The Assistant Director of Career Strategy reports to the Assistant Dean of Career Strategy and collaborates closely with internal and external partners as a key member of the Career Strategy team, implementing programs, offering advice, and providing resources for the W&L Law School community. The Office of Career Strategy serves students with a wide range of interests and aspirations in a manner consistent with W&L Law’s commitment to cultivate broad-minded, highly skilled, and honorable lawyers and leaders. It does so within a diverse and collaborative intellectual community exemplifying rigor, trust, and professionalism. The Office also serves alumni as their careers evolve.
One of the smallest of the nation's top-tier law schools, Washington and Lee School of Law has a student body of around 375, and a student-faculty ratio of around 6.7 to 1. Lexington is a college town of 7,000 residents situated in the majestic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The university is a three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., a two-hour drive from Richmond, VA, and a one-hour drive from Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Roanoke. A central aspect of the Law School’s mission is to promote a diverse, equitable, and collaborative community. We continually strive to foster an inclusive campus community that recognizes the value of all persons regardless of identity.
Washington and Lee University actively promotes a dynamic and inclusive environment that allows students and employees of multiple backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to learn, work, and thrive together. Successful candidates will contribute to that environment and exhibit potential for excellence in their areas of expertise.
Visit jobs.wlu.edu to learn more about working at W&L, our benefits, community, and living in the area.
Essential Functions:
Counsel students on job search strategies for summer internships and post-graduate employment opportunities. Counsel early career alumni on career transitions following judicial clerkships, fellowships, and other term-limited employment.
Review and provide feedback on student and alumni resumes, cover letters, and other employment application materials to ensure high quality representation of skills and academic knowledge.
Coach students and alumni on interviewing skills and best practices through individual counseling sessions and mock interview sessions and programs.
Serve as a resource to students and early career alumni applying for employment across legal practice settings and industries, including private sector jobs (e.g., law firms, in-house counsel, etc.), public interest and government positions, positions within the judiciary, fellowships, J.D. advantage careers, and other employment and experiential learning opportunities.
Acquire and maintain knowledge of legal industry recruiting practices in support of Office of Career Strategy initiatives, such as the on-campus interview (OCIs) programs, regional interview programs (RIPs), government and public interest career fairs, law firm engagement, and other programming initiatives as needed.
Lead the Senior Recruitment Coordinator in the management of the department’s student-facing communications strategy, including communication via social media.
Act as primary liaison between the Office of Career Strategy and law student organizations, developing partnerships for the delivery of career-related programming.
Assist the Associate Director of Career Strategy in the supervision of third-year student peer career advisors called Rachford Fellows.
Seek professional development and learning opportunities to expand expertise on law careers, leadership skills, and inclusive career counseling strategies.
Additional related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
A bachelor’s degree is required; a JD or post-graduate study in counseling, higher education administration, or a related area is preferred.
Work history including career services in an academic setting is desirable. Experience with academic mentoring/advising, supervising, or program/event coordination is advantageous.
Experience in the practice of law or a similar professional workplace is preferred.
Experience with talent management or recruiting is advantageous.
The ability to work on a team is critical, as is the ability to maintain confidentiality.
Application Instructions:
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. A resume and cover letter are required. Please upload these documents when prompted on the application form. You will be asked to provide names and contact information for three professional references.
Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
Working Conditions: The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
Types of Work: Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
Washington and Lee is a top-ranked, private institution in Lexington, Virginia where we integrate the rigorous inquiry and critical thinking of a liberal arts curriculum with nationally accredited undergraduate programs in business and journalism, and a graduate School of Law. Our graduates, mentored by a faculty of teacher-scholars, are ready to make a meaningful impact wherever they go in the world.The campus is a national historical landmark, the city offers small-town charm, and the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains provide unparalleled surroundings. Washington and Lee affirms that diverse perspectives and backgrounds enhance our community. We are committed to the recruitment, enrichment, and retention of students, faculty, and staff who embody many experiences, cultures, points of view, interests, and identities. As engaged citizens in a global and diverse society, we seek to advance a positive learning and working environment for all through open and substantive dialogue.Washington and Lee is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As such, we are interested in candidates who are committed to high standards of scholarship, performance and professionalism and to the development of a ...campus climate that supports equality and diversity in our faculty, staff and student body. Job description requirements are representative, but not all-inclusive of the knowledge, skill, and abilities needed to successfully perform this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.