Advisor, Co-op & Career Education

Overview

This position will be posted until filled

Working in support of an assigned portfolio of programs and faculties, and collaborating closely with Deans, Program Chairs, Faculty and other internal and external partners, the Advisor, Co-op & Career Education provides student-centred co-op program administration and career advising and leads a variety of extra-curricular career education initiatives in support of career outcomes for Lakehead students and graduates.

Responsibilities

Career Education, Co-op & Career Advising (40%):

• Organizing, designing and delivering career exploration and skill-building events, course content, workshops and other programming for students, alumni, and partners in the Career Zone, in classrooms, online and/or in other student-facing locations on campus.

• Applying high impact student-engagement and advising practices in career education and co-operative education, as these are defined by Co-operative Education and Work-Integration Canada (CEWIL) and other relevant professional associations within the Work-Integrated-Learning and Career Development Practitioner ecosystems for an assigned portfolio of program, supporting student centred services and upholding the overall integrity of the program.

• Communicating proactively with students and faculty concerning student eligibility for co-op and provide guidance, options, and alternatives as needed to uphold program integrity while supporting the students to achieve their career goals.

• Acting as a career development and employment coach, advising individual undergraduate and graduate co-op students in skills required for success in the co-op program and/or in their non-co-op job search, including but not limited to resume and cover letter writing, labour market trends, essential employability skills, interview techniques, and workplace etiquette.

• Monitoring students’ progress and providing strengths-based intervention when students encounter difficulties, provide appropriate referral to other support services and faculty to ensure students receive support for their needs

Administration & Coordination for assigned portfolio of Co-op Programs (35%): As the primary co-op program administrator for an assigned portfolio of co-op programs, deliver a number of core responsibilities including:

• Interpreting policies and academic procedures, as well as writing, developing and maintaining processes related to a complex, multi-part co-operative education program

• Help to onboard new staff and faculty who support co-op students, providing regular training regarding processes and policies involved in co-operative education.

• Maintaining awareness of labour market trends, employment laws and standards, immigration and travel regulations, government employment programs, wage subsidies and talent retention strategies as these relate to co-operative education.

• As part of a team of subject matter experts for co-operative education at Lakehead, ensure broad awareness about the co-op program amongst future and current students, employers, faculty and staff, leveraging public speaking, creating and disseminating marketing and communications tactics, and relationship building across faculty and staff teams at the University.

• Accountable for tracking and maintaining co-op program data, and providing regular reports and analysis regarding the co-op program in order to inform enrolment plans regarding co-operative education at Lakehead
• Use enterprise CRM tools to maintain accurate and confidential records for individual appointments and meetings with student and partner interactions.

Internal and External Partner Relationship Management and Communication (15%)

• Collaborating with colleagues in Employer Relationship & Industry Relations roles, facilitate employer onboarding meetings to promote of the co-op program and Lakehead’s role within the community, work to proactively develop employment opportunities for students engaged in co-op and ensure employment leads for all forms of employment are effectively delegated to the appropriate member of the team or University community.

• Attending community events associated with assigned portfolio as a representative of Lakehead University, promoting the role of the University and of co-operative education in local workforce development, talent retention and economic development

• Working with colleagues as necessary, develop and implement a comprehensive marketing and business development strategy to grow the number of co-op employer partners, promote the co-op program, and articulate the benefits of co-op for employers and the community

• Gather feedback from employer partners with respect to student readiness for the workplace, and provide recommendations to the Director, Deans and Program Chairs if/as needed.

• Prepare regular reports to share information with Lakehead University colleagues about student readiness to engage with employers, to inform and support the overall institutional strategy with respect to employer relations

• Collaborate when required with internal teams engaged in creation of complex community partnerships to support strategic goals of the University

Records, database Maintenance (5%)

• Maintaining a high degree of technical facility as an administrator of portfolio-related elements of the co-op module within the Career Services & Co-op department’s CRM/database.

• For assigned portfolio, ensure the accuracy of student and employer partner records and regularly update records in the CRM with precise information / details on individual records

• Providing the Director, Manager, Deans, and other internal colleagues with precise and accurate reports about co-op students and employer partners

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Qualifications

Knowledge

• Post-secondary degree or in education, adult education, higher education and leadership, human resources or a field related to the duties of the position, or an equivalent combination of education and industry-based work experience

• 3+ years experience in career development, employment counselling, adult education, post-secondary student affairs or other directly transferable work environment

• Demonstrated and highly developed skills as a facilitator / educator, with ability to adjust mode of communication for required audiences and environments, familiarity with best practices in career education, and comfortable with educational platforms such as D2L.

• Exceptional customer service skills, solutions-oriented approach and genuine desire to contribute to the success of students, graduates, and community partners.

• Advanced knowledge of career development theory and practice, leadership and student advising within higher education, knowledge of work-integrated-learning definitions and best practices

• Familiarity with Canadian Association for Co-operative Education accreditation process and CEWIL professional standards as they apply to co-operative education

• Understanding of IRCC regulations concerning international students seeking to work in Canada

• Advanced knowledge of labour market trends, Canadian Labour Code, Employment Standards and related requirements and regulations related to industries connected to co-op programs, employment-related provincial and federal agencies and regulatory bodies associated with co-operative education programs

• Ability to speak with credibility when discussing potential career paths, understand and articulate connections between program outcomes and career options.

• Prior experience working with confidential information when navigating services for clients and working in relationship databases such as Orbis, Slate, Salesforce, Colleague, or similar.

• Excellent time management and organizational skills, with ability to move multiple projects forward simultaneously

• Knowledge of risk management and conflict resolution strategies

• Experienced with standard computer software (word processing, data management, calendars etc.) and presentation software

• Understanding of equity issues within the WIL landscape, knowledge of high impact practices for equity-deserving and underrepresented students within the student body

• Understanding of Lakehead University academic policies, regulations and programs

• Knowledge of start-up business best practices, local and Canada resources and funding opportunities for businesses seeking to attract early talent

• Ability to work outside of regular business hours when required

Skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Ability to maintain a high degree of accuracy and consistency while interpreting university policy, implementing procedures, responding to competing demands from students, employers, and faculty and communicating appropriate responses when resolving complex student cases

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills

• Relationship builder, ability to collaborate with diverse internal and external partners

• Sound judgement, ability to make near term decisions while anticipating potential long-range impact and maintaining progress toward long term vision

• Project coordination, ability to work under pressure while planning and adhering to operational deadlines, highly developed time management ability

• Conflict resolution, diplomacy and tact, capable of engaging in difficult conversations

• Curriculum design (training staff on procedures, facilitating co-op prep course for students)

• Active listener

• Strong computer skills, ability to work with and meaningfully interpret datasets, write reports using data from co-op database

• Marketing and communications (student and employer outreach, promotion), social media skills

• Supervision experience

Additional Assets

• CDP, TATA certificate, Masters in Curriculum Development or other designation typically associated with career development professionals or adult educators
• Previous experience working in higher education or similarly client-focused publicly funded organization

Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. This is in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements.

Lakehead University has a goal to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as measured by increasing representation of underrepresented groups among applicants, candidates, and hires. Experience working with Indigenous or racialized communities, and/or members of other equity-deserving groups, is a strong asset. A lived experience or worked experience of any of these issues is preferred.

We appreciate your interest; Lakehead University is committed to supporting an accessible environment. Applicants requiring accommodation during the interview process should contact the Office of Human Resources at (807) 343-8010 ext. 8334 or [email protected] to make appropriate arrangements.