A Kellogg MBA is your gateway to a global community, countless personal and professional opportunities and access to the sharpest minds in business.

We bring the future of business into focus. Powered by globally celebrated faculty and trailblazing research, Kellogg is a business school and a community of ambitious and collaborative thought leaders. We prepare our graduates to think creatively, lead authentically and embrace change with confidence.

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (Kellogg) is a premier institution for management education. Founded in 1908 and based just outside of Chicago, Kellogg is home to a renowned, research-based faculty and the best and brightest MBA and MiM students from around the world.

Global business education is different today because of the teamwork and collaboration models that Kellogg pioneered over 50 years ago.

At Kellogg, we are educating, equipping and inspiring leaders to lead in today’s complex economy. As a global community, Kellogg welcomes and embraces unique perspectives that together enrich learning. Our vibrancy can be seen throughout our dynamic community:

 Our world-class faculty are recognized thought leaders whose teaching and cutting-edge research change how the world thinks about complex problems affecting business and society.

 The school’s powerful global alumni network is more than 60,000-strong, comprised of Kellogg leaders not only in the C-Suite, but vibrant, confident contributors at every level of a broad range of organizations.

 Our students learn to combine the power of empathy with analytical rigor and a creative spirit to solve today’s challenges in an increasingly volatile world.

Purpose of the Position

The Assistant Dean, Career Management Center (CMC) for the Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg) will be responsible for leading and overseeing all career center services, resources, and staff across all Kellogg programs, with a focus on supporting the career needs of our students from their experience as prospective students through to employment. This role leads the teams connected to our Employer Relations, Coaching & Career Education, CMC Project Management & Operations, and CMC Library and communications functions, with responsibility across our portfolio of full-time and working professional MBA programs, as well as our Masters in Management (MiM) program. 

This incumbent will serve as the strategic thought leader in helping achieve the school’s mission in fully supporting the career development goals of each of our approximately 2,900 students. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a strong capacity for innovation and resilience in navigating evolving market trends, and the ability to lead through change with confidence and agility. He/she will provide strategic direction and leadership to deliver a distinctive experience for our current students as well as the employers, leveraging change management best practices to adapt and optimize services in a dynamic environment.

This key role will provide administrative management and coordination for all career functions reporting to the Associate Dean of Degree Programs & Operations. This role also plays a critical role in the Degree Programs & Operations leadership team and requires an executive presence to effectively represent Kellogg’s values and vision in high-level interactions with both internal and external stakeholders. To achieve our goals, this role partners with a broad range of key stakeholders at Kellogg including Marketing, Corporate Partnerships, Student Affairs, Admissions, Financial Aid, Advancement, along with students and alumni.

The Assistant Dean, CMC must be an energetic, sophisticated leader and a prudent risk taker; analytical and results-oriented with an appetite for data and analytics; and a driver of both conventional and innovative methods to engage current students and employers. He/she must also possess exceptional resilience and adaptability, guiding teams through uncertainty and leading transformative initiatives. As an ambassador of Kellogg, the leader we seek will represent Kellogg to external constituents and possess superb communication, presentation, and persuasion skills, as well as the executive presence necessary to inspire confidence and trust at the highest levels.

Key Responsibilities

This leadership role is responsible for setting and executing the vision for a comprehensive, high-impact career management function at a top-tier business school. The position oversees all facets of the career development process—including employer relations, student coaching, operations, communications, and strategic initiatives—while supervising a team of director-level staff and cultivating a culture of high performance. With accountability for employment outcomes across all degree programs, this role drives innovation in recruiting strategy, technology integration, and support for diverse student populations. As a senior ambassador for the school, the leader will partner closely with faculty, alumni, employers, and peer institutions to ensure Kellogg continues to deliver world-class career services that shape the future of business education and maintain its standing among global peers.

Among the chief responsibilities:

 Manage, design and oversee all aspects of the career process including employer relations, coaching, operations, communications and CMC library.

 Supervise Director level staff setting the vision and strategy across all programs.

 Provide strategic direction and thought leadership for a large-scale, top tier business school off- and on-campus recruiting function that serves the full-time employment and internship needs of the student population.

 Manage and build relationships with Kellogg centers and faculty in support of student and alumni career outcomes.

 Accountability for the full range of employment outcomes tied to all degree programs and instrumental in the rankings for the Kellogg school overall.

 Lead the strategic direction for employer relations and development to bolster our on- and off-campus recruiting program and generate an increasing number of new relationships with a diverse array of employers.

 Lead exploration and vision related to scalable educational technology solutions designed to build a more effective and efficient support environment for students.

 Create a culture of high performing coaching and employer relations teams.

 Drive innovation and expansion of current offerings to meet varied needs of special populations (i.e. international students, first year students, 1Y, etc.)

 Drive the strategic planning, project planning, budgeting and resource prioritization to achieve goals for each program.

 Serve as a Kellogg ambassador in interactions with current students and key stakeholders (prospective students, current students, alumni, media, employers, Kellogg staff, professors, and trustees).

 Successfully work with a wide variety of constituents to assess current initiatives and explore new opportunities to support Kellogg program demands, operational excellence and best-in-class experiences for the students.

 Researches and contributes to discussions on best practices in career management and uses those findings to inform strategies, and to lead change as appropriate.

 Partner with peer leaders at the top 30 business schools to share best practices, benchmark services and resources, and ensure the CMC is on the cutting edge of career services delivery

 Embodies the Kellogg School culture and brand in their work.

The Candidate

Experience and Professional Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring a proven track record of strategic leadership in complex, student-focused environments, with deep experience navigating the evolving dynamics of graduate business education and the broader employment market. This role requires a professional who can balance day-to-day operational excellence with long-term vision—someone who has successfully led diverse teams, driven employer engagement, and implemented innovative technologies and data systems to enhance career outcomes. A background that includes both higher education and market-facing roles is especially valuable, as the position demands fluency in both institutional priorities and industry trends. The successful candidate will be a seasoned leader, capable of managing complexity while remaining agile and student-centered. Some of the qualities and focus areas are:

 Extensive leadership experience in career services, including oversight of large, complex program portfolios spanning multiple MBA formats (2Y MBA, 1Y MBA, MMM, MBAi, JD-MBA).

 Proven track record managing and developing high-performing teams; this role has direct oversight of a 34-person staff across coaching, employer relations, operations, and technology functions.

 Demonstrated understanding of two-sided career services markets, balancing the evolving needs of students and employers in a rapidly changing MBA employment landscape.

 Strategic leadership through market complexity,

 Strong orientation toward employer engagement; of the ability to build and sustain deep relationships that translate into high-quality employment outcomes.

 Successfully lead adoption of new technologies and platforms (e.g., 12Twenty, AI coaching tools, virtual front desk) to scale services and enhance the student experience.

 Deep experience integrating data-informed decision-making into operations and communications with senior leadership and key stakeholders.

 Partner effectively with cross-functional stakeholders, including academic leadership, student government, professional clubs, and industry groups to align services with student needs and institutional goals.

Compensation

• The annual base salary range for this position is $200,000 - $220,000.