Associate Director, Career ReadinessWork type: Permanent Full Time
Location: Bellingham, WA
Categories: Academic Affairs
Position Title Associate Director, Career Readiness
About the Position
Position SummaryAcademic Advising and Career Readiness (AACR) provides a comprehensive range of services that support students' academic advising and career development while fostering campus partnerships and connecting students with key institutional resources. The AACR team, comprised of professional and student staff who support students in defining their educational and career goals and prepare for success after graduation.
The Associate Director provides leadership for the development, implementation, and assessment of career education initiatives that support student and alumni career readiness. This position leads the design of career learning experiences, educational resources, and scalable programs that help students develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to navigate career exploration, experiential learning, job and internship searches, and lifelong career management.
Partnering with the Executive Director of Academic Advising & Career Readiness and other team members, collaboratively works with faculty, advisors, student affairs professionals, and campus partners, in advancing a distributed career services model by integrating career readiness throughout the student experience. This role collaborates with academic partners in developing industry relations strategy to expand internship and employment opportunities. The position oversees career education curriculum, digital learning resources, workshops, outreach initiatives, and employer engagement while helping ensure equitable access to career development opportunities across campus. In partnership with the Executive Director, Alumni and University Advancement, this role works with industry and corporate leaders in collaborations that benefit and support student retention and post-graduation success.
This position reports to the Executive Director of Academic Advising & Career Readiness.
Essential Functions Career Education Strategy & Curriculum Development
- Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the department's career education strategy.
- Design, implement, and assess career education curriculum and programming aligned with institutional goals and career readiness competencies.
- Develop and maintain career learning outcomes, milestones, and student success benchmarks across the student lifecycle.
- Create scalable educational resources, guides, toolkits, and learning materials that support student career development.
- Monitor emerging trends and best practices in career development and higher education to inform program design.
- Utilize assessment data and student feedback to improve educational offerings and student outcomes.
Career Readiness Integration & Campus Partnerships
- In partnership with Executive Director, collaborates with faculty, advisors, and campus partners to integrate career readiness into courses, advising, co-curricular experiences, and student programs.
- Consult with campus partners on strategies for embedding career learning into existing student experiences.
- Develops, manages and coordinates activities/meetings related to career related advisory committees including key stakeholders on and off campus.
- Support implementation of career readiness initiatives across colleges, departments, and student organizations.
- Promotion and marketing of career readiness technology and software across campus.
- Support and engage with industry partners in the support of student career opportunities including internships and employment.
- Develop resources and training materials that enable campus partners to facilitate career-related learning experiences.
Career Programming & Student Engagement
- In coordination with Career Coach, facilitate the development and execution of career readiness workshops and career education programs.
- Implement innovative approaches to engage students in career readiness activities.
- Expand self-service career education resources and learning opportunities that increase access and scalability.
- Coordinate outreach efforts that increase awareness and utilization of career development resources and services.
- Leadership of implementation and integration of career readiness technology solutions, working with Program Specialist.
- Evaluate program effectiveness and recommend improvements based on participation and assessment data.
- Support with new student onboarding experiences.
Leadership & Supervision
- Supervision of career readiness staff including Career Coach and Program Specialist. Team also includes peer advisors who report to Career Coach.
- Create meaningful leadership and professional development opportunities for the team.
- Coordinate staff scheduling, assignments, and program support responsibilities.
- Provides career readiness training and professional development for the WWU advising community.
Career Advising & Student Support
- Facilitate distributed drop-in advising and career education services across campus.
- Provide career coaching and advising to students and alumni as needed.
- Support students in areas such as career exploration, internship and job search strategies, networking, and career decision-making.
- Develop resources that increase students' ability to independently navigate career development processes.
Required Qualifications
- Master's degree in Career Development, Counseling, Student Affairs, Education, Business Management or Human Resources Management.
- Three years of professional experience in career services, advising, counseling, workforce development, or education.
- Three or more years progressively responsible supervision experience of professional staff
- Experience designing and delivering educational programs, workshops, or curriculum.
- Experience supporting diverse student populations.
- Experience building collaborative partnerships across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Experience using assessment data to evaluate and improve programs and services.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience utilizing various technology and software such as Microsoft 365, Teams, Zoom, etc.
In addition to application, resume and cover letter, please submit an ADEI statement, describing your professional commitment and experience fostering an inclusive environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience integrating career readiness into academic or co-curricular environments.
- Experience working with Canvas, career technologies, or digital learning tools.
- Familiarity with NACE Career Readiness Competencies and career development theory.
- Fluent in two or more languages
Conditions of Employment
All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.
Some evening and weekend work may be required in this position.
All team members are expected to use WWU issued computer, Microsoft 365 applications (specifically Outlook, Teams Chat and Calls, Word, Excel, etc.), Zoom, and other related software platforms related to work.
This position is primarily an in-person role, with regular on-campus presence expected to support collaboration, accessibility, and engagement with students and colleagues. Opportunities for hybrid work may be available at times, based on position responsibilities, operational needs, and supervisor approval.
Salary Hiring range is $78,364 - $90,117/year depending on qualifications and experience. Through longevity position tops out at $101,871/year.
Benefits Information
Benefits Overview for Administrative Professional Position.
Application Instructions
Application materials should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.
In addition to application, resume and cover letter, please submit an ADEI statement, describing your professional commitment and experience fostering an inclusive environment.
Please include the names and contact information of three professional references. References will only be contacted if necessary, with notice provided beforehand.
Closing Date Notes Application review begins November 26, 2026; position is open until filled.
Job no: 503260
Advertised: Oct 29 2026 09:00 Pacific Daylight Time
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