Associate Director, Sustainability Career Advising

About the role

The Sustainability Career Advising position serves as a trusted career advisor to students and recent alumni interested in sustainability, building strong relationships and partnering with them throughout their career journey. This role also manages and contributes to the development and execution of a global employer outreach strategy to build a strong careers-in-sustainability ecosystem by cultivating relationships with alumni and external organizations, and coordinating communications to expand internship and employment opportunities for students and alumni.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted career advisor to students and recent alumni interested in sustainability, building strong relationships and partnering with them throughout their career journey.
• Manage and contribute to the development and execution of a global employer outreach strategy to build a strong careers-in-sustainability ecosystem by cultivating relationships with alumni and external organizations, and coordinating communications to expand internship and employment opportunities for students and alumni.
• Cultivate students' relationship with the alumni network throughout their career journey, encouraging them to become a future source of mentorship and support for current students.
• Work closely with the Career Studio’s Talent Partners to co-develop insights into market trends and employer needs and expectations.
• Share insight with students through advising and career education.
• Develop and nurture relationships with Stanford’s sustainability-related network of faculty, staff, institutes and research centers to connect students with available resources and to align and leverage efforts.
• Design and deliver high-impact in-person and virtual career programs for students and alumni, including operational oversight of programs such as, Peer Coaching and Alumni Career Expert programs.
• Deliver career education programming to facilitate self-reflection and self-awareness, provide exposure to sector/function career pathways, and build the practical skills to search effectively — positioning, job-search strategy, market insight, interview prep, and networking and communication.
• Evaluate outcomes and operations, identify gaps, and implement updates to programs, policies, and processes.
• Work closely with student clubs and alumni groups supporting them with career education, networking opportunities and employer events.
• Maintain a finger-on-the-pulse on student interests, sentiment and priorities.
• Develop and maintain content related to job search competencies (e.g. networking) and select career pathways to help students explore industries, job functions and organizational types relevant to assigned sustainability solution areas.
• This includes career guides, presentations, and online content.
• Work in collaboration with Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s academic departments and programs to integrate career development into existing student programming.
• Collaborate with Stanford CareerEd in the development and delivery of career education.
• Collect, manage and analyze student, employer and alumni data to understand career needs, optimize engagement, define career pathways and identify career service gaps and opportunities.
• Contribute to the development of the Sustainability Career Studio brand identity - its purpose, perception, personality, position, and promotion.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a sustainability field or related field
• Passion for taking care of the planet and life on it
• Eight or more (8+) years of progressive professional experience with impact in sustainability
• Co-Active or similar coach training or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of career development resources, including self-assessment, networking, resumes, cover letters, interviews, offer evaluation, and negotiation strongly preferred
• Experience with and/or knowledge of sustainability-related job functions relevant for our student population
• Exceptional interpersonal and verbal communication skills, including confidence in engaging with students, alumni and external and internal stakeholders
• Entrepreneurial mindset, with demonstrated ability to take initiative and ownership across a broad range of projects
• Demonstrated expertise in career management ideally within a higher education setting
• Exceptional presentation skills, including both development of high quality visual presentations and verbal presentation and facilitation skills
• High level of attention to detail and follow-through with the ability to multitask, meet deadlines, and work successfully in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate, up-to-date relationship management records
• Experience with data analysis, reporting, and survey tools to develop insights
• Ability to own projects from start-to-finish, defining and executing new or improved business processes
• Ability to manage differing interests of stakeholders and foster collaborative relationships
• Embrace of innovation and creativity: Experiment with new ways of thinking about how to best connect talent with opportunity and serve our students’ career needs
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to contribute to a team culture of psychological safety, collaboration, commitment to excellence and fun