Manager, Career Education & Operations

About the role

Career Services \& Co\-op Thunder Bay Full\-time Permanent **Overview**

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Reporting to the Director, Career Services \& Co\-op, and collaborating with peers in the Department of Student Affairs, this role delivers high impact career education and career advising to students while guiding the daily operations of the student\-facing members of the Career Services \& Co\-op department, providing operational support, and building internal relationships in support of excellent career outcomes for all Lakehead students and graduates.

**Responsibilities**

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**(35%) Career Education Curriculum Design, Service Delivery \& Student Advising**

* As the department’s curriculum lead, develops materials and resources to support program delivery by career advisors and faculty across the university, including but not limited to: ensuring a consistently high quality of educational content is available for delivery, supporting advisors to make appropriate customizations of standard resources to reflect unique industries, and delegating and guiding the creation of new content for workshops, resource material, videos, and other educational content produced by members of the Career Services advising team. * Ensuring that best practises in online/asynchronous education and digital learning are followed in the design, creation and facilitation of co\-op preparation and career preparation courses available to students in D2L. * Directly serving students seeking career guidance in support of meaningful career\-connected learning * Provide escalation support for co\-op students seeking exceptions or experiencing unexpected challenges as part of their experience within the co\-op program * Connecting frequently with faculty champions and others engaged in career education at the University to share resources, best practises, and function as a subject matter expert with respect to preparing students for success in Work\-integrated learning.

**(30%) Team Leadership \& Human Resources**

* Recruiting, coaching, and retaining a high\-performing student\-centred team of student\-facing subject matter experts at all campuses, evaluating the performance of full and part time staff, ensuring that all staff possess the skills, abilities, and resources necessary for successful operations * Supporting the onboarding of direct and indirect reports as needed, supervise and provide leadership and training * Works with the director to ensure operating procedures are maintained in support of student and staff needs and applicable university policies. * Represent the department as a leader and effectively champion and coordinate the mission, purpose, and processes of Career Services and Co\-op, including their integration and coordination with activities crossing multiple service areas

**(30%) Departmental Operations and Vendor Relationship Management**

* Support the director in ensuring the effective use of financial resources available to the department * Sit on the Special Initiatives Fund Committee and other applicable operational leadership committees to ensure compliance with various financial, technical, and human resources policies * Manage day\-to\-day relationships with departmental vendors and act as “super user” of key services including Orbis/MySuccess.Lakeheadu.ca and others, identify and make recommendations for renewal, termination, or creation of new vendor agreements. * Accountable for the overall success of services, schedule, and staffing of the Career Zone * Ensure effective compilation, reporting, and mobilization of knowledge about key team success metrics, including contact advising hours, co\-op student engagement and employment metrics, and student touchpoints.

**(5%) Other Duties and Special Projects**

* Identify opportunities to develop special projects which would enrich the student experience or opportunities for students and foster inter\-departmental collaboration * Project management for Lakehead’s participation in special grants and employment\-connected initiatives, national WIL awareness campaigns, and other projects as opportunities arise. * Other duties as assigned

**Qualifications**

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* 5\-7 years in a progressively responsible position with duties related to the role, combined with a post\-secondary undergraduate degree (masters a strong asset) in any field or an equivalent combination of education and related work experience in educational or employment services roles. * A minimum of three years previous experience in career development, administration of co\-operative or other form of work\-integrated\-learning, employment counselling, adult education, post\-secondary student affairs or other directly transferable work environment * Must be willing to work a primarily in\-person role working in person on an assigned campus location at least four days each week. * Clearly demonstrated expertise in curriculum design and pedagogies associated with co\-operative education, theories associated with career development within post\-secondary settings * Demonstrated and highly developed skills as a workshop facilitator / adult educator, with ability to adjust mode of communication for required audiences and environments * Ability to articulate the application of career development theory within higher education settings, previous evidence of interest and engagement in career education * Comfortable with creation and facilitation of educational experiences both in person and via digital educational platforms such as D2L / Blackboard or comparable LMS. * Exceptional customer service skills, solutions\-oriented approach and genuine desire to contribute to the success of students, graduates, and community partners. * Ability to develop and maintain detailed understanding of labour market conditions in a number of industries, speak with credibility when discussing potential career paths, understand and articulate connections between program outcomes and career options. * Prior experience working with confidential information in a competitive landscape, and maintaining records within an enterprise CRM or SIS system. * Ability to champion programs and services with a collaborative and solutions\-focused mindset, to navigate challenging conversations * Excellent time management and organizational skills, with ability to move multiple projects forward simultaneously * Ability to work with data and develop and communicate insights in support of data\-driven decisions about departmental programs and services. * Proficient with Google Office Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, online meeting platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet * Ability to work outside of regular business hours when required

Additional Assets

* Career Development Practitioner Certification (CDP), Teaching \& Training Adults (TATA) certificate, Master of Education in Curriculum Development, or other designation typically associated with career development professionals or adult educators, or high\-quality curriculum design and delivery a strong asset * Previous experience working in higher education or a similarly client\-focused, publicly funded, or member\-driven organization * Experience as a faculty member or instructor (combined with administrative and leadership experience)

Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and other equity\-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. This is in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements.

Lakehead University has a goal to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as measured by increasing representation of underrepresented groups among applicants, candidates, and hires. Experience working with Indigenous or racialized communities, and/or members of other equity\-deserving groups, is a strong asset. A lived experience or worked experience of any of these issues is preferred.

**We appreciate your interest; Lakehead University is committed to supporting an accessible environment.** Applicants requiring accommodation during the interview process should contact the Office of Human Resources at (807\) 343\-8010 ext. 8334 or human.resources@lakeheadu.ca to make appropriate arrangements.

Benefits Information Why Lakehead University? Application Deadline: Monday, July 20, 2026 \- 11:59pm Salary: Band 8 ($79,539\.40 \- $99,423\.95\)

Reference Number: SCHII\-26\-40 Application Deadline: Monday, July 20, 2026 \- 11:59pm Salary: Band 8 ($79,539\.40 \- $99,423\.95\) Yes, eligible for benefits Reference Number: SCHII\-26\-40