Career Advisor – HigherEdJobs

Staff Posting Details

Appointment: Regular, full-time (1.0 FTE) position.

Work Location:
This position is based in Tacoma, WA, and is hybrid eligible (minimum of 4 days on-site when school is in session and 3 day on-site minimum when school is not in session) after a successful evaluation period.

Please note that we generally do not sponsor applicants for work visas for staff positions. Therefore, we generally require applicants for staff positions to be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Position Summary:

The Career Advisor is a central part of the career ecosystem at the University of Puget Sound. This is a position for someone who finds genuine joy in empowering people to discover their career path and understands that a liberal arts education opens more doors than people realize. In addition to individual and group advising, the Career Advisor designs and implements, with a focus on inclusion and equity, career events and programs that ensure students of all backgrounds and identities successfully compete for opportunities leading to creative, productive, and satisfying professional lives.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

Career Advising/Workshop and Resource Development

• Advises current students and alumni, one-on-one and in groups, on topics related to career development, including: exploration and decision making, job search strategies, networking, and more.
• Develops and facilitates class and group presentations related to career engagement topics.
• Teaches a career class, either EXLN 101: Introduction to Experiential Learning and Career Awareness or EXLN 401: Career Launch. Develops expertise in the use of ePortfolio and Canvas.
• Continually assesses programs, services, and resources to ensure they align with office and institutional goals. Makes recommendations for innovative, effective, and efficient approaches and emerging technology to deliver career services; revises or develops new resources as needed based on assessment of emerging needs.
• Interprets assessment instruments for students in one-on-one and group environments.
• Develops general understanding of federal, state regulations and university policies applicable to internships and employment.

Event & Program Development & Management

• Plans and participates in a variety of events throughout the year, including ownership of a larger signature event. Some occasional evening work is to be expected.
• Develops relationships and collaborates with faculty and staff to design events and programs for student career development and experiential learning.
• Collaborates with advising team to build and deliver mentorship initiatives; researches best practices around mentorship programs. Develops knowledge of People Grove platform for administering the mentorship program.
• Collaboratively develops cohesive promotion plans for programs and workshops, including social media presence.
• Collaborates with the Office of Experiential Learning to administer Puget Sound Internship Grant.

Data Analysis

• Develops expertise in gathering data about appointment and event participation and providing basic analysis for internal use and departmental reports.
• Participates in Graduate First Destination data collection.

Budget Management

• May manage expenses related to events, workshops, and travel.

Other Functions

• Continuously pursues knowledge in best practices to develop meaningful career development resources and services within a liberal arts context, including support for underrepresented students, BIPOC students, students with disabilities, first generation college students, and LGBTQIA students.
• Serves as a highly visible ambassador for CES, building confidence and trust in our team and services. Serves on or leads committees and project teams, as requested.
• May provide leadership, training, and support to CES Student Assistants.
• Actively participates in department and university-wide work towards institutional equity and inclusion, demonstrating a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness through actions, interactions, and communications with others.
• Performs other duties or projects as needed or assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree in a student development field and/or additional experience related to career development and advising is preferred.
• At least one year of increasingly responsible experience guiding people in career development and decision-making.
• Experience delivering public presentations and facilitating group work.
• Exhibits awareness of systemic inequalities that impact hiring and demonstrates ability to help students identify inclusive employers.
• Demonstrates cultural competence and proven effectiveness in serving the needs of a diverse student population.
• Able to communicate the value of a small, private liberal arts college education to a wide range of constituents.
• Demonstrated experience innovating in a rapidly evolving environment.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with a wide variety of constituents to achieve successful program improvement aligned with institutional goals.
• Ability to respectfully work, communicate and provide leadership within a diverse campus community

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Coaching, Teaching, and Presenting: Ability to help develop others’ knowledge, skills, and abilities; to serve as a role model for professional behavior and communication.
• Intercultural Awareness: Ability to stand back from own point and become aware of not only own cultural values, beliefs and perceptions, but also those of other cultures.
• Interpersonal Skills: Ability to foster confidence and trust, to develop rapport easily with a wide range of constituents, to foster a collaborative and harmonious environment; possess a strong customer service orientation.
• Adaptability and Creative Problem Solving: Ability to find ways to manage variable work volume and develop efficiencies for service and program delivery.
• Oral and Written Communication: Excellent writing and public speaking ability; ability to listen and understand with sensitivity, and to respond appropriately.
• Organization: Ability to set and achieve goals; ability to learn quickly and continuously; to prioritize and manage workload in a fast-paced office environment with frequent interruptions.
• Time Management: Ability to set effective work goals, establish priorities, and plan well in order to produce quality work according to deadlines.
• Analytical and Technical Skills: Maintain program records within relational data systems; ability to access available data and develop reports to evaluate program, service, and resource output.

Compensation and Benefits:

Career Framework Information:
Job Family: Student Life
Level: S3
Pay Grade: 4

The anticipated range for this position is $23.55 to $25.00 per hour. Decisions about starting salaries are made based on the extent and relatedness of the candidate’s education and experience and on internal equity and market considerations.

Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package for eligible staff employees, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Retirement plan options and 403(b) contributions
• Paid vacation, sick leave, floating holiday, campus holidays and bonus holidays
• Education benefits, such as full tuition for eligible employees and their families
• Access to university facilities and entertainment (fitness center, pool, library, concerts, lectures and more!)

Please note:
* Positions that work less than .75 FTE (1,560 hours per year) do not qualify for long-term disability or education benefits.
* Positions that work less than .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will accrue paid sick leave but are not eligible for additional benefits.
* Temporary positions that work at least .50 FTE (1,040 hours per year) will be eligible for benefits.

This position is non-exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

For more information on Puget Sound’s non-exempt staff benefits package, visit: Summary of 2026 Benefits for Staff Members in Non-Exempt Positions.pdf – Google Drive

For the Campus Holiday and Bonus Day Schedule, visit: https://www.pugetsound.edu/human-resources

Application Deadline:
Review of applications will begin immediately. Search and selection procedures will be closed when a sufficient number of qualified candidates have been identified.

Required Documents:

• Resume
• Letter of Interest
• 3 Professional References (At least 2 supervisors)

Applications submitted without the required attachments will not be considered.

All offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of all required background checks.

University Diversity Statement

We Acknowledge:

• The richness of commonalities and differences we share as a university community.
• The intrinsic worth of all who work and study here.
• The investigation and reflection enhance that education upon multiple perspectives.

We Aspire:

• To create respect for and appreciation of all persons as a key characteristic of our campus community.
• To increase the diversity of all parts of our university community through a commitment to diversity in our recruitment and retention efforts.
• To foster a spirit of openness to active engagement among all members of our campus community.

We Act:

• To achieve an environment that welcomes and supports diversity.
• To ensure full educational opportunity for all who teach and learn here.
• To prepare citizen-leaders effectively for a pluralistic world.

Puget Sound is committed to an environment that welcomes and supports diversity. We seek diversity of identity, thought, perspective, and background in our students, faculty, and staff. To learn more please visit: https://pugetsound.edu/about-puget-sound-0/mission-core-values/institutional-equity-diversity

The University of Puget Sound is an equal opportunity employer.

How to Apply
For complete job description and application instructions, visit: www.pugetsound.edu/employment

About Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a selective national liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, drawing 2,600 students from 48 states and 20 countries. Puget Sound graduates include Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, notables in the arts and culture, entrepreneurs and elected officials, and leaders in business and finance locally and throughout the world. A low student-faculty ratio provides Puget Sound students with personal attention from faculty who have a strong commitment to teaching and offer 1,200 courses each year in more than 40 traditional and interdisciplinary fields, including graduate programs in occupational and physical therapy and in education. Puget Sound is the only nationally ranked independent undergraduate liberal arts college in Western Washington, and one of just five independent colleges in the Pacific Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the nations most prestigious academic honorary society. Visit “About Puget Sound” (http://www.pugetsound.edu/about) to learn more about the college.

As a strategic goal and through our core values, University of Puget Sound is committed to an environment that welcomes and supports diversity. We seek diversity of identity, thought, perspective, and background in our students, faculty, and staff. EOE/AA

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