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Columbia University

Assistant Director of Professional Development & Leadership

🇺🇸 New York, NY

🕑 Full-Time

💰 $73K - $82K

💻 Learning & Development

🗓️ September 22nd, 2025

Canvas

Edtech.com's Summary

Columbia University is hiring an Assistant Director of Professional Development & Leadership. The role involves managing and executing over 250 professional development sessions annually for engineering students, overseeing enrollment and instructor recruitment, and collaborating across student-facing units to enhance student support and program quality.

Highlights
  • Manage operations of the Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) Program, including courses and workshops for master's, doctoral, and undergraduate students.
  • Oversee enrollment, attendance tracking, and grading through the Canvas course page.
  • Recruit, onboard, and evaluate instructors delivering PDL sessions.
  • Collaborate with Engineering Student Affairs and related departments to coordinate events and initiatives.
  • Support graduate career placement by identifying skill gaps and facilitating connections with alumni and industry partners.
  • Maintain student data including progress reports and early intervention processes to ensure successful completion of programs.
  • Proficiency required in Google Suite, Microsoft Office (Excel with pivot tables, VLOOKUP), PowerPoint, and student services databases.
  • Minimum qualifications include a bachelor's degree, 3-5 years of related experience, and strong technical and interpersonal skills.
  • Salary range is $73,000 to $82,000 annually, determined by various factors including experience and departmental budgets.
  • Supports a diverse student population and engages in occasional evening and weekend work as needed.

Assistant Director of Professional Development & Leadership Full Description

  • Job Type: Officer of Administration
  • Bargaining Unit:
  • Regular/Temporary: Regular
  • End Date if Temporary:
  • Hours Per Week: 35
  • Standard Work Schedule:
  • Building:
  • Salary Range: $73,000 to $82,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
 
Position Summary
The PDL Program Manager at Columbia Engineering is responsible for executing the Professional Development and Leadership Program (PDL). This role involves close collaboration with the broader Engineering Student Affairs team on related sessions and initiatives.
Key responsibilities include:
  • Managing and executing over 250 professional development sessions annually.
  • Tracking and reconciling student attendance, engagement, and feedback for a student body of over 2,000.
  • Coordinating communication cycles with students, including elective emails, scheduling links, event management, and feedback reporting.
  • Managing the PDL course page on Canvas, including registration and grading for courses.
  • Holding office hours to support students in meeting PDL requirements and addressing urgent issues.
  • Overseeing in-class management of PDL sessions and supervising student workers.

Responsibilities
  • Professional Development and Leadership (75%)–
    • Manage operations of the PDL Team to execute the school-wide PDL program, including the required MS course (ENGIE4000), Doctoral courses (ENGIE6001-4), and workshops for PDL Fellows, doctoral students, MS students, and undergraduate students.
    • Track and report student progress and completion rate, including enrollment in ENGI 4000/6000 and corresponding Canvas courses. Implement early intervention processes to ensure successful student completion.
    • Assess needs and recruit appropriate course instructors; administer and analyze the attendance and evaluation data collected from the course to review the curriculum (core modules, electives, workshops) of the PDL program; recommend improvements as needed.
    • Coordinate and liaise with the various Departmental representatives (career placement, student affairs) on student progress and engagement, and scheduling of electives, workshops, and activities.
    • Liaise and negotiate with vendors, instructors, and speakers in accordance with the School and University’s policies and best practices.
    • Support various student/employer/advisor-facing systems that facilitate professional and career development, including the Columbia Engineering Career Connect system. Escalate urgent issues to Director or Associate Dean.
  • Graduate Career Placement (10%)–
    • Work closely with Operations Analyst to identify skill gaps based on student and employer feedback from recent student placement.
    • Collaborate with Graduate Career Placement on opportunities to connect students with alumni and industry partners.
    • Support the execution of the Executive in Residence program, including assisting with student recruiting, marketing, and planning.
  • Engineering Student Affairs (10%)–
    • Support signature Columbia Engineering student affairs activities, including Welcome Day, Graduate Engineers Connect, graduation ceremonies, Countdown to Columbia and other school-wide initiatives for engineering students.
    • Collaborate with other ESA units to provide onboarding, orientation and programming for doctoral students and ongoing opportunities for professional and career development. This includes programs such as Engineer Your PhD (EYP), Three Minute Thesis (3MT), PhD Connect, and other doctoral-focused events.
    • Recommended professional development topics for student-facing staff across Columbia Engineering; in cooperation with other ESA units, deliver training and workshop opportunities to student-facing staff to ensure high level of service to students in all programs.
    • Support the planning, development, and implementation of strategic initiatives for Engineering Student Affairs.
  • Other related tasks (10%): Performs other tasks, duties, and responsibilities as required.

Minimum Qualifications
  • A bachelor's degree is required; graduate-level work is preferred. Minimum of 3-5 years of related experience required.
  • Understand student and academic affairs opportunities and challenges affecting the constituents, consisting of a diverse population - domestic and international.
  • Strong technical competency is required; demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of student services database software and on-line resources, and the willingness and enthusiasm to respond to the needs of students in an increasingly technologically dynamic society.
  • Proficiency with Google suite of products, MS office (Excel with pivot tables, VLOOKUP), PowerPoint, publishing software, social media, etc.
  • Ability to analyze and work with a large volume of student, course and other types data.
  • Must be willing to work on occasional evenings and weekends, on a needed basis.
  • Possess excellent interpersonal and administrative skills. Ability to work independently and under pressure, with high level of attention to detail. Candidate must exercise good judgment and flexibility.
  • Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks with minimal supervision. Must be able to communicate effectively and tactfully with staff, faculty, students, employers, and alumni in small and large group settings.
  • Student-centric, positive, mission-oriented, forward-thinking attitude and sense of humor a must!  Thanks for considering us!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.