Director, Students Career Advising

Job Description

Job Description

Summary

The Director of Student Career Advising provides strategic leadership, program development, and individualized guidance to support medical students in achieving their academic, professional, and career goals. This role oversees a comprehensive career advising program that prepares students for specialty selection, residency applications, residency match success, and transition into graduate medical education.

The Director serves as a trusted advisor to students and a key partner to faculty, specialty advisors, residency program leaders, and institutional leadership. Through data-informed planning, innovative programming, and personalized support, the Director promotes student success and advances the medical school's commitment to excellence in medical education and residency outcomes.

The position requires collaborative leadership across the institution, working closely with faculty, Academic Affairs, Graduate Medical Education, Clinical Affairs, and other key stakeholders to create an integrated educational environment that prepares students for successful careers in medicine. The Director of Students Career Advising provides vision for student support services, career advising, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and student-centered excellence.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Career Advising and Student Support

• Provide individualized, longitudinal career advising to medical students across all years of medical education.
• Guide students through specialty exploration, career assessment, and informed career decision-making.
• Assist students in evaluating specialty competitiveness and developing strategic residency application plans.
• Advise students regarding career pathways in clinical medicine, academic medicine, research, public health, and healthcare leadership.
• Support students facing academic, personal, or professional challenges that may impact residency placement.
• Counsel students participating in specialized residency pathways, including Couples Match, Military Match, and SOAP.

Residency Preparation and Match Success

• Lead and manage institutional residency advising initiatives.
• Develop and deliver workshops, seminars, and educational programming related to:
• Specialty selection
• ERAS application preparation
• Personal statement development
• Curriculum vitae enhancement
• Interview preparation
• Residency ranking strategies
• Match and SOAP preparation
• Coordinate mock interview programs and residency readiness assessments.
• Monitor national residency trends and provide timely guidance to students and faculty advisors.
• Develop strategies to maximize residency match outcomes and student competitiveness.

Program Development and Administration

• Design, implement, and continuously improve a comprehensive career advising curriculum.
• Establish advising milestones aligned with each phase of the medical school curriculum.
• Create educational resources and online tools that support career development and professional identity formation.
• Evaluate program effectiveness through outcomes assessment, benchmarking, surveys, and residency match data.
• Ensure advising services align with LCME accreditation standards and institutional priorities.

Faculty and Advisor Engagement

• Recruit, train, and support faculty specialty advisors and physician mentors.
• Foster collaboration among academic departments, residency leaders, and student affairs professionals.
• Develop advisor training programs and advising best practices.
• Promote consistency and quality across all specialty advising programs.

Assessment, Reporting, and Strategic Planning

• Collect and analyze residency match outcomes and student engagement metrics.
• Prepare annual reports and presentations for medical school leadership.
• Utilize data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• Participate in strategic planning initiatives related to student success and career development.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Serve as a key member of the Student Affairs and Medical Education leadership teams.
• Collaborate with admissions, academic affairs, wellness, diversity, and clinical education offices to support student development.
• Represent the institution at national medical education conferences and professional organizations.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of the School of Medicine's mission.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Master's degree in higher education, counseling, student affairs, healthcare administration, education, public health, or related field; doctorate, MD, DO, PhD, EdD, or equivalent preferred

Experience

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in medical education, student affairs, career development, residency advising, higher education administration, or related field.
• Experience advising medical, health professions, graduate, or professional students.
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading student-focused programs or services.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of medical education pathways, residency application processes, and national Match programs.
• Strong counseling, coaching, and student development skills.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication abilities.
• Experience managing complex projects and multiple priorities.
• Ability to work effectively with students, faculty, staff, and institutional leaders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Commitment to student success, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral degree (EdD, PhD, MD, DO, or equivalent).
• Experience within an LCME-accredited medical school.
• Knowledge of ERAS, NRMP, AAMC Careers in Medicine, and residency advising best practices.
• Experience supervising professional staff.
• Experience analyzing residency match outcomes and educational assessment data.
• Familiarity with accreditation standards and student success initiatives in health professions education.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work effectively with a diverse community.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Position is on-site unless specific authorization from the manager.
• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Occasionally required to work in confined space

Conditional Employment:

The employment status of this position is classified as “Conditional.” Conditional employment means that the job exists contingent upon continued funding and limitations of restricted funds or, the duration of a specific program, project, grant, or contract. Since 75% of your salary is funded by (Centene, end date (12/31/2027) , your position is contingent upon the continued receipt of these funds. Continuation of your position is dependent, in part, upon funding availability. Furthermore, no work may be performed after the grant end date(s) unless you have received an extension in writing from a Dean, Division VP, or Human Resources.

Compensation:

• $125,000 - $165,000 annually 

Position Status:

• Full Time, Exempt

EEO Statement: Charles R. Drew University is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity. Applicants will be considered without regard to gender, race, age, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, disability or covered veteran status.

Fair Chance Statement: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local “Fair Chance” laws