Director of Outcomes in the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise

Position Summary

This is a temporary two-year position, contingent on continued grant funding.

Justice Through Code (JTC) is a joint initiative of the Center for Justice and Tamer Center for Social Enterprise that provides life-changing access to career-track opportunities in the technology industry for people impacted by the mass incarceration crisis. JTC has a mandate to pursue scalable strategies to increase the talent drawn from these diverse communities. Reporting to the Managing Director, the Director of Outcomes is responsible for driving the career-preparation, advising, coaching, mentoring, and career-development programs for Justice through Code students and graduates. This individual plays a key role in sourcing new recruiters and developing relationships with current employers searching for talent in career-track technology positions. They build educational curriculum, programming, resources, networks, and opportunities to increase fair chance hiring, using scalable strategies, and work to raise awareness across the business community of employment best practices in this field.

Responsibilities

• Oversees the development and delivery of curriculum and career advancement workshops, often in conjunction with cross-campus and external partners/trainers and faculty, in order to prepare Justice Through Code students and graduates for entry into mid-level jobs in the technology industry. Likely workshop topics include: interests and goal setting, interviewing skills, resume and cover letter creation, LinkedIn profiles, job search and networking strategies, customer-service training, business communications, workplace success and career advancement planning. Works with Justice Through Code instructional team to faciliate sessions and workshops as needed and integrate programming delivered by others into the course schedule and online curricular platforms.
• Develops training and mentoring curriculum for technology industry professionals who in turn help to prepare learners for entry-level jobs in the technology industry. Works with faculty and staff to adapt asynchronous and live curriculum for Columbia Business School advisors and mentors as part of the ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP).
• Leads strategy to efficiently scale the delivery of JTC curricular content, by engaging with faculty, facilitators, relevant departments including Multimedia, IT and Centers for Teaching across the university, as well as external content providers. Ensures the teaching and development of new content on interpersonal skills, career advancement, and mentoring/advising training, can be delivered asynchronously, in addition to live instruction. Assesses and leverages educational technology platforms and related technology tools to enable scalable content delivery.
• Facilitates a smooth transition for student job seekers from the classroom to the workplace. Collaborates with a network of mentors, advisors, and coaches to ensure connections are made and monitors feedback from both groups in order to determine areas to improve career programming.
• Manages communication to students and graduates that builds trust and accountability, reduces anxiety, and provides constructive actionable feedback tailored to their diverse professional and life backgrounds. Oversees the development and distribution of resume books/database/online profiles of JTC participants.
• Independently cultivates relationships and networks with JTC graduates and formerly incarcerated professionals to source potential speakers for industry sector and function area educational sessions for JTC participants. Leverages engagement for business development referrals to employers for hiring opportunities. Creates outreach initiatives that track where graduates are working, including programming to support career network development with formerly incarcerated professionals who mentor and coach JTC participants.
• Works closely with Program Director, Center for Justice and Tamer Center staff to develop and implement an employer partnerships business development strategy. Serves as a point of contact for recruiters and potential employers to build recruiting relationships and advice where needed on fair chance hiring and retention best practices. Serves as an ambassador at external recruiting forums and events to increase and tailor opportunities for JTC participants.
• Creates, manages, and refines data collection, analysis and reporting frameworks, and accountability metrics for various internal and external stakeholders, including tracking JTC participants at various stages and placement rates after course completion, and tracking and updating recruiting and other relevant external contacts. Works with Center for Justice staff to ensure timely and accurate updates to data in CRM system.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree preferred. Minimum 5- 7 years related experience required.

Experience with career advising required. Program/project management skills required with proven ability to excel in a high-volume environment. Must have a strong interest in working with communities, disproportionately of color, impacted by mass incarceration, and be passionate about education, technology, and career coaching. Self-driven and resourceful, with a high degree of organization, data-driven coaching methods, accountability, and empathy. Demonstrated experience working across teams/departments with ability to balance independent delivery of work with strong team work/collaborative orientation. Strong written and oral communication acumen imperative, including comfort presenting one-on-one and delivering to a large group (in-person and online). Strong professional demeanor and tact with a customer service orientation and ability to deal with a range of personality styles necessary. Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office and/or Google applications.

Preferred Qualifications

Four years’ experience in workforce or program development (in industry or academic settings) and at least two years managing a team strongly preferred.

Account management, recruiting or sales experience is a plus. Familiarity with the hiring environment with a special focus on software engineering, data analytics and other tech sector opportunities preferred. Knowledge of fair chance hiring, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in tech sector. Familiarity with educational content delivery platforms and CRM tools a plus.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.