Job Description

The Associate Director of Career & Experiential Learning for Consulting Pathways leads the development of strategy and support for students pursuing consulting careers. This role integrates advising, employer engagement, and experiential learning into a highly structured and competitive recruiting environment where students need early preparation, clear milestones, and close support.

The Associate Director serves as the pathway lead for consulting and related professional services careers, helping students navigate accelerated recruiting timelines and build the technical, behavioral, and professional readiness needed for success.

About Career Advancement & Engagement

Career Advancement & Engagement at Vanderbilt University is building a pathway-based career ecosystem that aligns academic experience, experiential learning, and employer engagement to improve student outcomes at scale. Through advising, internships, industry partnerships, and AI-enabled tools, CAE helps students explore, prepare for, and launch into meaningful careers across a broad range of industries. This model expands access to opportunities, strengthens employer relationships, and positions Vanderbilt as a leading source of talent in a rapidly evolving workforce.

Key Functions and Expected Performance

• Pathway Strategy & Leadership
  • Lead the design and execution of the Consulting pathway.
  • Define milestone expectations aligned with consulting recruiting timelines and preparation needs.
  • Serve as the subject matter lead for consulting and professional services careers.
  • Build a clear pathway model that helps students understand expectations and options.
  • Advising & Student Development
  • Provide pathway-specific advising and coaching for consulting candidates.
  • Support students in building resumes, case interview readiness, and professional narratives.
  • Guide students through highly structured recruiting timelines.
  • Help students translate academic, co-curricular, and experiential experiences into competitive outcomes.
• Experiential Learning Integration
  • Connect students to internships, projects, and leadership experiences that strengthen consulting readiness.
  • Support early and repeated engagement in experiential opportunities.
  • Help students use internships and co-curricular experiences to build consulting-relevant competencies.
  • Align experiential learning with milestone progression.
• Employer & Ecosystem Alignment
  • Collaborate with employer relations to deepen consulting employer engagement.
  • Coordinate with alumni, faculty, and student organizations to strengthen consulting pipelines.
  • Support events, networking, and employer-facing programming tied to consulting recruiting.
  • Help maintain consistent student preparation across the pathway.
• Outcomes & Assessment
  • Track student engagement, interview readiness, and placement outcomes.
  • Assess the effectiveness of consulting programming and student preparation efforts.
  • Use data to refine the pathway strategy and improve conversion outcomes.
  • Contribute to reporting on professional services placement results.
    

Supervisory Relationships
This position does have supervisory responsibility, and this position reports administratively and functionally to the Executive Director Consulting Career Pathways, Life Design, and Fellowships.

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree is necessary.
• Master’s degree in business, higher education, student affairs, or a related field is preferred.

Experience and Skills

• 6–8+ years of experience in consulting, higher education, employer relations, student development, recruiting, or related fields is necessary.
• Strong understanding of consulting recruiting timelines and preparation expectations is necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to coach students in highly competitive environments is necessary.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills are necessary.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment is necessary.
• Experience in consulting, professional services recruiting, or related talent development is preferred.
• Familiarity with case interviewing, structured recruiting, and professional services career paths is preferred.
• Experience developing workshops or programming for competitive career pathways is preferred.
• Familiarity with CRM tools, Handshake, or other career management systems is preferred.

At Vanderbilt University , our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice.

We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story.