University of San Diego

Position Title & Department:

Assistant Dean, Law School Career Services; School of Law Posting #

4717

Department Description:

USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school's faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks in the top 20% (36th out of 204) among U.S. law schools in scholarly impact according to a 2018 study. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.

University Description:

The University of San Diego, a contemporary and engaged Roman Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity’s urgent challenges.

Detailed Description:

USD Law is committed to ensuring students are supported as they secure post-graduation employment. The Assistant Dean, Law School Career Services & Professional Development, will provide leadership, strategic direction and identify/facilitate innovative strategies as they work closely with students and employers to develop productive relationships that lead to compelling career opportunities that meet the individual needs and interests of the law school student population.

As a member of the dean’s management team, the Assistant Dean will contribute to the school’s overall strategic planning process, participate in problem-solving and decision-making, and provide input on student recruiting, effective use of law school resources and marketing. As a senior advisor and thought partner to the Dean, this position will have ultimate responsibility for all employment-related areas for our students and recent graduates. A key focus will be expanding and diversifying our portfolio of hiring relationships within the legal community, as well as corporate, public sector and NGO organizations.

This position is an opportunity to design and implement new and creative advising strategies and dynamic programs for students, alumni, faculty, employers and the legal community. The Assistant Dean will manage a wide range of recruiting programs and employer outreach events on and off campus. This will include oversight of the department’s data collection, statistical analysis and reporting for internal and external audiences, in support of USD Law’s ranking and student recruiting efforts.

The Assistant Dean is a high-profile position, representing USD Law for important external constituencies including local, regional and national legal communities, prospective students, potential employers, alumni and the public. This will include developing and implementing targeted outreach and engagement strategies to facilitate quality employment opportunities for graduates of USD Law.

Strategic priorities for this position include:

• Ensure the Career Services team is fully staffed and supported by a positive culture that is highly inclusive, creative and high performing.
• Conduct an in-depth assessment of current strategies, processes and procedures; present the Dean with findings and recommendations.
• Formulate and execute innovative strategies for supporting the unique career planning needs of each USD Law student.
• Leverage current relationships, and build new ones, with hiring managers at major businesses, law firms and NGOs across Southern California and specifically in San Diego.

Duties and Responsibilities:

External Relationship Development and Stewardship:

• Develop and steward relationships with hiring managers at large and boutique law firms, corporations, government agencies, and other potential employers to cultivate expanded legal employment opportunities.
• Attend relevant community events, on a local, regional and national basis.
• Respond to employer hiring enquiries, connecting them with qualified USD Law students, recent graduates and alumni; assist our candidates to prepare for the application and interview process.
• Serve as liaison to various groups including (NALP) National Association for Law Placement, the (ABA) American Bar Association, (AALS) Association of American Law Schools, employers, recruiters, bar associations, and national law placement consortia; serve on career-related committees.
• Work with all accredited Southern California law career services offices to develop cooperative programs, job fairs, and conferences.
• Attend regional and national conferences, programs, and panels to keep current on issues related to legal employment; develop presentations and moderate panels.
• Obtain, evaluate, and synthesize information about legal employers and employment opportunities nationwide.

Career and Professional Development Program development/facilitation:

• In consultation with the Dean, refresh and rethink career services policies and procedures.
• Design and implement innovative and effective career advising and programming to law students and graduate law students, as well as alumni of the school.
• Collaborate with various law school constituencies, including students and student leaders, deans, External Relations, JD Student Affairs, Office of Graduate and International Programs and faculty.
• Oversee all aspects of fall, spring and offsite recruiting programs including coordination of interviews and resume collections. Recruit and retain employers for these events.
• Meet with students and alumni, extensively review and revise application materials and conduct mock interviews with students in anticipation of interviews.
• Launch an extensive series of workshops, conferences, programs, and panels to assist students and alumni with career planning and job development skills.
• Develop and maintain an online Career & Professional Development resource library for students with comprehensive information around employment and areas of practice.

Data Reporting and Statistical Analytics:

• Oversee employment data tracking, collection, reporting and, where relevant, publication, under complex and multiple reporting regimes (ABA, NALP, US News).
• Collect and track self-reported data from graduates.
• Review requirements of each reporting regime annually to ensure compliance with updated standards.

Administration, Management and Supervision:

• Lead daily operations for the Career & Professional Development Office, serving a student body of approximately 735+ law students and graduate law students and an alumni base of approximately 14,000.
• Coach, manage and support Career Center staff; structure roles and responsibilities in response to market needs.
• Manage office budget and monitor all expenditures.

Special Conditions of Employment:

Effective June 1, 2023, based on CDC guidance, the University strongly encourages all campus members to stay up to date with Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination recommendations. For more regarding information USD's COVID-19 protocols, please visit sandiego.edu/onward.

Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes. 

Job Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Graduate degree required; JD highly preferred.
• 5+ years of professional experience at the managerial level within the legal profession, education administration, development/advancement, talent acquisition, or a related field.
• Solid understanding of hiring and employment related issues within a professional setting such as law, business or other field, including both the student/graduate and employer perspectives.
• Knowledge of legal career employment opportunities and local, regional and national job markets.
• Ability to relate with a diverse array of stakeholders.
• Ability to collect, report and analyze relevant statistical data and to identify and analyze trends.

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Leadership Attributes:

USD Law’s Career Services Department is dedicated to supporting the individual career needs of each student. The Assistant Dean must be a relationship-driven leader who shares our student-first approach and commitment to ensuring that all students secure meaningful employment post-graduation. Other specific qualities required for this position include:

• Authentic: honest and genuine; sets clear expectations; appreciates and employs direct communication; highly trustworthy.
• Visionary: an ideas person who is inquisitive by nature and always learning; someone who can envision the future and devise a path to get there.
• Entrepreneurial: a creative and innovative leader who is open to taking calculated risks to advance organizational goals and achieve performance breakthroughs.
• Communicative: always employs strong written and oral communication skills; ability to communicate the importance and value of both equity and learning and development.
• Approachable: a team player who works hard to ensure they are present and available to their staff; charismatic, warm, and welcoming; a true “people-person.”
• Reflective: a skilled listener who is effective at giving and receiving feedback and critique.
• Tactful: patient and diplomatic; highly skilled at identifying and activating connections and relationships to help the organization reach its goals.
• Confident: comfortable and effective working with a diverse array of stakeholders including students, faculty, and senior executives; not afraid of having the difficult conversations.
• Transparent: a collaborative leader who empowers others through the sharing of information and uses an open and inclusive decision-making style.
• Analytical: uses well-researched ideas and other data points to support their strategies and business plans; ability to carefully study issues, identify trends and formulate new ideas.
• Proactive: a self-starter who demonstrates strong personal initiative and the ability to drive projects through to completion; demonstrates exceptional follow-up in everything they do.
• Adaptive: ability to manage multiple (and sometimes conflicting) priorities, projects, and deliverables; enjoys working both independently and in teams.

Posting Salary:

$8,333-$13,667; Excellent Benefits

The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including; medical, dental, vision, a retirement contribution given to you by the University, and access to on-campus Fitness Centers. Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer. USD: Human Resources: Benefits

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Special Application Instructions:

Resume Required, Cover Letter Preferred

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application and, for full consideration, please upload a resume to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review. You are also strongly recommended to upload a cover letter to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

Additional Details:

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Closing date: Open until filled 

Note: External job postings will be up for at least five days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.

The University of San Diego is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the campus community.

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.

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