Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education, Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business seeks a strategic and collaborative Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education to join its career team. Darden is experiencing strong momentum across its MBA programs, making this an exciting time to join.

Darden is recognized among the nation's leading MBA programs, including:

• The Princeton Review Best Business Schools 2027:
  Top 10 in 11 categories, led by No. 1 for Best Professors and including No. 6 for Best Career Prospects
• Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2026:
  No. 9 Full-Time MBA program in the United States, No. 19 globally, and No. 2 among U.S. public business schools

The career team supports more than 1,200 graduate business students through one-on-one career advising, lifelong career management skill development, and comprehensive internship and job search support. The Office engages Full-Time, Residential MBA students at the Goodwin Family Grounds in Charlottesville and working professional students at the Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn, Virginia. The team is driven by a commitment to student success and believes in the transformative impact of thoughtful career advising and meaningful employer engagement.

The Office partners with nearly 150 organizations that recruit and hire students into careers across consulting, investment banking, general management, marketing, technology, private equity/venture capital, and more. In 2026, the Office expects to manage approximately 1,400 job postings and host 400 in-person and virtual recruiting events. Its corporate engagement model helps organizations meet hiring goals while building long-term relationships with the School and expanding partnerships aligned with student interests.

This Senior Director plays a critical role in helping Full-Time MBA students pursue MBA-level careers, building and delivering the Office's career education curriculum, and strengthening connections among students, alumni, faculty, student leaders, and employers. Through one-on-one coaching, small-group advising, workshops, and career education programs, the Senior Director helps students build clear, actionable plans and navigate the job search with confidence. The Senior Director develops a vision for deeper engagement between students and employers and helps ensure that students have a strong, consistent, high-quality experience across career clubs and student organizations.

The Senior Director will be purposefully assigned an initial sector or functional portfolio aligned with background, expertise, and student demand, and will be expected to deepen market knowledge over time through ongoing engagement with employers, alumni, recruiters, and students while remaining open to adjacent sectors as student interests and office needs evolve.

Ideal candidates bring experience in one or more of the following areas: a seasoned and execution-oriented corporate manager with multi-functional experience at a top company; an experienced talent acquisition or university relations professional; or a professional who has led MBA recruiting, leadership development, sales, operations, or client-facing work and is excited to coach MBA students.

The Senior Director, Coaching and Career Education, joins a team of career advisors who primarily support Full-Time MBA students across consulting, investment banking, general management/marketing, technology, and international job searches.

This position is based in Charlottesville, with limited hybrid flexibility during the summer (late May to late July), based on business needs and leadership discretion.

Students & Alumni

• Advise graduate students pursuing MBA careers through individual coaching, small group sessions, and targeted career development resources.
• Partner with student leaders and career club leaders to gather feedback, identify emerging needs, and encourage student engagement with the Office.
• Design and deliver career programming to connect students with employers and opportunities; regularly presenting to audiences from 15-200 students.
• Support students in networking, alumni outreach, interview preparation, internship search, and full-time recruiting strategies.
• Build relationships with alumni and student organizations to strengthen community, feedback loops, and participation in Office programming.

Employers & Recruiters

• Leverage industry expertise and professional networks to expand student access to job opportunities, mentorship, and career insight.
• Own…