Executive Director, Career Center

Job ID: 58530Location: Hartford, Connecticut, United StatesPosted: 2026-05-08Company: Trinity CollegeContact Email: View email address on click.appcast.io College, one of the nation's leading liberal arts institutions, seeks an ambitious and forward-thinking leader to serve as its Executive Director of the Career Center. This is an exceptional opportunity for an innovative and strategic executive to ensure the Trinity community has a first-in-class career center, building on one of the College’s core strengths: a powerful and engaged global alumni network.Founded in 1823 in Connecticut’s capital city of Hartford, Trinity College is the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting, with a forward-looking focus of educating students to lead with passion and to turn ideas into actions. The College is recognized for its rigorous academic standards and extensive co-curricular offerings serving over 2,100 full-time undergraduates from 43 states and 91 countries. Trinity values its location in a culturally and socioeconomically diverse capital city as one of its key strengths. The institution actively fosters relationships with local communities, organizations, and institutions throughout Hartford and the surrounding region. With a mission to cultivate "bold, independent thinkers prepared to lead transformative lives," Trinity is home to faculty who serve as notable experts in their fields, often pushing the boundaries of current knowledge for the greater good, with a deep commitment to student success and to the synergies between teaching and research. Each year, faculty receive numerous national and international recognitions, from prestigious grants and fellowships to teaching and career awards from professional societies. Trinity’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming campus community is a critical component of achieving academic excellence and of enhancing learning through a multiplicity of perspectives and a supportive campus culture.This is a moment of extraordinary momentum at Trinity College and an exceptional opportunity to join a community poised for its next chapter. With the arrival of President Daniel G. Lugo in 2025 and an institution wide strategic planning process underway, the Executive Director will play a central role in shaping how Trinity advances its mission. This newly elevated position, now reporting directly to the Provost and expanded from Director to Executive Director, signals the College’s deepened commitment to career education as a strategic priority and reflects a clear expectation for leadership, vision, and institutional impact.The Career Center’s alignment within Academic Affairs, its close partnership with Trinity’s holistic and experiential Trinity Plus curriculum, and the strength of the College’s core liberal arts foundation position the next Executive Director to effectively elevate and redefine the role of career development at a top liberal arts institution. The College has created the conditions for this leader to move beyond incremental improvement toward building a nationally distinctive, best in class career ecosystem that integrates academics, experiential learning, alumni engagement, and post graduate success.The important role the Career Center plays in the Trinity experience is also reflected in the physical and intellectual placement of the Career Center within the Cornelia Center, a vibrant, student-centered hub designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation. The Cornelia Center will soon be joined by the Elting Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship next door, a close and complementary partner that amplifies opportunities for students, alumni, and community members to explore innovation, entrepreneurship, and emerging career pathways. Together, these spaces create a dynamic platform for collaboration and impact.Building on Trinity’s exceptionally strong career outcomes, 98% for the Class of 2025, and its national recognition for long term career outcomes and return on investment, the Executive Director will be charged with ensuring that every Trinity student has access to high impact internships, robust career preparation, and meaningful connections to alumni and employers. This leader will advance a model that equips students to secure employment, pursue graduate and professional study, and translate the power of a liberal arts education into purposeful and rewarding lives.This role calls for a leader who is seasoned in facilitating consensus across constituencies, who can operate through influence, navigate a complex academic and external landscape, and translate ambition into execution at scale by using data-informed decision-making. In this capacity, the Executive Director will contribute meaningfully to Trinity’s long-term strategic vision by ensuring that career education is deeply embedded in how the College prepares students for lives of contribution, leadership, and purpose. A master’s degree in higher education, management, or a related field is required; however, significant relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a master's degree. A minimum of eight years of progressively responsible administrative leadership experience designing and leading comprehensive career strategies and student career readiness initiatives within a mission driven environment, including employer engagement, team leadership and development, and enterprise level collaboration, is required. While experience in higher education is valued, Trinity welcomes candidates from outside the academy who demonstrate adaptability, learning agility, and the ability to understand and navigate the culture and pace of an academic environment with multiple constituencies.WittKieffer is supporting Trinity College in this search. For greatest consideration, applicants should submit, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile to WittKieffer's candidate portal using the buttons above or below by July 10, 2026. You may also submit inquiries and nominations (handed confidentially) to the same portal. Nominations, inquiries, and application materials can be directed to: Sandra Chu (View email address on click.appcast.io) and Sarah Palmer (View email address on click.appcast.io).Trinity is a highly selective, independent, nonsectarian liberal arts institution located in the capital city of Hartford, Connecticut. The college maintains a rigorous academic profile complemented by a vibrant co-curricular program. With more than 2,100 full-time undergraduate students, representing forty-three states and ninety-one countries, we consider our location in a culturally and socioeconomically diverse capital city to be among Trinity’s most distinctive assets; and we cultivate strong connections with our surrounding neighbors and with institutions and organizations throughout Hartford and the region. As a preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting, Trinity College prepares students to be bold, independent thinkers who lead transformative lives.