Manager, Career Services and Professional Development

Position Summary

The Manager, Career Services and Professional Development is responsible for the development and management of APA's career services and professional development programs that meet the needs of planners at every stage in their career journey, including connecting with students early in their careers, providing offerings to upskill planners, give general career advice, and develop programming for planning careers across levels and abilities. The Manager, Career Services and Professional Development will work closely with staff in the Knowledge Team and other departments across APA to inform content development and appropriate programming to futureproof the planning profession.

Core Responsibilities

Programming:

• Develop a deep understanding of career paths in the planning profession and stay informed about emerging trends, best practices, and innovations in professional development and career services.
• Analyze available sources of APA data to understand the needs of planning professionals to create value through career services products.
• Implement career services and professional development programming that aligns the unmet needs of planners at all stages of their careers.
• Design and coordinate career programming at the annual conference, such as resume reviews, mock interviews, networking events, and career panels.
• Lead the implementation of APA's Upskill Planners initiative. Collaborate with APA's Foresight Team and strategically identified groups to identify skills gaps among planners. Collaborate across departments to co-create upskilling products such as webinars, workshops, and trainings. Tasks may include conceptualizing products, selecting speakers, and collaborating with them on content creation.

Partnerships:

• Leverage relationships with critical professional networks, including APA partners, APA components, universities, large employers, and APA leadership groups to identify opportunities of collaboration to meet the career needs of planners.
• Foster partnerships with educational institutions, professional organizations, planning employers, and other relevant stakeholders to enhance access to training and career development resources for planners.
• Coordinate task forces and committees related to upskilling and career services programs.

Marketing and outreach:

• Work collaboratively across departments and with external consultants to market and communicate products and services.
• Maintain Career Services and Upskill Planners web pages to reflect the latest content.
• Contribute to the development and evolution of the APA job board and Consultant Services in partnership with APA's Website Manager. Develop strategies to promote the portal to potential employers and job seekers and ensure user satisfaction.

Program management and evolution:

• Develop and manage budget for all career services and professional development programming, including Upskill Planners initiative and other related programs.
• Collect and report relevant qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess success of programs over time. Regularly assess the effectiveness and relevance of existing programs and services, and make recommendations for improvements or adjustments based on customer insights and data analysis.
• Create opportunities to collect customer feedback for use in program development and evolution.

Core Requirements

• Minimum of 4-8 years of experience in career services and/or professional development preferred.
• Outside-the-box thinker with an entrepreneurial and strategic mindset that reflects inner drive, creative problem solving and critical thinking capabilities.
• Minimum of 4-8 years of experience in program development and management, with emphasis on the delivery of outcomes on time and within budget.
• Basic understanding of the planning profession preferred.
• Strong individual contributor and collaborator.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, with a team and customer service orientation.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to coordinate multiple projects and programs simultaneously.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to use data for informed decision-making.

How to Apply

Submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected]. The following questions must be addressed in your letter to participate in the evaluation process:

• Salary expectations

The American Planning Association exists to elevate and unite a diverse planning profession as it helps communities, their leaders and residents anticipate and meet the needs of a changing world. Learn more at www.planning.org.

APA embraces diversity and equal opportunity in our employment practices. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our impact will be.

APA Dynamic Office Environment

APA offers a dynamic work environment that brings those of us in the Chicagoland area together in person two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday. This time is used to rekindle relationships, build new ones and connect with each other formally and informally in a way we can't do online. The other three days can be worked remotely or in the office.