Job Summary

The Career Development Strategist is responsible for advancing systemwide career development and workforce readiness initiatives across the student lifecycle by aligning career development with enrollment, engagement, retention, completion, transfer, and employment success strategies. The position provides strategic leadership by coordinating cross-functional partnerships, student lifecycle technologies, data-informed decision-making, and continuous improvement efforts to strengthen student outcomes and workforce responsiveness. Working collaboratively with academic affairs, workforce development, and student success, this role supports the implementation and ongoing evolution of the KCTCS Career Development Framework while promoting institutional accountability, career readiness, and post-completion success for students across the KCTCS system.

Positions with the KCTCS System Office located in Versailles, KY are term-contract positions, with the expectancy of continuance based on performance.

KCTCS offers a hybrid work schedule with a requirement to be onsite a minimum of 3 days per work week. Hybrid work schedules are subject to periodic review and may be modified or terminated at any time

Job Duties:

Provides strategic leadership for advancing career development across the student lifecycle by coordinating initiatives, systems, and resources that connect recruitment, enrollment, engagement, retention, completion, transfer, workforce readiness, and employment outcomes. Collaborates with cross-functional areas in support of partnerships and employer engagement efforts that advance career development.

Leads the advancement of systemwide career development initiatives through the coordination of assessment strategies, peer team collaboration, performance measurement, and outcome reporting. Utilizes data and outcomes analysis to inform institutional decision-making, continuous improvement efforts, workforce responsiveness, student success initiatives, and emerging performance-based funding priorities.

Collaborates with student enrollment, engagement, and success team members to develop and implement data-informed engagement strategies that support career exploration, advising, work-based learning, employment success, and student outcomes while ensuring consistent access to services, actionable data, and scalable student interventions. Provides administration and support for career development technologies (e.g., Handshake) and utilizes student lifecycle management technologies to support career development strategies through building outbound communications, workflows, reporting, and continuous process improvement.

Coordinates and aligns career development efforts across advising, enrollment management, student engagement, academic affairs, workforce development, and student support functions to integrate career readiness throughout the student experience and strengthen institutional strategies related to persistence, completion, transfer, workforce readiness, and employment success.

Provides leadership in implementing, integrating, and continuously evolving the KCTCS Career Development Framework across the student lifecycle (Explore, Engage, Experience, Elevate), ensuring alignment with recruitment, onboarding, advising, and retention efforts.

Develops and delivers training, professional development, documentation, and technical support to faculty and staff to strengthen institutional capacity for career development, promote the adoption of career-readiness practices, and ensure the effective use of supporting systems and tools.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and four (4) years of relevant experience or equivalent.
 

Preferred Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Business, Marketing, Economic Development, or related discipline.

Additional Skills Requested:

Bachelor’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Business, Marketing, or a related discipline.

Preferred Position Related Experience
o Project coordination, cross-functional program implementation and change management and cross-functional initiative leadership
• Career development programming aligned to student outcomes and familiarity with career development frameworks, employer engagement, and work-based learning models
o Demonstrated understanding of the student lifecycle and student success strategies
o Implementation or administration of student engagement technologies (e.g., CRM systems, Handshake, advising platforms)
o Data analysis, reporting, and dashboard utilization to inform decision-making
o Training and supporting faculty/staff in system or program adoption

Employee Rights - Employee Polygraph Protection Act

Equal Opportunity Employer - The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is an equal educational and employment opportunity institution.