Career Coach, College of Engineering

Reporting to the Manager of Student Services this position serves as a member of the student support team for the LSU Olinde Career Center; provides career coaching to College of Engineering students and alumni; empowers students to explore their major and career through understanding themselves, gaining experience to complement their academic careers, and preparing for experiential opportunities, the job search, and graduate school. Works closely with professional staff and faculty to expand a culture of career throughout the College of Engineering.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THIS POSITION INCLUDE:

• Provides guidance, coaching and support to students throughout their career development process; including major/career exploration; experience building; and professional transition.
• Responsible for educating students through one-on-one appointments, presentations, workshops and print/virtual resources
• Serves as an embedded career liaison to the College of Engineering to develop a culture of career readiness within the College, expand experiential learning opportunities and provide targeted resources and programming.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPACT:

Expand a Culture of Career Readiness within Key Departments

We’ve had great success in integrating career readiness into the academic and student experiences in Biological, Mechanical, and Chemical Engineering.  The Career Coach has the opportunity to use that success as a model to build integrations into the curriculum and student experience in Computer Science, Construction Management, and Civil Engineering ensuring that all students within the College of Engineering are career ready by graduation.

Promote and Track Experiential Education Opportunities

The College of Engineering has a strong culture around experiential learning and many students have 2 or 3 internships while in college.  This Career Coach will have the opportunity to explore and try creative methods to track student experiences providing data that will enhance LSU, The College of Engineering and the LSU Olinde Career’s ability to share the success of LSU Engineering students as they journey toward their careers. 

Expand Employer Engagement in the Student Experience

Understanding the world of work is integral to a student’s career preparation, the Career Coach will have the opportunity to develop unique programs to support student learning and connect students with employers from varied industries and companies.

ATTRIBUTES OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE:

• Unequivocally student-centered in every aspect of decision-making. Is student-oriented even when it requires creativity or challenging the status quo.
• Committed to innovation, creativity, and outside-the-box thinking while being dedicated to high-quality work, professionalism, and results. Strives to be better tomorrow than they were yesterday.
• Effective communicator who has a genuine sense of respect and appreciation for the community we serve.
• Skilled project manager who can plan, organize, and coordinate multiple projects simultaneously.
• Active learner who is in constant pursuit of building knowledge from known experts to best meet the needs of students.
• Ability to demonstrate effective customer service skills: kind, helpful, and easy to work with.

ABOUT THE DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS PRIORITIES:

Three priorities guide our work in the Division of Student Affairs. Foremost, we maintain a commitment to quality which is rooted in the belief that LSU students deserve our best effort. Every interaction we have with students should communicate care, relevance, polish, and attention to detail. We work to ensure every space, place, and staff-to-student interaction communicates a sense of home to students. Finally, we design programs, services, events, and experiences with everyone in mind.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Direct Student Support (55%): Advise undergraduate and graduate students, along with alumni, individually on holistic career development topics, providing front-line advocacy and support. Translate department efforts, initiatives, and goals to students through interactions at programs, services, events, and experiences. Serve as the liaison between Engineering students and leadership on the Student Services team.

Academic Integration (30%): Collaborate with senior administrators, department chairs, faculty, and staff in an effort to embed career in all levels of student engagement inside the College of Engineering. Build relationships with student organization leadership to facilitate career conversations inside those organizations. Facilitate connections between employers, and community partners, and College representatives; namely faculty and student organizations.

Quality Control (10%): Ensures every aspect of programmatic outputs including administrative tasks, implementation, and overall design exudes a high degree of quality. Embraces and executes the marginal gains approach and seeks to improve level of all services, events, programs, and experiences in the department for continuous improvement every academic year.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%): Other duties as assigned by the Senior Director and direct supervisor. This includes but is not limited to: efforts that support broad divisional/institutional efforts including at least 40 hours per year spent helping divisional initiatives such as Move-In Day, Welcome Week, Family Weekend, Disability Services Finals Testing, other special projects, etc.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum of one year of professional work experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s Degree in higher education administration, college student development, college student personnel administration, or a closely related field
• Experience working in a university career services office

APPLICATIONS:

Applications will be accepted online on the LSU Careers website. The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue to accept applications and nominations until the position is filled. However, in order to assure the fullest consideration, candidates are encouraged to have complete applications submitted by November 11, 2024. Requested application materials include a letter of interest; curriculum vitae or resume; and the names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least three professional references. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications.  An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.

ADDITIONAL POSITION INFORMATION:

Background Check - An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.

Benefits - LSU offers outstanding benefits to eligible employees and their dependents including health, life, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement options; various leave options; paid holidays; wellness benefits; tuition exemption for qualified positions; training and development opportunities; employee discounts; and more!   

Positions approved to work outside the State of Louisiana shall be employed through Louisiana State University’s partner, nextSource Workforce Solutions, for Employer of Record Services including but not limited to employment, benefits, payroll, and tax compliance. Positions employed through Employer of Record Services will be offered benefits and retirement as applicable through their provider and will not be eligible for State of Louisiana benefits and retirement.

LSU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and SAME Agency: LSU is designated as a State As a Model Employer (SAME) agency and provides assistance to persons needing accommodations or with the accessibility of materials. For those seeking such accommodations or assistance related to this search, we encourage you to contact the Office of Human Resource Management ([email protected]).

HCM Contact Information: For questions or concerns related to updating your application with attachments (e.g., resumes, RS:17 documents), date of birth, or reactivating applications, please contact the LSU Human Resources Management Office at 225-578-8200 or email [email protected].  For questions or concerns regarding the status of your application or salary ranges, please contact the department using the information provided in the Special Instructions section of this job posting.