Manager of Career Services in Salem, West Virginia at Salem University LLC

Position Title: Manager of Career Access

Reports Directly To: Vice President of Student Experience & Success

Location: Remote with occasional travel to campus or Hybrid is Salem, WV

FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Summary:

The Manager of Career Access provides strategic leadership for Salem University’s career development, employer engagement, experiential learning, workforce partnership, and graduate employment initiatives. This position is responsible for developing and executing a university-wide Career Access strategy that prepares students and alumni to achieve their professional goals while strengthening connections among academic programs, employer needs, and regional workforce opportunities.

The manager leads career readiness programming, employer relationship development, internship and experiential learning initiatives, graduate employment support, and career outcomes reporting. The position works closely with Academic Affairs, Student Experience & Success, Institutional Effectiveness, alumni, faculty, and University leadership to integrate career preparation throughout the student experience.

The manager also collaborates with the Office of Growth & Development on institutional and workforce partnerships while independently cultivating career-focused relationships that create internships, clinical experiences, apprenticeships, externships, job-shadowing opportunities, and employment pipelines. Emphasis is placed on expanding opportunities within healthcare, education, business, technology, and vocational and skilled-trades sectors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The duties listed below are representative of the responsibilities of this position. Additional duties may be assigned based on departmental or organizational needs.

Strategic Leadership and Career Access Planning

• Develop and execute a comprehensive University-wide Career Access strategic plan aligned with institutional goals and student success priorities.
• Establish annual goals, operating plans, performance measures, and service expectations for Career Access.
• Develop scalable career development programs that support students from enrollment through graduation and into employment.
• Advise University leadership regarding career readiness trends, graduate employment needs, employer expectations, and workforce developments.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the integration of career development throughout the student lifecycle.
• Promote a university-wide culture in which career readiness and workforce preparation are shared institutional priorities.
• Develop policies, procedures, service models, and operating standards that support consistent and effective Career Access services.

Employer Engagement and Workforce Partnerships

• Develop and maintain relationships with employers, healthcare systems, school districts, government agencies, nonprofits, trade associations, workforce organizations, and community partners.
• Build employer pipelines that support internships, clinical experiences, apprenticeships, externships, job-shadowing, project-based learning, and graduate employment.
• Serve as the primary Career Access liaison for employer and industry partners.
• Collaborate with the Office of Growth & Development on institutional partnerships, workforce initiatives, and employer engagement opportunities.
• Maintain clear coordination with Growth & Development to avoid duplication and ensure alignment between institutional partnerships and career-focused employer relationships.
• Develop employer engagement strategies that increase job postings, recruiting activity, internship opportunities, and employment pipelines.
• Support the creation and administration of partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding, and experiential learning arrangements in collaboration with appropriate University departments.
• Monitor employer satisfaction and identify opportunities to expand, renew, and strengthen partnerships.
• Represent Salem University at employer meetings, workforce events, professional associations, advisory groups, and community initiatives.

Career Development and Student Services

• Oversee comprehensive career development services for students and alumni.
• Ensure access to individualized career coaching, career exploration, career assessments, resume and cover letter development, interview preparation, professional networking, job-search strategies, and graduate school preparation.
• Develop career readiness programming that supports students at different stages of academic and professional development.
• Create targeted programming for online, adult, first-generation, and career-changing students.
• Ensure students receive timely and relevant information regarding employment opportunities, internships, career events, and professional development resources.
• Develop workshops, webinars, classroom presentations, online resources, and other career education materials.
• Promote professional behavior, workplace readiness, communication skills, digital presence, and employer expectations.
• Collaborate with Student Advising and other support teams to identify students requiring additional career guidance or intervention.

Experiential Learning

• Lead the development and expansion of internships, clinical experiences, apprenticeships, externships, job-shadowing, service learning, and other experiential learning opportunities.
• Collaborate with faculty and academic leadership to integrate experiential learning into academic programs where appropriate.
• Develop processes for identifying, approving, documenting, and evaluating experiential learning opportunities.
• Establish standards for employer participation, student preparation, supervision, feedback, and assessment.
• Monitor student participation and outcomes related to experiential learning.
• Work with academic departments to identify program-specific employer needs and placement opportunities.
• Support risk management, compliance, and documentation requirements associated with internships and external learning experiences.
• Promote equitable access to experiential learning opportunities across student populations and academic programs.

Career Events and Employer Programming

• Plan and oversee career fairs, employer recruiting events, networking programs, industry panels, professional development workshops, and employer information sessions.
• Develop event strategies that reflect student interests, academic programs, and employer demand.
• Coordinate employer participation, event logistics, marketing, student preparation, and post-event follow-up.
• Partner with faculty, alumni, academic leadership, and community organizations to expand participation and program relevance.
• Evaluate event effectiveness using attendance, engagement, satisfaction, interview, internship, and employment outcomes.
• Develop virtual and in-person career programming to serve both campus-based and online students.

Labor Market and Career Readiness Integration

• Use labor market information, employer feedback, workforce trends, and graduate outcomes data to inform career programming and partnership development.
• Collaborate with Academic Affairs to share information regarding employer expectations, emerging skills, industry certifications, and workforce demand.
• Support the integration of career readiness competencies into academic and co-curricular programming.
• Identify workforce trends that may affect student preparation, academic program positioning, and employer engagement.
• Provide data-informed recommendations regarding career pathways, industry opportunities, and student professional development needs.
• Support initiatives involving artificial intelligence, technology, digital literacy, and other emerging workplace competencies.

Graduate Outcomes, Assessment, and Reporting

• Develop and maintain processes for tracking graduate employment, continuing education, internship participation, employer engagement, and career readiness outcomes.
• Collaborate with Institutional Effectiveness to establish reliable methods for collecting, validating, analyzing, and reporting graduate outcomes data.
• Prepare executive reports, presentations, dashboards, and recommendations for university leadership.
• Track student and alumni participation in career services and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Monitor employer satisfaction, partnership activity, event engagement, internship participation, and graduate employment outcomes.
• Use assessment results to improve Career Access services, employer engagement, and experiential learning initiatives.
• Support institutional reporting, accreditation, audit, and strategic planning requirements related to career outcomes and workforce alignment.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and data integrity across career management, CRM, and student information systems.

Department Leadership and Administration

• Recruit, supervise, train, coach, and evaluate Career Access staff and student employees, as applicable.
• Establish clear performance expectations, workflows, service standards, and accountability measures.
• Develop and manage the Career Access budget and departmental resources.
• Evaluate and recommend career management platforms, CRM tools, assessment systems, and other technologies.
• Maintain effective operational processes for employer engagement, student services, events, data collection, and reporting.
• Prepare departmental plans, reports, budget recommendations, and presentations.
• Serve on University committees, task forces, and institutional initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance will be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative measures that may include:

• Graduate employment and continuing education outcomes.
• Graduate outcomes survey response rates and reporting accuracy.
• Student participation in internships and experiential learning.
• Number, quality, and diversity of employer partnerships.
• Employer partnership retention, renewal, and expansion.
• Internship, apprenticeship, clinical, externship, and job-shadowing opportunities created.
• Student participation in career coaching and career readiness programming.
• Career fair, recruiting event, and employer engagement participation.
• Employer satisfaction and student satisfaction.
• Job, internship, and employment pipeline activity.
• Healthcare, education, technology, business, and vocational workforce partnership growth.
• Timeliness and accuracy of dashboards, reports, and institutional data submissions.
• Career Access program effectiveness, accessibility, and student engagement.
• Budget performance and operational efficiency.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of career services, employer relations, experiential learning, workforce development, or talent acquisition.
• Strong understanding of student career development and career readiness practices.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain employer, workforce, and community partnerships.
• Strong strategic planning, program development, and operational leadership skills.
• Ability to translate institutional goals into measurable career and employer engagement initiatives.
• Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, presentation, and public speaking skills.
• Strong project management, organizational, and event-planning abilities.
• Ability to interpret labor market information and use data to guide decision-making.
• Strong analytical skills and experience developing performance reports and dashboards.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across academic and administrative departments.
• Ability to supervise, develop, and hold staff accountable for performance expectations.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, student-centered environment.
• Strong customer service orientation and commitment to student and graduate success.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, CRM systems, career management platforms, student information systems, and virtual communication technologies.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Career Development, Human Resources, Business, Communications, Counseling, Workforce Development, or a related field.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in career services, employer relations, workforce development, talent acquisition, business development, student affairs, or higher education.
• Demonstrated experience developing employer partnerships and managing external relationships.
• Experience developing or delivering career readiness, employment, internship, or experiential learning programs.
• Experience planning and executing career fairs, employer events, workshops, or similar programs.
• Experience collecting, analyzing, and reporting career, employer, workforce, or student outcome data.
• Demonstrated leadership, project management, communication, and organizational skills.
• Experience using Microsoft 365 and database, CRM, career management, or student information systems.
• Ability to work on campus in Salem, West Virginia and travel as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Career Development, Counseling, Business Administration, Human Resources, Workforce Development, or a related field.
• Experience leading a college or university career services department.
• Experience supervising professional staff and managing departmental budgets.
• Experience developing healthcare, education, technology, business, or skilled-trades employer partnerships.
• Experience administering internships, apprenticeships, clinical placements, or other experiential learning programs.
• Experience with graduate outcomes reporting, First-Destination Survey practices, or institutional effectiveness.
• Experience using labor market analytics and career outcomes data.
• Experience supporting online, adult, first-generation, or non-traditional students.
• Experience working within a matrixed, growth-oriented, or rapidly evolving organization.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described below are representative of those required to perform the essential functions of this position.

• Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer.
• Frequent use of computers, telephones, presentation equipment, and virtual meeting technologies.
• Ability to communicate effectively through written, verbal, in-person, and virtual formats.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during career fairs, employer events, and campus activities.
• Ability to occasionally lift and transport event materials, displays, or supplies weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to travel to employer locations, conferences, community events, and other University-related activities.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends to support events and employer engagement activities.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Work Environment

This is an on-campus leadership position based at Salem University in Salem, West Virginia. The role operates in a dynamic, student-centered, and externally engaged environment requiring strategic planning, collaboration, innovation, and regular interaction with students, alumni, faculty, staff, employers, and community partners.

The manager must be able to balance long-term strategies with direct program implementation, employer engagement, student service, and operational responsibilities. Work may also be performed at employer locations, community partner sites, conferences, career fairs, and other University-sponsored events.

Occasional evening and weekend availability is required for career fairs, employer events, student programming, travel, and institutional activities.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Salem University is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Job Description Disclaimer

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, performance measures, or working conditions.

Salem University reserves the right to modify, assign, or remove responsibilities and performance expectations as institutional priorities, student needs, workforce conditions, and operational requirements evolve.