Director External Relations Jobs in Oregon (NOW HIRING)

Career Development Center

Starting salary will be commensurate with skills, education, and experience.

For additional information please contact: Bruce Douglas Bruce.douglas@oregonstate.edu

The Career Development Center is seeking an Executive Director of Career Development. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, professional faculty position. The Executive Director of Career Development provides university-wide leadership for career development at Oregon State University, advancing a comprehensive, coordinated and student-centered career ecosystem that serves undergraduate and graduate students across Corvallis, OSU-Cascades in Bend, and Ecampus. The Executive Director leads the strategy, programs, partnerships, operations and assessment efforts that help students explore purpose, build career readiness and advancement, connect academic learning to future pathways, engage with employers and alumni, and transition successfully to meaningful work, graduate education, service, entrepreneurship and other post-graduation opportunities. This position is responsible for building upon Oregon State University’s ecosystem of career development and the vision of Beyond OSU: a university-wide commitment to integrating career development across the student experience so that every student has access to timely, relevant and inclusive career learning, experiences and connections. The Executive Director works collaboratively across the institution, including academic colleges, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, OSU-Cascades, Ecampus, graduate education, advising, experiential learning, alumni engagement, employer relations, industry partnerships, student employment/University Human Resources, faculty and staff networks, and other university partners to strengthen career readiness as a shared institutional priority. The Executive Director provides strategic leadership for the Career Development Center and related career development initiatives, including career education, career integration, employer and alumni engagement, experiential learning, technology, data, assessment, staff development, resource stewardship, and university-wide partnerships. This role develops and evaluates short- and long-range plans, sets standards for high-quality and equitable career development practices, and leads efforts to ensure that career development is intentionally embedded within curricular and co-curricular experiences for students across modalities, campuses and academic levels. The Executive Director reports to the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and serves as a member of the Associate Vice President’s leadership team. In this capacity, the Executive Director contributes to Student Affairs priorities, collaborates with peer leaders across the division, and helps align career development strategy with broader divisional and university goals for student success, engagement, belonging, well-being and post-graduation outcomes.

• Strategic Leadership, Vision and Management


• University Engagement, Career Integration and Student Experience


• External Relations, Employer Engagement and Workforce Partnerships


• Assessment, Data and Continuous Improvement


• Student Affairs and Institutional Leadership

• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, education, business, human resources, organizational leadership, career development or a related field.


• Four years progressively responsible leadership experience in career development, student affairs, higher education administration, workforce development, employer relations, experiential learning, academic/student success programming or a related field.


• Experience leading strategic planning, program development, implementation and assessment for complex programs or services.


• Three years supervisory experience, including hiring, training, coaching, performance management and supporting professional development of staff.


• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain collaborative partnerships across a complex organization, including with faculty, staff, administrators, students and external stakeholders.


• A commitment to promoting and enhancing inclusive excellence.


• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders, campus partners, employers, alumni, students and community stakeholders.


• Demonstrated experience in building partnerships and relationships with stakeholders, including ability to navigate conflict and find solutions to shared challenges.


• Demonstrated ability to use data, assessment and evidence-based practices to inform decision-making, evaluate outcomes and guide continuous improvement.


• Experience managing budgets, resources, projects, technology systems or operational processes.


• Ability to exercise independent judgment, diplomacy, discretion and confidentiality in a complex and highly collaborative environment.


• This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per University Standard: 05-010 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months.

• Doctoral degree in higher education, student affairs, education, leadership, counseling, workforce development or a related field.


• Significant leadership experience in a college or university career center or in a role responsible for institution-wide career development strategy.


• Experience leading career development initiatives across multiple campuses, modalities or student populations, including undergraduate, graduate and online learners.


• Experience integrating career development into curricular and co-curricular learning environments in partnership with faculty, academic leadership, advisors and student success units.


• Experience developing or leading employer relations, alumni engagement, experiential learning, internship, mentoring or workforce partnership strategies.


• Knowledge of national trends, standards and best practices in career development, career readiness, inclusive career education, employer engagement and post-graduation outcomes.


• Experience working within a large, public, land-grant or research university environment.


• Experience with career development technologies, career management systems, data dashboards, survey processes or student success platforms.


• Demonstrated success leading organizational change, building shared vision and aligning diverse stakeholders around institutional priorities.


• Knowledge of Oregon State University’s student experience, academic structure, campuses, Ecampus, OSU-Cascades, Student Affairs, alumni networks, employer partnerships or workforce development landscape.

The Executive Director works in a fast-paced environment with a mix of in-person and virtual responsibilities. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required to support career-related events. The position involves occasional travel to engage with employers, alumni, and community partners.

$123,800-$136,800

2026-10-01

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability, protected veteran, and other protected status. OSU will conduct a review of the National Sex Offender Public website prior to hire. OSU is a fair chance employer committed to inclusive hiring. We encourage applications from candidates who bring a wide range of lived experience including involvement with the justice system. If this position has “critical or security-sensitive” responsibilities and/or driving duties and you are selected as a finalist, your initial job offer will be contingent upon the results of a job‑related pre‑employment check (such as a background check, motor vehicle history check, sexual misconduct reference check, etc.). Background check results do not automatically disqualify a candidate. Take a look at our Background Checks website including the for candidates section for more details. If you have questions or concerns about the pre‑employment check, please contact OSU’s Employee and Labor Relations team at employee.relations@oregonstate.edu.

• Top 1.4% university in the world


• More research funding than all public universities in Oregon combined


• 1 of 3 land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the U.S.


• 2 campuses, 11 colleges, 12 experiment stations, and Extension programs in all 36 counties


• 7 cultural resource centers that offer education, celebration and belonging for everyone


• 100+ undergraduate degree programs, 80+ graduate degrees plus hundreds of minor options and certificates


• 35k+ students including more than 2.3k international students and 10k students of color


• 217k+ alumni worldwide

Oregon State has a statewide presence with campuses in Corvallis and Bend, the OSU Portland Center and the Hatfield Marine Science Center on the Pacific Coast in Newport. Oregon State’s beautiful, historic and state‑of‑the‑art main campus is located in one of America’s best college towns. Corvallis is located close to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade mountains and Oregon wine country. Nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley, this beautiful city offers miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, a river perfect for boating or kayaking and an eclectic downtown featuring local cuisine, popular events and performances.

• Medical, Dental, Vision and Basic Life.


• OSU pays 95% of premiums for you and your eligible dependents.


• Free confidential mental health and emotional support services, and counseling resources.


• Retirement savings paid by the university.


• A generous paid leave package, including holidays, vacation and sick leave.


• Tuition reduction benefits for you or your qualifying dependents at OSU or the additional six Oregon Public Universities.


• Robust Work Life programs including Dual Career assistance resources, flexible work arrangements, a Family Resource Center, Affinity Groups and an Employee Assistance Program.


• Optional lifestyle benefits such as pet, accident, and critical care insurance, giving you peace of mind and the support you need to thrive in all aspects of your life.


• Future and current OSU employees can use the Benefits Calculator to learn more about the full value of the benefits provided at OSU.

At Oregon State University, no qualified person shall, solely by reason of disability, be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of, any program or activity operated by the University. If requested, OSU will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants in order to provide access to the application, interviewing and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on your application to receive an accommodation. Please request any reasonable accommodations for disability as early as possible in the application and search process. Requests may be directed to the hiring unit, or to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (541) 737-3556. See Request an Accommodation Procedures for the OSU policy. Oregon State University, in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, including Title IX and its regulations, does not unlawfully discriminate and prohibits discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, including in academic admissions and employment. The university prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin (including ancestry and ethnicity), citizenship, marital or family status, pregnancy or related conditions, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status / service in the uniformed service, or any other status protected by law or OSU policy. Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to OSU’s Title IX Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (link to https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr), or both. OSU’s Title IX Coordinator is the Executive Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA). For information on OSU’s nondiscrimination policy and procedures, including how to report information about conduct that may constitute discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under TitleIX, contact EOA by phone: 541-737-3556, email: equal.opportunity@oregonstate.edu, mail/location: 330 Snell Hall, CorvallisOR97331, or visit EOA’s website: eoa.oregonstate.edu. Know Your Rights Oregon Family Leave Act: Department of Labor Family and Medical Leave Act.