Assistant Director, Graduate Students Berkeley Career Engagement

At the University of California, Berkeley , we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world.

At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth . We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups.

Berkeley Career Engagement (BCE) plays a critical role in preparing and supporting students launching their careers. We help undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent alumni make informed decisions about their futures by providing comprehensive resources, programs, career counseling, externships and internships, and employment and professional school / graduate school options. Our Vision is to cultivate a university-wide culture of career readiness, where every student engages in meaningful experiences, has a supportive professional community, and is empowered to achieve lifelong career success.

We are dedicated to advancing equity and access to career resources for every student and recent alum of UC Berkeley.

We engage with students on their journey to reflect, discover, and design a personally meaningful career (Career Clarity). We connect students with alumni, employers, and their larger professional community to forge meaningful relationships that will guide them into their early career (Career Connections). We empower students to develop the professional confidence and experience necessary to secure the career opportunities they seek (Career Competitiveness).

Position Summary

The Assistant Director, Graduate Students joins Berkeley Career Engagement as a member of a dynamic career education team providing innovative and comprehensive career services to undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni. This position provides specialized counseling and programming for graduate students, post-docs, and alumni. The Assistant Director, Graduate Students develops, coordinates, implements, and evaluates career services, resources, and programs for graduate students, post-docs, and alumni to foster strong, collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and employers.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: 10/28/2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

• Provides career counseling in particularly complex areas that require specialized expertise, such as postdocs and Ph.D. students who are investigating careers inside or outside academia, including other students obtaining terminal masters and professional degrees such as J.D.s, M.D.s, etc.
• Helps current students and recent alumni identify their interests, values, skills, and personalities, and understand how these factors relate to academic/career satisfaction and choices;
  Uses standard quantitative and qualitative assessments to help clients assess career goals.

Program Development - 25%

• Researches, designs, and develops workshops and programs to meet students' and alumni's career needs.
• Develops and oversees delivery of broad and complex career-focused programs and events that incorporate the needs of campus partners and constituents.
• Conducts needs assessments, and collaborates with faculty and staff in program design and development.

Administrative Functions - 20%

• Execute administrative functions such as:
  Utilizes career-focused software systems, and applies current technologies to enhance service delivery, including online resources.
• Researches, evaluates, and updates specialized, online career resources.
• Utilizes knowledge of constituency needs to create and improve specialized content for Berkeley Career Engagement website.
• Develop marketing materials including Career Mail and promotions for programs and workshops.
• Participate in office and/or campus committees.
• Attend and actively contribute to staff and career education meetings.
• Researches and organizes economic and employment trend information and graduate…