Senior Assistant Director, Employer Relations & Development, Financial Services

Department
 

ESA Employer Relations and Development

About the Department
 

Career Advancement serves a student population of approximately 7,000 arts and sciences undergraduate students, in addition to alumni who have graduated within the last five years. Career Advancement plays a vital role in ensuring our students’ success after graduation. Career Advancement offers innovative and comprehensive career development services with a focus on pre-professional preparation, experiential education, and opportunities. Through career advising, programs, and comprehensive resources, Career Advancement supports undergraduate students and alumni as they develop the skills necessary to manage their career development, while working with alumni and employers to provide students with meaningful opportunities. For more information, please visit the Career Advancement website at careeradvancement.uchicago.edu.

Job Summary
 

UChicago Career Advancement builds on the world-class UChicago liberal arts foundation to give students a competitive edge in their professional development. The Employer Relations and Development (ERD) team establishes and enhances employer relationships across industries and in multiple geographic locations to connect talented UChicago students with leading organizations for job outcomes and experiential education opportunities.
The Senior Assistant Director role includes developing relationships with employers across industries, contributing to the growth of full-time outcomes and the University’s premiere Jeff Metcalf Internship Program that places students into 4,200+ paid substantive opportunities in the academic year. The portfolio will include employer partners across financial services fields. Cultivation of employer partnerships includes active engagement with alumni, parents, and friends of the University to promote new professional opportunities in target regions and industries.
The Senior Assistant Director will utilize previous experience and industry expertise to manage partnerships with financial services employers, inform programming that prepares students for successful careers, and respond to increasing student demand for finance jobs by creating incremental opportunities. The role will liaise closely with the Career Advancement’s suite of pre-professional programs and general advising teams to promote opportunities, inform on recruiting trends, and offer insight into employer demand for skills and talent. The Senior Assistant Director will be responsible for the success of assigned student cohorts and their summer placement.
This team member will establish and enhance employer relationships to connect UChicago talent with leading organizations for internships, post-graduation jobs, and experiential education opportunities. The Senior Assistant Director role contributes to the growth of full-time outcomes and the University’s flagship Jeff Metcalf Internship Program that places students into 4,200 paid substantive opportunities in the academic year. Cultivation of employer partnerships also includes active engagement with alumni and parents to support the development of new professional opportunities in priority geographic regions.
The position will collaborate with student organizations, campus and external partners to fulfill University’s commitment to student success during and beyond College. This team member will provide excellent customer service to employers, supporting virtual and on-campus recruiting, and contribute to employer’s long-term engagement. They will collaborate with others to support the launch and execution of special projects and initiatives, experiential education programs, industry and flagship events.

Responsibilities

• Builds a strong foundation of employer partners in finance and business; fosters competitive opportunities to meet a high student demand for this industry, and drives student placement
• Serves as a thought partner to employers in developing a successful recruitment strategy and offers superior customer service, responding to employer requests quickly and with a creative, problem-solving mentality.
• Develops knowledge of recruiting and industry trends, assesses industry skill set requirements, and informs Careers in Business student programming to ensure student competitiveness.
• Implements strategic employer development, building new relationships based on student demand, market trends, and priority regions with high student enrollment, including outreach to new employers.
• Manages employer information sessions and coffee chats, company presentations, interviews, and other campus engagement activities. Collaborates with colleagues to increase employer participation and contribute to corporate engagement and sponsorship.
• Represents Career Advancement in meetings, supports regional career councils, and University’s larger stewardship of alumni and parents.  
• Contributes to strategies and tracking of student data, quantifying stakeholder engagement, and reporting on student outcomes. Prepares memos, briefings, and reports.
• Enters employer engagement and student information in systems, performs regular data audits and analysis, builds data dashboards, and maintains data integrity.
• Supports planning and coordinating of Career Advancement’s industry programs, such as Night on Wall Street, and flagship events such as the Diversity + Inclusion Summit, summer intern events, internship bootcamps, and series of alumni career reunion events.
• Supports experiential education opportunities for students including treks, job shadowing, case competitions, and industry programming provided by the UChicago Careers pre-professional programs that enhance employer branding and affinity on campus.
• Performs job board reviews, approvals of employers and job postings, and completes prompt employer follow-up.
• Advises assigned cohort of students to support their career exploration and placement.
• Reviews student resumes and cover letters and coordinates interview-related programming in both individual and group settings.
• Identifies, cultivates, and develops employer relationships and student employment opportunities for assigned industry areas. Uses best practices and knowledge of employers to recruit new companies and/or organizations to participate in career fairs, on-campus recruiting, job postings, and other programs.
• Creates, establishes, and maintains relationships with search firms, and meets with an assigned group of new alumni and/or employer partners periodically to generate employer development leads and opportunities. Collaborates with publications to develop marketing materials.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

—
Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

—
Certifications:

—

Preferred Qualifications

Education:                                                                                                               

• Bachelor’s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional work experience.
• Experience in a client-facing role and in building partnerships.
• Interest in career services, employer relations, and/or recruiting.
• Expertise in project management, customer relations, program administration, etc.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Learn new software and computer systems, including Salesforce.
• Experience utilizing Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other digital platform for meetings and events.

Preferred Competencies

• Exemplary organization skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated initiative, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, with flexibility and adaptability.
• Demonstrated success in maintaining collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
• High degree of professionalism when interacting with internal and external constituents. 
• Prioritize work and meet deadlines and successfully navigate a fast-paced environment.
• Deep commitment to customer service, balance different work streams, and work successfully and successfully in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Tailor communication to a variety of stakeholders: students, senior management, faculty, parents, and alumni.
• Develop creative solutions and maintain and outcomes-driven and action-oriented attitude.
• Strong project management skills with ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Problem solving and reasoning, critical thinking and decision-making skills.
• Handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion and maintain confidentiality.

Working Conditions

• Based on public health conditions and guidelines, ability to work evening hours and weekends on an occasional basis for in-person employer events.
• Willing and able to travel as needed.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter/Statement of Interest (required)
• Professional References Contact Information (3)(required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Student Affairs & Services

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

The University of Chicago’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu . Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.