Legal Career Center

The Associate Director, Career Services Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives is part of the Career Services team in the Law School at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual contributor responsible for promoting values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within student career advising. The position will report directly to the Assistant Dean, Career Services.

Vanderbilt Law School's Career Services excels in placing well-trained lawyers in public-and private-sector positions at law firms, government offices and organizations throughout the United States. Career Services focuses on working to achieve 100% employment for our students who are in high demand for their outstanding legal training, interpersonal and professional skills. Employers located throughout the United States and abroad advertise positions for experienced attorneys in a database of opportunities that is continuously cultivated, updated and managed by Career Services' staff. This dynamic and collaborative department provides avenues to support students as well as Vanderbilt Law School alumni (who receive indefinite/lifetime support from Career Services). Careers Services works closely with a variety of other stakeholders within the School, like the Office of Public Interest, to provide a range of educational experiences for law students as preparation for legal practice.

Duties and Responsibilities:

General career advising.

• Assists in employer outreach.
• Advise and counsel students concerning employment opportunities and careers.
• Encourages employers to recruit students.
• Conducts individual and group sessions to educate and inform students of services, policies, and procedures and to aid in resume preparation and interviewing techniques.
• Works with School stakeholders to support student career opportunities.
• Serves as liaison between employers and students and coordinates opportunities.

Leads the development and implementation of proactive diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives in support of Career Services objectives.

• Promotes the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout.
• Develops, manages, and implements social responsibility and outreach initiatives including, but not limited to the development of resource groups, affirmative action plans, employer involvement to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• Provides role model openness, empathy, and deep listening to connect in a highly accessible, approachable way with students.
• Acts as liaison with the Law School's Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Community (DEC), Vanderbilt University's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the NALP EDI Section.

Devises a comprehensive planning process that focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion and then infuses those actions into every layer of the career advising process.

• Ensures that all aspects of job performance are inclusive and supportive of diverse and underrepresented student populations, resources, and programming materials.
• Assesses spaces used for career advising to ensure they are conducive for people of differing abilities.
• Identifies ways to build competencies among staff, and plans and coordinates training in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Participates in NALP diversity initiatives and attends the annual NALP Diversity Summit.

Tracks outcomes to increase advocacy.

• Collects data to determine if underrepresented student populations are using career services and assesses usage of services.
• Identifies a baseline and tracks trends diversity as related to post-graduation employment outcomes.

Supervisory Relationships:

• This position does not have any supervisory responsibility. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Dean, Career Services.

Qualifications

• A law degree or equivalent is preferred .
• A minimum of 3 years of experience navigating issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in a professional setting is preferred .
• Prior experience working in higher education or related field is preferred , including collaborative initiatives in personal development/coaching and creating educational programming.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.