Search for Director of Employer and Regional Engagement
The Meruelo Family Center for Career Development (CCD) prepares students for lifelong career readiness by guiding them to discern, pursue, and achieve career goals that align with their values, interests, and skills. The CCD aspires to unite the Notre Dame community to inspire and prepare every student to pursue a life of impact and purpose.
Strategic partnerships with employers are essential to advancing career development. The Director of Employer and Regional Engagement serves as the leader of the CCD's efforts, on behalf of the University, to offer undergraduate and graduate students connections into top-tier positions for both internships and full-time roles through a coordinated and comprehensive effort of engagement with employers of all sizes across many industries.
Position Overview
The Director is a visionary, collaborative, and results-orientated manager responsible for leading a team of professionals while leveraging Notre Dame relationships and resources in all aspects of employer engagement. The Director will provide leadership for the following objectives in the Center's strategic plan:
- Expand dream employer engagement
- Refocus the regional engagement model to increase impact
- Enhance the employer experience
- Build new relationships with alumni and employers in areas of interest to students
Responsibilities
-
LEADERSHIP AND SUPERVISION OF EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT TEAM
Provide vision and leadership for the CCD's employer engagement strategy. Manage a team of early-career professionals who advance relationships with the University's network of employers to accelerate the number of undergraduate and graduate students in summer internship experiences and full-time positions. This includes recruiting, hiring, training, and developing staff to meet the CCD's strategic objectives and key results.
-
DIRECT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Leverage the Notre Dame alumni and parent networks to identify prospective employers to hire students. Maintain exceptional employer relations with existing recruiters, while also developing new relationships across a variety of industries. This involves directly engaging with a broad portfolio of employer partners, including front-line recruiters, talent acquisition managers, mid-level managers, and C-suite executives.
-
LEADERSHIP AND SUPERVISION OF REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT TEAM
Recruit, train, and supervise a cohort of full-time and part-time regionally-based staff across the United States in key locations. Answer questions, provide support, track progress, and evaluate effectiveness of outreach in designated regional locations. This includes connecting with leadership of Notre Dame Clubs and alumni on a regular basis to build relationships, opening avenues to new employer recruitment. Support and attend club-sponsored career development-related events (e.g. career fairs, networking receptions, etc.).
-
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION
Participate and contribute to the Career Development Leadership Team (CDLT) and Division of Student Affairs Departmental Leadership group. Collaborate with faculty and administrators on strategic efforts across campus to advance the University's strategic priorities. Represent the Center for Career Development across campus and with professional associations/community organizations.
-
SUPPORT OF CENTRALIZED CCD EFFORTS
Perform other duties as assigned by the Associate Vice President and Vice President for Student Affairs to ensure the success of the Center for Career Development, the University, students, and other stakeholders. Provide on-site assistance and hospitality for employers during campus visits, information sessions, and other special events, including evenings and weekends.
This in-person position is based in Duncan Student Center on Notre Dame's main campus in South Bend, Indiana. This position is not eligible for hybrid or remote work. The standard work schedule in the office is 8AM – 5PM, Monday-Friday. Evening and weekend email communication is common, given the nature of our work, particularly during peak recruiting seasons. In order to provide an unsurpassed experience for our students and employers, this position requires frequent evening commitments on campus.
Qualifications
Our next director can come from a variety of professional backgrounds. Some candidates may have direct experience in a career center, while others may bring a different experience within higher education or some other industry, particularly with talent acquisition. We seek candidates who have these minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required (advanced degree preferred if no industry experience)
- At least five years of full-time experience with employment recruiting, sales, fundraising, or other relationship-driven work
- Success in leading a team of results-driven professionals
- Experience with innovation and the successful implementation of new initiatives
- Collaborative mindset with a positive attitude across multiple departments with distinct responsibilities
- Experience collaborating across a complex organization
- Experience establishing and monitoring performance metrics for a team
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Proficiency in building and leveraging relationships
- Knowledge of a broad range of employers and industries
- Knowledge of recruiting processes for internships and full-time positions for college students
- Ability to think organizationally, conceptually, and strategically
- Ability to manage projects and relationships simultaneously, set priorities, and meet deadlines
- Understanding and support of Notre Dame's mission
In addition to the minimum qualifications outlined above, our preferred qualifications include:
- Experience with relationship cultivation across multiple industries
- Experience interacting with benefactors and donors
- Established network of recruiting contacts across a wide range of industries
- Established network of Notre Dame alumni contacts
About the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development
Notre Dame's Meruelo Family Center for Career Development is located on the fifth floor of Duncan Student Center on the University of Notre Dame's campus in South Bend, Indiana. Our facility includes one of the largest centralized career center and interview facilities in higher education which positions our students for success in both in-person and virtual interviews.
The Center is comprised of 25+ full-time and part-time staff members across four functions: Career Development (which includes Undergraduate Career Services and Graduate Career Services), Operations and Event Services, Employer and Regional Engagement, and Strategic Initiatives.
All staff work collaboratively to advance the CCD's mission & vision:
Our mission: We prepare students for lifelong career readiness by guiding them to discern, pursue, and achieve career goals that align with their values, interests, and skills.
Our vision: Unite the Notre Dame community to inspire and prepare every student to pursue a life of impact and purpose.
We focus our communication efforts on tailored content. As such, the CCD manages a group of audience-focused websites:
-
- undergradcareers.nd.edu - For undergraduate students (much of the Director's work will interface with resources contained on this site)
- gradcareers.nd.edu - for master's and PhD students
- recruitstudents.nd.edu - for employers and recruiters
- The CCD's landing page (CareerDevelopment.nd.edu) provides information for:
Learn about the University of Notre Dame
Information about our local community
Application instructions
- The search for our Director launched on Monday, February 12, 2024.
- The application deadline was Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Questions
Questions can be directed to the search committee by e-mailing ccdsearch@nd.edu.