Employer Relations Specialist

A cover letter must be included with your application to be considered for this position.

The Employer Relations Specialist is responsible for raising the profile, number, and quality of full-time and internship opportunities for undergraduate students at Vanderbilt University. They will focus on developing and maintaining successful relationships with employers, organizations, alumni, parents, and friends of the university. The Employer Relations Specialist is expected to remain current with the employment marketplace, including trends, research, and best practices within the employment community and student populations. Employer Relations Specialists are assigned to manage connections with specific industries based on their experience and interests.

Launched in fall 2021 under the leadership of the new Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement & Executive Director of the Evans Family Career Center, the Office of Career Advancement and Engagement (CAE), centrally supported within the Provost’s Office, drives radical campus-wide collaboration by integrating career advancement activities into the broader VU student experience. 

The CAE division comprises three key areas: 

• Career Center - serves undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars while continuing to support career and professional coaching of recent graduates (0-2 years) after graduation.
• Corporate Partnerships – fosters enhanced employer and alumni engagement and facilitates high-impact corporate partnerships.
• VU Network – oversees a network of regional hubs that promote activity and engagement with Vanderbilt’s growing community of students, alumni, parents, faculty, and partnership corporations.

The CAE office offers enhanced career advancement services to connect the wide variety of academic programs and experiences to student career development. In addition, the office reimagines the link between corporate relations and corporate partnerships to generate greater career opportunities and outcomes for students and alumni. Further, the CAE office has laid the groundwork for the VU Network Hub, a national engagement program that identifies and stands-up regional hubs to facilitate activity and community interaction for Vanderbilt students, alumni, parents, faculty, and partnership corporations. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Employer Relationship Maintenance & Recruiting Activity Management:

• Communicate frequently with employers within assigned industry areas regarding information including but not limited to trends, recruiting plans, follow-up from semester activity, interest in engagement with employers, different types of available opportunities, notification of programming.
• Provide recommendations and collaboratively create recruiting plans specific to employers’ recruitment needs. 
• Serve as a consistent point of contact for organization’s human resources and recruitment teams, as well as Alumni members.
• Manage ongoing activities of the Employer Relations program including hosting on-campus recruiters, coordinating career fairs, information sessions, niche recruiting events, and other recruiting-related activities.
• Enhance the employer hosting program ensuring employers a high-quality experience while visiting the Career Center.
• Occasional weekend and evening hours are required.

Employer and Opportunity Outreach and Sourcing:

• Constantly research various sources to find potential new contacts and internship and post-grad opportunities.
• Network and connect with potential employers, internship sites, alumni, and other contacts to increase student employment opportunities.
• Conduct employer development activities (on-site visits) with targeted organizations and industries to raise the profile, number, and quality of jobs for students.

Industry Expertise:

• Co-lead Vandy in Career Communities with a Career Coach.
• Work with the Student and Scholar Engagement team to develop appropriate programming, services, and guidelines to ensure that students who participate in recruiting programs are well-prepared for the job search process.
• Serve as an “industry expert” and provide related programming to students. 
• Coordinate/facilitate programs, presentations & workshops to enhance and increase the visibility of students to employers and vice versa.
• Manage communication to students with an interest in specific industry areas.
• Compile data and write reports focusing on employment trends and opportunities within specialized areas and supply information and resources to students and the coaching team.

Reporting & Data:

• Using an enterprise CRM, maintain ongoing statistics and generate regular reports analyzing the metrics aligning with the Career Center’s employer relations and external partner engagement strategy.
• Collect, maintain, and present recruiting and placement-related data as needed, including conducting need and satisfaction surveys among students and employers.
• Utilize the recruitment support software strategically to determine employers’ engagement level and trends amongst employers within assigned industries.

Develop & Strengthen University Relationships:

• Collaborate closely with the Corporate Partnerships Team to develop and maintain strong relationships with institutional corporate partners, ensuring alignment of career center initiatives with corporate needs and goals.
• Partner with key University offices, including but not limited to, the Athletics; Development and Alumni Relations; and academic departments, to strengthen alumni engagement opportunities for all students.
• Consult with the Student and Scholar Engagement team to develop appropriate programming, services, and guidelines for ensuring that students participating in recruiting programs are well-prepared. 
• Represent the department on committees and initiatives as delegated by leadership. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of two years of experience in recruiting, admissions, human resources, external or corporate relations, sales, or related fields is necessary.
• Master's degree and a minimum of one year of experience in recruiting, admissions, human resources, external or corporate relations, sales, or related fields is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience sourcing networks and securing new clients.
• Demonstrated experience in effectively building and managing professional partnerships.
• Understanding of the college recruiting process and experience working with college students.
• Demonstrated skills in program and event management, including assessment of programs and services.
• Excellent communications skills both through presentations and in writing.
• Strong administrative, organizational, and problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Strong initiative, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of records and information.
• Ability to work evening hours and a flexible schedule as needed, especially around events.
• Familiarity with the Handshake platform and functionality or similar platforms.
• Skills with social media platforms/functions.