Job Title : Director of Career Planning and Development Effective Date: August 4, 2025 Department: Compass Center Division: Academic Affairs Supervisor: Assoc VP for Aca. Aff./Dir. Robert & Mary Cox Compass Center Schedule: Regular, 12 mo., FT, M-F FLSA Classification : Exempt – Exec IPEDS Classification: 11

Job Summary: Provides leadership and supports the mission and strategic plan of the university and the Cox Compass Center. Responsible for all activities of Career Planning & Development including overseeing, assessing, reporting, and marketing of career development activities and programs. Supervises Career Planning & Development staff and oversees budgetary and other administrative functions of the office. Serves as the primary liaison between potential employers and the university, its students, and alumni.

Duties/Responsibilities: ADMINISTRATIVE. Provides leadership for the Office of Career Planning & Development and is part of a collaborative team in the Robert and Mary Cox Compass Center. Hires, mentors, and supervises professional full-time staff and student staff members. Coordinates professional development activities for CP&D staff, students, and faculty. Completes annual professional full-time staff evaluations. Develops a budget, supervises expenditures, and maintains fiscal responsibility. Requests funds as needed to stay competitive and to develop innovative programs. Maintains membership and active involvement in professional organization(s) to ensure professional growth and knowledge needed to provide effective leadership and program development. Coordinates Handshake and other software or web-based tools for student success. Directs or delegates the maintenance of the internship registration processes. Directs or delegates social media efforts for CP&D. Learns and analyzes trends, regulations, and current events affecting career services.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT. Leads efforts to provide innovative career planning and development to current and prospective students, employers, faculty, staff, and alumni of Drury University. Provides and delegates career planning assistance through appointments with individuals and workshops. Provides and delegates career advising expertise to students and alumni regarding the job-search process, interviewing, resumé and letter writing, and all other facets of career planning. Integrates career development information into Cox Compass Center practices for student success. Assists students in fulfilling the promise of Drury Fusion by making connections between their academic and career opportunities and future professional lives. Administers and interprets assessments including the Focus 2 to help students and alums make connections between skills, interests, and abilities as they prepare for graduate school and the world of work. Has knowledge of social media trends in relation to the job search and networking. Instructs courses that include career development curriculum, as needed.

ASSESSMENT. Leads and evaluates existing Career Planning & Development services and programs. Assesses constituents’ needs and adds new innovative programming as appropriate. Develops and implements long-term strategic plans, short-term operation plans, and determines strategic priorities for enhancing student outcomes. Develops and refines vision, mission, and goals statements and objectives as part of comprehensive assessment plan. Collaborates with Compass Center staff on assessment initiatives.

MARKETING. Develops and executes a comprehensive marketing plan targeting all stakeholders to amplify Career Planning & Development services and their role in student success and Drury’s mission. Represents Drury University to parents and prospective students. Represents office at local and regional recruiting events. Cultivates local, regional, state, and national relationships for the purpose of expanding employment opportunities and resources for students and alumni.

REPORTING. Oversees collection and reporting of internship and first-destination outcomes and other data. Shares outcomes data through annual report and executive summaries with appropriate constituents such as the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

UNIVERSITY SUPPORT. Supports the mission and strategic plan of the university and the Cox Compass Center. Participates in appropriate campus committees. Serves as the primary liaison between potential employers and the university, its students, and alumni on a state, national, and international scale. Closely coordinates communication with deans, department chairs, and other faculty to ensure faculty and administrators are aware of Career Planning & Development’s mission, objectives, policies, and services. Coordinates and grows existing partnerships with Office of University Advancement, Student Government Association, and other Drury units for student success.

Performs other related duties as assigned. Required and Preferred Skills/Abilities: Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communications skills for assisting visitors, students, alumni, staff, faculty, employers, board of trustees, and other university constituents. Ability to represent Drury in a professional manner to students, staff, faculty, alums, prospective students, parents, and outside constituencies. Demonstrated supervisory experience in higher education. Demonstrated commitment to community engagement and service. Previous certification or training in career, personality, and leadership-related inventories and assessments is preferred. Proficient management skills in order to direct department resources, including the ability to use technology tools and software to plan and monitor budgets. Familiarity with Handshake and other innovative web-based tools is preferred. Ability to lead, delegate responsibility to, and supervise staff. Demonstrated ability to collaborate with full-time academic advisors, faculty advisors, administrators, and student affairs colleagues for student success. Demonstrated experience with programming and networking for all student populations that are part of a university community. Demonstrated ability to provide meaningful career counseling and developmental programming for broad range of majors at a comprehensive liberal arts university. Ability to collect raw data and convert it to statistical data for the purpose of conducting assessments, evaluations, and writing reports. Ability to organize effectively, including maintaining a broad knowledge of information about the college and its organizations, characteristics, purposes, and philosophies. Ability to prioritize and perform multiple tasks, provide attention to detail, and concentrate for proofreading work and providing accurate information. Ability to work effectively in a team environment and with a broad range of internal and external constituents including students, student government, employers, alumni, faculty, and staff. Demonstrated ability to innovate, evaluate, and develop new procedures, and implement positive changes for the continued success of students, constituencies, the Cox Compass Center, and Drury University. Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage student situations in accordance with FERPA. Ability to handle stressful situations, dealing effectively with conflicts between students and employers. Willingness to work occasional weekends and evenings to provide programming and/or marketing for special events (e.g., Admissions, Drury Fusion, and Orientation events). Familiarity with CPT/OPT processes and procedures is preferred.

Education and Experience: Master’s Degree in counseling, the liberal arts, education, business, STEM field, student affairs, human resources, or a related field. Must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in career counseling or coaching services, human resources, recruiting, talent development, or relevant experience. PHR, SPRH, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification and previous certification or training in career, personality and leadership-related inventories and assessments preferred.

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate. Supervisory Responsibilities: Supervise up to two full-time staff members as well as one to two student staff members. Physical Requirements: Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer Frequently speak and listen Close vision. Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds occasionally.