Posting Details (Default Section)
Posting Number:20254476SPosition Title:Associate Director, Events & OperationsPosition Type:StaffLocation:Villanova, PARecruitment Type:Internal/External ApplicantsWork Schedule:full-time/12-monthsAvg Hours WeekDepartment:323-Career ServicesPosition Summary:
The Associate Director, Events & Operations leads university programs that connect employers, students, alumni, faculty, and staff engaged with on-campus and virtual career and professional development initiatives. This includes high-profile events such as the university career fairs, management of the Career Center’s Employer Engagement Suite, and co-leading strategy for the use of Villanova’s career management platform for all students, employers, and alumni. The Associate Director creates and manages workflows for a variety of procedures involving a broad spectrum of the university community, including the approval and posting of employer jobs and the planning of cross-functional events. The individual in this role will produce and analyze reports of technology utilization, space utilization, recruiting trends and important career engagement data widely cited in reports for university leadership. In the absense of the Director, Operations & Assessment, the Associate Director leads in-office operations of the University Career Center. The Associate Director, Events & Operations will supervise the Events & Operations Specialist and provide early morning and evening coverage of events and programs on occasion during busy recruiting seasons.
Titles of Positions Supervised: Events & Operations Specialist, indirect supervision of Administrative Coordinator and a student intern.
Why work at Villanova?
- Join a mission-driven organization. Since Villanova University’s founding in 1842, we have been inspired by the values of truth, unity, and love, and are a community dedicated to service to others.
- Villanova has been included among the nation’s best colleges and universities. VU’s inclusion again in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 “Best Colleges” rankings is another indication of the University’s continued prominence and forward momentum.
- Villanova’s most precious asset is our people. As an employee, you will receive a holistic benefits package, generous paid time off, a competitive retirement savings plan, flexible work options, wellness programs including gym membership, professional development, tuition assistance, and more.
Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian Order. The University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect and can contribute to the University’s mission and values.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead the administration of university-wide career and professional development events, including the high-profile university career fairs. Collaborate with the Career Center staff, professional development teams, university building and room coordinators, Event Coordinators’ Network and Facilities professionals to ensure student, alumni, and employer experiences on campus and virtually meet or exceed expectations for all programs.
- Manage workflows and processes to enable the smooth planning and execution of all events, including maintaining accurate data used to forecast future needs and trends.
- Provide occasional coverage at events when needed and report back experiences to career and professional development teams for delivery of advising to students and alumni.
- Manage workflows related to immersion trip logistics including planning consultations, contract management, and promotional requests.
- In supervision of the Events & Operations Specialist, oversee the university interviewing program and Employer Engagement Suite as well as employer & job approval process for recruiting at Villanova.
- Use Handshake to accurately post job opportunities, establish unique interview schedules, and advise employers on best practices for recruiting virtually and in person.
- Respond to student inquiries regarding job postings and interview schedules.
- Evaluate the recruiters’ experience and follow through on any requests or recommendations.
- Manage and elevate best practices for the student, employer and staff experience in all aspects of Handshake (Villanova’s current career management platform) by analyzing data, collecting feedback and staying current with updates to the product.
- Manage access and permissions for Handshake users and work with the Director to maintain a clean and organized data environment.
- Working with the Director, Operations & Assessment, advise on matters of Career Center office operations, workflows and processes, including managing a high traffic reception area and balancing staff and student workloads during busy times of the year.
- Through efficient use of project management tools and technology, develop policies, procedures, and workflows for enhanced operations throughout the Career Center.
- Produce reports for university leadership using data analysis tools in collaboration with the Director.
- In the absence of the Director, Operations & Assessment, serve as the leader of the Career Center’s in-office operations and perform other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
Formal Education: (e.g., degree)
- Bachelor’s degree required.
Minimum Work Experience: (type and number of years)
- 5+ years of experience in a related field.
Preferred Qualifications:
Specific Job Knowledge: (e.g., knowledge of principles and procedures related to field and area)
- Ability to organize tasks and workflows to meet the needs of programs
- Ability to work as an individual and among a team
- Understanding of, or interest in, providing customer service to employers and students.
- Understanding of customer relationship management systems
- Understanding and experience with project management tools and workflow development in those tools (AirTable, Asana, Trello, etc)..
- Knowledge of Microsoft Excel for data and reporting tool.
- Experience with student record systems (i.e. Banner) preferred.
Work Skills: (e.g., written and verbal communication skills)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in order to work with high profile employers, students, faculty, and university administrators
- Ability to develop strong workflows, processes and manage long-term projects.
- Demonstrated customer service, event coordination, and programming experience.
- Leads with adaptability, responding to shifting circumstances with resourcefulness and a focus on continuous improvement and impactful results.
- Ability to collaborate cross-functionally in an office environment and to interface with various constituents of the university.
- Experience working with diverse populations.
- Ability to learn new technology. Demonstrated computer aptitude and skills to work in job posting software systems (the Villanova Career Center currently uses Handshake) and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Bookings, Microsoft 365). Experience with designing reports and design software is a plus.
Physical Requirements and/or Unusual Work Hours: Special Message to Applicants:Posting Date:09/29/2025Closing Date (11:59pm ET):Salary Posting Information:
This position falls within salaried grade 15 and the range for this position is $64,000-80,000. The final salary will be determined with consideration of several factors including the selected candidate’s qualifications, department budget availability, market data, and internal equity.
Salary Band:15Job Classification:exempt
