City : Hamilton

Category : Other

Industry : Education

Employer : McMaster University

Unit/Project Description:

As the largest Faculty, with approximately 8000 undergraduate and 700 graduate students and 215+ faculty members, the Faculty of Science is an integral part of McMaster University.

The role of Science Career and Cooperative Education is to ensure McMaster science students are prepared to make informed career choices, enhance their academic knowledge by acquiring the professional competencies employers value, develop career search skills and tools, gain professional experience and an established professional network by graduation.

In partnership with the Faculty of Science Department of Graduate Studies, we have been developing and delivering career programming that is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of science students at the master’s and PhD level for the past few years. Following the 2023 Science Graduate Student Career Needs Assessment, we have been aligning program development with the stated needs of our graduate students and their career interests. 

Working under the guidance of the director Science Career Development and Cooperative Education and the Associate Dean, Science Graduate Studies, in collaboration with students and learning from best practices in the field, the incumbent will design, develop, and implement career programming for science graduate student. Keen to ensure our students enjoy best in class support that sets them up for success, our career programming (grad and undergrad) is in a period of transformation. We continue to work on strategies to add additional service enhancements to support our students.

If this challenge and innovative environment aligns with your expertise and experience, and you are excited by the opportunity to help develop best-in class career programming that sets McMaster science master’s and PhD students up for success, we will welcome your application!

Job Summary:
Responsible for planning, organizing and coordinating comprehensive career development activities and summer employment opportunities. 

Promotes student career development, success and retention, and encourages career achievement by conducting coaching sessions with students dealing with career choice, educational direction and goal progress. Demonstrates a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusivity by ensuring that programming is responsive to the needs of all students.

Purpose and Key Functions:
• Oversee the implementation of the annual career education program that meets the needs of the students and for new program and event development.
• Establish career development program opportunities, including strategic initiatives and new program/ event development.
• Provide resources and programming in a variety of formats. 
• Negotiate and secure contracts with external vendors for workshops, training, and other activities.
• Complete comprehensive analyses of employment statistics for use in various marketing materials and publications.
• Coordinate and conduct on-site visits with students to discuss work objectives and meet with employers to ensure performance expectations are met, and when required, terminate the employment relationship on behalf of the employer.
• Develop and execute the communication strategy for the program.
• Partner with the appropriate stakeholders to develop programming for current and anticipated future needs.
• Evaluate, track and report on the participation, satisfaction and effectiveness of the program offerings through student focus groups, and surveys.
• Provide individual coaching services and guidance in developing self-marketing and branding tools including, but not limited to, job search strategies, resume critiques, preparation of cover letters and personal statements, interview skills, networking, portfolio development, and negotiation skills. 
• Conduct mock interviews by creating specific questions that are relevant to the career path and field of employment students are pursuing, and provide constructive feedback to students.
• Conduct post-work interviews with students to discuss experiences and future goals.
• Write a variety of documents including, but not limited to, general correspondence, reports, training manuals, career and skill development materials, interview tools, correspondence, and workshop plans.
• Create promotional materials to market the program.
• Create, implement and maintain policies and procedures related to the program and career services offered.
• Facilitate career development workshops and courses preparing students for experiential learning programs.
• Plan and coordinate a variety of workshops, seminars and events.
• Gather and review current labour market information and research current trends within professional careers and employment requirements including skill level and comparable salaries offered.
• Invite employers and career experts to post-employment and career networking events.
• Act as a liaison between faculty, staff and students to ensure the timely communication of information and adherence to policies and procedures.
• Participate in meetings with students and student leaders to discuss and provide guidance regarding individual career options.
• Remain current with employment legislation and government mandates, as well as new technological innovations.

Supervision:
• Ongoing responsibility for supervising up to 4 continuing employees.
• Ongoing responsibility for supervising up to 9 casual employees at any one time.

Requirements:
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study.
• Requires 4 years of relevant experience.

Assets:
The following are highly desired:
• A Master’s degree in Education or a related field. 
• Certification in Career Education.
• Previous success in developing career programs in a post-secondary environment.
• Project management experience and/or certification.

Additional Information:

• Designs, develops and implements a comprehensive career education program specifically tailored for Faculty of Science students. Initially this programming will be focused on graduate students and it will be later customized to undergraduates.