Associate Director, Healthcare Career Coaching - CCDAE - UTK at University of Tennessee System in Knoxville, TN

Job description

The Associate Director leads the healthcare career coaching team, a new collaboration between the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences (UTHS) designed to build a clear, well-supported pathway from undergraduate study to admission into graduate and professional healthcare programs. This is a highly visible, campus-wide role at the center of one of the university's signature commitments: preparing more Tennesseans to enter the health professions and strengthening the state's healthcare workforce pipeline. The position provides day-to-day leadership for the team by hiring, training, coaching, and evaluating staff; establishing shared standards of practice; and building the team’s capacity as the initiative scales. The Associate Director defines success metrics, tracks student progression and professional-program admission outcomes, and uses data to guide resource allocation and program refinement. Results are reported to divisional, campus, and system leadership to demonstrate impact and inform future planning. Because the program depends on strong relationships across institutions, the Associate Director works directly with UTHS colleagues in admissions, student affairs, and academic programs to align expectations, create early exposure opportunities, and support the student transition from UTK to professional study. The role requires close collaboration with UTK academic colleges, faculty advisors, undergraduate research, experiential learning, and student organizations so pre-health students receive consistent guidance regardless of major or entry point. Throughout this work, the Associate Director ensures program design and service delivery to advance divisional, campus, and UT System retention, progression, and graduation goals. This position is designated a Joint Partnership Position and operates under a dual-supervision model shared by UTK and UTHS. Day-to-day operational supervision is coordinated through UTK Student Success, while strategic direction, annual goal setting, work priorities, and performance management are jointly established by designated leaders from UTK and UTHS. Success in this role requires the judgment and interpersonal skill to operate effectively across two institutions with distinct cultures, calendars, and priorities, building trust and maintaining a seamless student experience. PROGRAM OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION Contribute to the strategic vision, growth, and evaluation of healthcare career coaching and service delivery, including the design and phased build-out of the team Manage day-to-day health professions coaching operations and lead annual planning for key student-facing initiatives, including coaching workflows, appointment capacity, and seasonal application-cycle demand Lead campus efforts to develop and implement health professions preparation programming on topics such as career exploration, gaining clinical and research experience, entrance exam preparation, application readiness, personal statement development, and practice interviews Lead campus efforts to plan and execute networking events, health professions fairs, and admissions engagement opportunities that connect students directly with graduate and professional programs Collect, analyze, and report data on student engagement, coaching utilization, academic progression, and admissions and career outcomes; prepare findings for departmental, divisional, campus, and system leadership Serve as the day-to-day contact for UT Knoxville and UT Health Science Center collaborators on health professions programming and service delivery, resolving operational questions and keeping partners aligned Manage program resources, budget requests, and technology and scheduling platforms that support coaching delivery and outcome tracking STAFF SUPERVISION AND STRATEGY Supervise a growing team of professionals delivering healthcare career coaching and programming; set performance expectations, pr