Associate Director, Career and Co-Op

Description

Who We Are:

Are you ready to work at a dynamic institution that believes in higher education with lower obstacles? Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (now known as Franklin Cummings Tech) is a nationally accredited non-profit, technical college serving Massachusetts. The college was seeded in 1791 with funds from the estate of Benjamin Franklin given to the City of Boston to proliferate access to apprenticeship and entrepreneurship. Today, that legacy has evolved into an accredited college that delivers accessible tech and trade education to level the playing field for aspiring talent.

With a mission to deliver transformative technical and trade education that leads to economic advancement, Franklin Cummings Tech offers a unique mix of certificates and degrees that appeal to enterprising students from Eastern Massachusetts and respond to employer demand for a well-prepared workforce. Intentional partnerships with the industries we serve coupled with high graduation and job placement rates, recently attracted the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the college from the Cummings Foundation, helping to spur incredible growth in the past four years.

Franklin Cummings Tech educates more than 1,000 learners annually across three student types: 1) certificate and degree seekers, 2) continuing education enrollees, and 3) early college students. As evidence that our mission holds resonance student enrollment is up and Fall 2027 applications have soared 16% year over year.

We seek optimistic, data-informed, and dedicated colleagues who are eager to increase student success outcomes and boost total enrollment to 1,500 learners by 2030. Join us in this mission-driven work!

The Associate Director, Career and Co-Op leads employer partnerships in Building Energy Management, Mechatronics, Biotechnology, and Cybersecurity that create jobs and revenue for the college. the Associate Director also ensures that graduates in these concentrations achieve positive outcomes.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

The following duties are representative of the work performed in this position. Other duties may be assigned based on organizational needs.

Employer Engagement

Lead relationship management with companies in Building Energy Management, Mechatronics, Biotechnology, and Cybersecurity

Ensure the successful placement of co-op students in these concentrations and meet the team’s annual metrics for placements in these concentrations

Secure commitments for and collect revenues from employers in these concentrations for taking part in our co-op or apprenticeship program and meet the team’s annual metrics for revenues in these concentrations

Source new leads in these concentrations by attending conferences and industry events, as well as by volunteering within relevant industry associations

Write and submit meeting reports after each meaningful interaction with employers

Update Jenzabar Advancement Module with updated data on our employers

Prepare and implement annual sales plans for companies in these four concentrations

Manage the end-of-summer student presentations in front of C-level leaders

Attend trainings in sales to continuously improve

Graduate Outcomes

Ensure 85% of graduates in these concentrations achieve a successful outcome within six months of graduation (full-time job in their field or a related field or higher education)

Drive recruitment of HVAC students to continue their education in Building Energy Management and PE students to continue their education in Engineering Technology (Mechatronics) and meet the college’s annual returning student recruitment targets for these concentrations

Co-op Onsite Support

Build close, trusting relationships with students and their managers in the fields of Building Energy Management, Mechatronics, Biotech, and Cyber

Serve as Career and Co-op Team liaison with the academic and student affairs teams who support students in these concentrations, including regular Job Teams meetings

Check in bi-weekly with both co-op/apprenticeship students and employers and lead regular workplace visits

Intervene within a day if there is a challenge with a student or a manager

Create, deliver, and monitor a Performance Improvement Plan in situations where students need extra support

Career and Co-op Team Support

Support the management of the co-op program, including the recruitment, selection, matching, and onboarding of students

Support the projects of other members of the Career and Co-op team, including the Career Fairs, Student Showcases, Interview Day, and Match Day

Manage additional administrative tasks as needed

Requirements

Required Qualifications

7+ years of experience working in high-performance education organizations in similar roles

Associates Degree or higher required

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Proven sales and relationship-building skills – able to initiate and build long-lasting financial partnerships built on trust

Proven skills in managing entry-level workers and managing new managers

Proven listening skills – able to draw out and understand the pain points of students and supervisors

Proven ability to be gently persistent with both employers and students to achieve desired goals

Integrity

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Detail-oriented

Results-driven and dependable

Passion for the college mission

Appreciation for working within diverse environments and teams

Willingness to balance office work and extensive local travel to companies

Preferred Qualifications

Valid Driver’s License

Experience in Handshake and Jenzabar a plus

Work Environment & Employee Expectations

This position operates primarily in a professional office environment. The College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state law.

All employees are expected to support the college’s student-centered mission, contribute to institutional growth and innovation, and collaborate across departments to improve student recruitment, retention, graduation, and career placement outcomes.

Our college is an in-person institution. Campus presence is the default expectation for all employees. In-person presence remains the expectation and the standard for all staff. Flex arrangements are a discretionary privilege, not a right, and may be modified or discontinued if it is determined that flex arrangements are diminishing service quality, team cohesion, or responsiveness to students, external partners, and colleagues. The student experience and fidelity of institutional operations take priority over individual schedule preferences.

This role also requires occasional evening events, approximately 4-5 times a year.

The Associate Director will also visit employers to grow relationships and visit co-op students about 40 times over the year.

The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $90,000.