Department: Law Career Strategy and Advanc
Salary/Grade: EXS/11

Job Summary:

Join us in helping law students launch successful careers.  As the Director in the Career Strategy Center you will be a key player in managing and supporting a team of dedicated professionals committed to student success, as well as play an important part of the student experience by directly advising students as they pursue and secure employment.  

Join a collaborative, creative, and forward-thinking team in supporting and counseling our students and engaging employers and alumni.  Use your and prior experience while leaning into skills that were underutilized in your past roles. We are looking for candidates with diverse viewpoints and experiences to help us:

• Assist in leading and managing a vibrant law school career office.
• Directly and indirectly coach, train, and develop a team of JD advisers and administrative professionals.
• Counsel students and alumni of all backgrounds with empathy and knowledge of the legal market.
• Think strategically regarding communication with all of our partners – students, alumni, employers, other staff, and faculty.
• Educate potential employers on the law school, its students and alumni, and law school programs.
• Manage programming, resources, and professional development efforts for students and our team.
• Lead the office’s efforts in ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion within our office, the services we provide, and the law student recruitment process.

In collaboration with the Assistant Dean, the Director will manage and support the Career Strategy Center’s daily operations, and implement the office’s mission, providing positive and supportive coaching, guidance, and career-related information to Northwestern Law students.  In addition, the Director will maintain and develop strong and beneficial relationships with current and potential employers, as well as other stakeholders.

Specific Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Proactively support, as well as advise on the evolution of, the office’s mission, as outlined by the Assistant Dean, the Associate Dean, and the Dean.
• Recommend strategies and tactics for maintaining Northwestern Law’s position as a leader in the career development, career counseling, and employment arenas.
• Directly lead, coach, train, and develop a staff of five (three JD Advisers, Assistant Director of Employer Relations, and Information Coordinator).  Responsible for all aspects of management, including team and individual development, maintaining appropriate staffing levels, performance management, and rewards.  Establish development plans for all team members for current and future opportunities.
• Develop and communicate standards regularly with staff to ensure excellence in service and responsiveness.  
• Lead the office’s professional development efforts for all staff, including identifying various trainings and needs, planning counselor meetings, and organizing retreats.
• Along with the Assistant Dean, develop and oversee the office’s operating budget, including monthly reconciliations and quarterly projections.
• Assist with the annual reporting of statistics to the ABA, U.S. News, NALP and other rankings surveys, including collaborating with the Assistant Dean to coordinate all statistical reporting and ensure that JD employment statistics are current.  
• Liaise with other law school and University departments.
• Actively participate in NALP, the association for legal career professionals.

Counseling

• Counsel JD students and alumni regarding the range of legal careers, including helping them explore options both within and outside of law.
• Embrace curiosity and engage in continuous learning regarding legal education and the legal marketplace.
• Strategically and proactively assist students in finding satisfying jobs and launching successful careers.
• Train and support other team members on counseling best practices.

Programming & Resources

• Personally and in collaboration with team members, develop effective and topical programs for our JD students.
• Manage and support the team’s development and presentation of new and existing career-oriented educational programs.  
• Develop and manage the implementation of an overarching strategy for the upkeep and evolution of the office’s career planning resources, including online resources.

Employer Outreach and Relationships

• In collaboration with the Assistant Dean, develop, update, and maintain a comprehensive external marketing plan for the office, including marketing materials and online methods.  
• Actively participate in promoting the students and the law school to employers through regular employer visits.  This may include some travel.
• In collaboration with the Assistant Dean, ideate, manage and support recruitment programs.  Nurture the ongoing development and maintenance of relationships with current and potential employers, as well as faculty and alumni, and actively seek to promote Northwestern Law students to these constituencies.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Lead the office’s efforts in developing, maintaining, and revising policies that reinforce, support, and embed diversity, equity, and inclusion within the office, our interactions with students and employers, and within the law student recruitment process.
• Identify growth areas and related potential policy changes, trainings, and/or other pathways to promote change.
• Manage the office’s liaison roles with student affinity groups.
• Support team members in developing and implementing annual personal DEI-related goals.
• Be the main point of contact between the Career Strategy Center and other law school and university departments engaged in DEI work.
• Develop relationships with external DEI professionals, including at legal employers and in the general DEI field.

Minimum Qualifications:

• JD or MBA
• At least 3-5 years legal or business experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of work experience in a career services office, in legal professional development.
• At least 2 years management experience and leading a team.
• Demonstrate and maintain a positive, cooperative and enthusiastic attitude.
• Must be a team player and possess excellent communication and people skills, and a client-focused mindset.
• Demonstrate initiative and a high energy level.
• Strong computer proficiency, specifically with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and general familiarity with databases.
• Knowledge of the range of law careers and legal employers  

Preferred Qualifications:

• JD.
• Two or more years of experience in a law school career services office or in legal professional development.
• Three or more years management experience and leading a team.

Preferred Competencies:

• Familiarity with Symplicity and Flo Recruit (or other online interviewing and networking platforms).

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern requires all staff and faculty to be vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to limited exceptions. For more information, please visit our COVID-19 and Campus Updates website.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.
  

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