Senior Director of Career Academic Integration

About this role

Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY). The team at RFCUNY is made up of dedicated, talented professionals committed to providing the services that allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries. We are pleased that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join RFCUNY.

Primary Location: OFFICE OF SR. UNIV DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Bargaining Unit: No

The CUNY Office of Careers & Industry Partnerships (OCIP) advances this mission by strengthening career outcomes for students and supporting equitable growth for employers through CUNY talent. Guided by the CUNY Lifting NY strategic plan, which includes bold 2030 undergraduate career success goals, OCIP prioritizes embedding career development into academic pathways, scaling tools and models with demonstrated impact on graduate career success – including paid internship participation. A key initiative is CUNY Beyond , which aims to ensure all undergraduate students can explore career options early, build relevant skills, gain applied experience through paid work-based learning integrated into degree programs, and successfully connect to employers. Reporting to the Vice Chancellor of Career Engagement & Industry Partnerships, the Senior Director for Career & Academic Integration will play a significant leadership role in this effort, overseeing key pillars including career exposure and exploration, integrated advising, and career-connected learning.

Roles and Responsibilities: Leadership • Lead CUNY’s career and academic integration workstream, offering university-wide strategy, policy, and implementation support to 26 campuses and CUNY offices to meet bold 2030 goals.

• Advise the Vice Chancellor and CUNY leadership team on career/academic integration.

• Oversee critical workstreams of CUNY Beyond, the university’s nation-leading holistic initiative to integrate career connections across all undergraduate students’ academic pathway. 

• Lead a team of professionals, faculty fellows, and vendors towards implementation of critical initiatives and strategic performance goals, while advancing a culture of collaboration and support, and encouraging professional development and growth.

Executing Transformation at Scale • Lead implementation of three of CUNY Beyond’s focal areas: Career Exploration and Exposure, Integrated Academic and Career Advising, and Career-Connected Learning in collaboration with faculty, staff, CUNY undergraduate campus leadership, system offices and external partners.

• Within nine current campuses (growing to 18 undergraduate campuses by 2030), support the scaling of proven practices and tools across all degree pathways, ensuring continuity of career-connections regardless of student major.

• Manage campus stakeholders towards achievement of major milestones and deliverables within the CUNY Beyond roadmap and identify/pursue any additional needs that may be required.

Partnership Building  • Deepen engagement and shared action with campus leaders to build sustained and comprehensive career success ecosystems.

• Collaborate with other Central offices – including the Office of Transformation, Academic and Faculty Affairs, and operational offices - to define shared visions and join forces on execution.

• Engage national experts, philanthropic and employer partners, policymakers, students, alumni, and other critical stakeholders to advance the goals of career connected learning/CUNY Beyond, including by building and supporting funding collaborations.

Data-Driven Decision-making, Learning Strategy, & Continuous Improvement • Support the development, utilization, and evolution of CUNY’s systems for measuring impact and data-informed decision-making (e.x. contributing to critical metrics collection/monitoring).

• On a regular basis, monitor and analyze critical operations and impact data to inform stakeholders and drive continuous improvement in CUNY Beyond delivery and campus support.

• Institutionalize ongoing learning by creating expectations, dedicated time, and accountability among the team and key partners to review progress, ask questions, research and surface recommendations.

Knowledge Sharing & Communication • Serve as a local and national thought leader on career and academic integration.

• Codify learning and document processes to share knowledge and facilitate replication.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications: • A commitment to CUNY’s mission and focus on boosting economic outcomes of New Yorkers

• Demonstrated experience working in/with higher education, including engaging with faculty

• A track record of working with many different constituents to synthesize strengths and together achieve a common goal

• An entrepreneurial spirit that delights in the opportunity to innovate on existing practices and develop new policies

• Demonstrated experience effectively leading a team towards clear deliverables while fostering a culture of support and growth

• Comfort and fluency with data collection, analysis, and representation of key trends for decisionmakers

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills

• Proficiency in AI tools for basic productivity, Excel and other Microsoft Office Suite applications

• Bachelor's degree required.

Preferred qualifications: • 7 or more years of related professional experience in an academic, public policy, industry partnerships or related environment.

• Knowledge of curriculum development and faculty experience, practices, incentives, & barriers.

• Demonstrated commitment to the career success of students as shown by previous experience working to promote the preparation of graduates for career attainment and advancement.

• Previous experience working with employers to ensure alignment with industry needs

• Ability to think beyond current systems and constraints to establish ne

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