Director of Career Services
A Director of Career Services leads the department that connects students, graduates, and alumni to employment, building employer partnerships and owning placement outcomes and compliance. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does a Director of Career Services do?
A Director of Career Services leads the planning, development, and administration of the career assistance programs that help students, graduates, and alumni reach their employment goals. The role builds and nurtures employer partnerships, designs strategies to support graduating students, oversees the department’s operations and staff, and ensures the school meets government, accreditation, and regulatory standards for student outcomes.
It is a leadership role within the higher education sector, common at career colleges and trade schools where placement is central to the mission.
A Director of Career Services is the leader of a school’s career services department, accountable for student and graduate placement outcomes, employer partnerships, and compliance with accreditation and regulatory reporting. The role combines program strategy, employer development, team leadership, and data-driven outcome management.
What does the Director own?
Key responsibilities of a Director of Career Services
- Plan, develop, and administer comprehensive career assistance programs for students, graduates, and alumni.
- Create and implement innovative strategies that support graduating students in reaching their career goals.
- Identify challenges, formulate solutions, and coordinate with the right personnel to implement them.
- Establish and nurture effective relationships with industry partners and employers to secure employment opportunities.
- Connect students and graduates to interviews, jobs, and ongoing employer demand.
- Track and verify graduate employment and compile placement data for reporting.
- Oversee the operations of the career services office, including planning, organization, and supervision of activities.
- Supervise staff, including assigning work, appraising performance, coaching, hiring, training, and resolving workplace issues.
- Ensure adherence to government, accreditation, and regulatory standards, and compile and submit required reports.
What qualifications does a Director of Career Services need?
- Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university.
- Minimum of two years of relevant experience, with ten years preferred.
- Background in career services, employer relations, workforce development, or higher education operations is valued.
- Strong leadership, delegation, and team-development skills, with sound, timely decision making.
- Excellent verbal and written communication, listening, and conflict resolution.
- Customer focus, organization, and the ability to prioritize, set objectives, and manage time.
Why is the Director of Career Services role important?
Career services is where a school’s promise of employability is delivered. Strong placement outcomes drive student return on investment, enrollment, and accreditation standing, which makes the Director central to the institution’s mission and reputation.
Because the role sits between students and employers while answering to accreditors, the strongest directors build genuine employer demand and keep placement data audit-ready at the same time. At career and trade schools, reported placement rates can directly affect the school’s ability to operate.
A hiring note from Excelon
The best career services directors are equal parts relationship builder and compliance operator, since employer pipelines and clean placement reporting both have to hold up. Through our higher education practice, we look for leaders who can grow employer partnerships and defend the placement numbers to an accreditor with equal confidence.
The strongest directors build genuine employer demand and keep placement data audit-ready at the same time.
Related sample job descriptions
Frequently asked questions
What does a Director of Career Services do?
A Director of Career Services leads the career services department at a college or career school, developing programs that help students, graduates, and alumni find employment, building employer partnerships, overseeing placement outcomes and compliance, and managing the career services team.
What qualifications does a Director of Career Services need?
This sample role requires a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university and a minimum of two years of relevant experience, with ten years preferred, along with leadership, communication, and employer-relations skills.
What is the difference between a Director and a Manager of Career Services?
A Manager of Career Services typically supports students and graduates with day-to-day placement and coaching, while a Director leads the department overall, sets strategy, owns employer partnerships and compliance, and supervises the career services staff.
Why do career schools track placement rates?
Placement rates are a core accountability measure for career and trade schools. Accreditors such as ACCSC require schools to track and report graduate employment, so the Director of Career Services manages the data and processes that keep the school in compliance.
Why is the Director of Career Services role important?
Career services is where a school’s promise of employability is delivered. Strong placement outcomes drive student return on investment, enrollment, and accreditation standing, which makes the Director central to the institution’s mission and reputation.
Hiring a Director of Career Services?
Excelon Associates recruits career services leaders, student services directors, and campus leadership for colleges, universities, and career and trade schools across the United States through our higher education recruitment practice. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC, with offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL.
More Sample Job Descriptions
Templates you can adapt for your own roles.