subject matter experts for strategic talent management on behalf of Vanderbilt University, continuously connecting employers with VU students, programs, and initiatives to solve their business needs and fulfill partnership interests. This position requires careful attention and guidance to manage expectations, facilitate experiences, and drive results. Insightful and continuous matchmaking, progress tracking, story capturing, and best practices research are essential aspects of advancing such partnerships.  

  About the Work Unit: 

Launched in fall 2021 under the leadership of the new Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement & Executive Director of the Evans Family Career Center, the Office of Career Advancement and Engagement (CAE), centrally supported within the Provost’s Office, drives radical campus-wide collaboration by integrating career advancement activities into the broader VU student experience.  

 The new CAE division comprises three key areas:  

Career Center - serves undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars while continuing to support career and professional coaching of recent graduates (0-2 years) after graduation  Corporate Partnerships – fosters enhanced employer and alumni engagement and facilitates high-impact corporate partnerships  VU Network – oversees a network of regional hubs that promote activity and engagement with Vanderbilt’s growing community of students, alumni, parents, faculty and partnership corporations 

 The CAE office offers enhanced career advancement services to connect the wide variety of academic programs and experiences to student career development. In addition, the office reimagines the link between corporate relations and corporate partnerships to generate greater career opportunities and outcomes for students and alumni. Further, the CAE office is currently laying the groundwork for the VU Network Hub, a national engagement program that identifies and stands-up regional hubs to facilitate activity and community interaction for Vanderbilt students, alumni, parents, faculty and partnership corporations.   

 Duties and Responsibilities: 

Design and Manage a Best-In-Class Employer Relations Program 

General 

Manage and build a successful employer relations program on the Vanderbilt University campus to provide meaningful internship and employment opportunities for students on a local, regional, and national level.   Maintain and communicate employer engagement programming, including but not limited to recruitment events, branding activities, and educational opportunities to all constituents.  Develop pathways for employers to engage in student-facing programs beyond the traditional recruitment offerings.  Stay current on employment and recruiting-related activities and trends pertinent to and supporting the wide variety of majors and graduate programs on the Vanderbilt campus.  Ensure the Employer Relations team adheres to data collection and review processes to enable regular generation and review of operational reports  Manage the Employer Engagement element of the Vandy In Community Model, the VU Career Center’s engagement philosophy, by establishing and maintaining expectations, managing accountability of the overall employer engagement strategy, and reporting progress on relationship building and management.  Develop and implement a comprehensive long-term strategic plan for the Employer Relations program. 

 Relationship Building & Management 

Support the tiered approach to employer engagement, as outlined by the Director of External Partner Engagement, to advance relationships with prospective, new, and active employers.  Support the Employer Relations Team as they manage employer portfolios that align with their assigned Vandy In Communities.   Actively engage in employer development and outreach activities, establishing and maintaining relationships with representatives from business, government, education, non-profit organizations, trade associations, search firms, and employment agencies for the purpose of sourcing, acquiring, and promoting extensive job and internship opportunities for Vanderbilt students.   Proactively build and expand recruiter activity by driving job postings, increasing engagement, and boosting hires while leading and managing the ERS team to deliver on these goals.    Beyond relationship maintenance, focus on actively growing new and emerging recruiter partnerships to increase visibility, recruiter engagement, and hiring outcomes.  Consistently manage a portfolio of 10-15 (with the possibility for more) strategic, highly active employers to expand their connection to Vanderbilt talent, with the intention of promoting them to greater corporate partner engagement  Develop and enforce expectations for use of the enterprise CRM system (Salesforce)to track and manage employer relations engagement. 

 Marketing Strategy for Employer Relations Initiatives 

Consult and partner with the Marketing and Communication Coordinator to develop and implement printed and digital collateral materials, identifying creative outlets and strategies for increasing the visibility of students to employers and vice versa.   In partnership with the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, develop and deploy intentional communication strategy to enhance employer participation at recruiting events with a significant emphasis on larger hiring programs (e.g. Career Fairs, Networking Nights, etc.).   Benchmark with peers and employers to ensure employer relations best practices and resources.  

 Develop & Strengthen University Relationships 

Consult with the Student and Scholar Engagement team leader(s) to develop appropriate programming, services, and guidelines to ensure that students who participate in recruiting programs are well-prepared for the job search, and that employers reach appropriately targeted students and alumni.   Collaborate with the broader Career Center teams (Innovation, Operations, HPAO) to ensure intentionality of employer engagement across Career Center initiatives.  Partner with key University offices, including, but not limited to, the Athletics program, and the academic departments, to strengthen job development support for all students.    Serve as a liaison between the Employer Relations Team and the Corporate Partnerships team, supporting the ER Team in co-managed relationships and enhancing Student Engagement & Hiring initiatives.  Represent the department on committees and initiatives as delegated by leadership.  

 Manage the Employer Relations Team 

Supervise and provide coaching and support to the employer relations team including setting expectations and key strategic initiatives and performance measures.   Provide feedback, complete performance reviews, identify appropriate recognition and rewards, and perform corrective actions as needed.   Hire and train new staff.  Delegate and implement special projects and/or perform related duties as assigned.  

 Supervisory Relationships: 

This position has supervisory responsibility, including hiring, over the Employer Relations team. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Director of External Partner Engagement of the Career Center.  

Education and Certifications: 

Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, human resources, or related area required;   MBA or master’s degree preferred. 

 Qualifications: 

Required 

Minimum 3-5 years’ experience successfully leading a college or university-based recruiting operation and/or working in a talent-acquisition setting such as human resources or a private search firm.   Experience managing professional staff members.   Occasional weekend and evening hours will be required.  Occasional travel for student- and employer-related programming.  

 Preferred 

Significant national employer connections.  Knowledge of and proficiency with career- and recruitment-management software (preferably Handshake) as well as MS Office, Excel, and database management software.   Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to deliver creative and persuasive presentations, strong project management abilities, and experience with building relationships and providing effective customer service with diverse stakeholders.    Ability to conceptualize and implement a sales/marketing/business development plan at both a strategic and tactical level.  Ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.  Demonstrated initiative to take on special projects.  Ability to travel to attend relevant conferences and corporate events and meet with key partners.   An appreciation and understanding of the different means of providing employment and internship opportunities for students from a wide variety of majors.  High degree of ethical and professional standards and strict confidentiality in sensitive matters related to hiring decisions. 

General Characteristics of a Successful Vanderbilt University Staff Member: 

ACCOUNTABILITY: Owns decisions, outcomes, work products, etc. that are within the scope of one’s role. 

Works through Issues – Recognizes that the work is about successful outcomes, if things aren’t going well, outcomes suffer; is willing to have crucial conversations if things aren’t going well; doesn’t just complain to management… does everything possible to remedy the situation directly first  Reliable – Does what they say they will do, when they say they will do it; shows up for work when expected; doesn’t push the burden of work volume or deadlines to others  Integrity – Holds oneself accountable; takes responsibility for failures as well as successes, recognizes that trust is required to hold a team together   Acceptance of Feedback – Takes constructive criticism with grace, and makes improvements without taking it personally or holding grudges; when wrong, owns it – freely admits mistakes  

 COLLABORATION: Works inclusively to build trust and accomplish tasks, goals, and initiatives. Understands, anticipates, and appropriately responds to internal and/or external customers’ needs. 

Optimism – Is friendly, tirelessly cordial, polite, and genial; comes in to work with a good attitude and doesn’t bring their own personal “little black clouds” into the work environment  Teamwork – Genuinely values teamwork and co-workers, makes them feel valuable and important by acknowledging what they do well; doesn’t expect from others effort that one is unwilling to do themselves, finds ways to acknowledge other’s strong suits  Honest and Transparent – Doesn’t have hidden agendas, doesn’t play people against each other; is authentic and forthright  Helpful Nature – Offers to help lighten the load for others in times of need; volunteers rather than waiting to be asked; understands that almost no one works in a silo and needs the help of others to do their job well; recognizes that by helping others first, others will likely reciprocate 

COMMUNICATION: Provides information clearly and accurately in various settings, ensuring understanding and participation. Understands how best to present information to different audiences and how information may be perceived.  

Shares – Shares information. Communicates proactively. Transmits knowledge; recognizes that “knowledge is power” is less effective than “sharing knowledge is power.” Asks for advice, and considers it thoughtfully  Is Nice – Asks caring, i questions, and is a good listener -- smiles and is grateful; sends appropriate notes of thanks to others who have helped; avoids gossip or saying negative things about co-workers; patient and generous; makes suggestions rather than stating hard and fast opinions. Avoids being negative, sarcastic, and cynical  Praises Publicly; Criticizes Privately – When dealing with difficult co-workers or customers, “pretend your children are watching” how the situation is handled; good manners help keep a cool head; gives credit where credit is due  Responds Promptly – Recognizes that when emails and phone messages aren’t returned in a timely way, it sends the message that the other party is not important; responds even if just to acknowledge receipt and provide a timeframe by which the requester can expect a full response 

 DRIVE & GRIT: Is focused on professional excellence and strives to facilitate and support the same for colleagues in and outside their team, effectively manages through challenges and opportunities while seeking to understand and learn from professional experiences. 

Perspective – Maintains a sense of humor and perspective; can laugh first and foremost at oneself  Raises the Bar – Expects and delivers excellence; is a creative problem solver; is proactive; welcomes input on making things better -- places a high value on learning and getting better  Resilience – Is resilient in the face of daunting challenges and setbacks; bounces back readily.  Adaptability – Reads cues and adapts accordingly; adjusts style and approach to accommodate the styles and needs of others; can anticipate and effectively de-escalate potential conflicts 

ENGAGED: Appreciates the values and mission of the organization, works to contribute to the university, and understands how their work affects the university and university community. 

Eager – Enthusiastic, wanting to learn, wanting to continue one’s personal and professional development and expertise  Hard-Working – Is industrious as well as efficient (busy isn’t the same as productive); can juggle multiple competing priorities simultaneously without becoming overwhelmed   Believes – Believes in the work being done and in the importance of the organization’s mission  Creative Thinking – Goes beyond the boundaries of the job description, willingly takes on new challenges, and finds creative solutions rather than always awaiting direct instructions 

 JUDGMENT & PROFESSIONAL ACUMEN: Makes appropriate decisions and evaluates risk and uncertainty to create ideal outcomes, exhibits an eye for the macro and the micro, and works to ensure others are able to do the same. 

Autonomous – Self-managing; self-motivated; manages time, activities and outcomes well so that progress stays on track; cleans up after themselves  Maturity -- Exhibits professional maturity; doesn’t pass the buck to dodge accountability; doesn’t engage in petty office politics or inappropriate social conduct  Detail-Oriented – Even small mistakes can create big issues; attention to detail work indicates care about the outcomes   Assumes the Best – Assumes that others are working as hard as you are on things that are as important as what you are working on; just because you don’t know what someone does, it doesn’t mean they’re not doing anything.