Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) — a world-renowned education and poverty-fighting organization based in New York — seeks an enthusiastic, dedicated, and mission-aligned Assistant Director of Career Services to join our Wealth Builds team.
The Assistant Director will bring a passion for Harlem Children's Zone's mission: breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty through comprehensive, on-the-ground programming that builds opportunities for children and families to thrive in school, work, and life.
Wealth Builds is an innovative effort to eliminate the wealth gap through nine evidence-based pillars beginning in Harlem and ultimately expanding to up to 10 cities nationwide. Our theory of action is that cradle-to-career services plus capital lead to social and economic mobility. Through Wealth Builds, we are providing financial education and capital infusions to increase social, financial, and human capital, ultimately generating wealth for our youth.
We are seeking a highly collaborative, strategic, and detail-oriented Assistant Director to oversee the day-to-day operations of our Career Services Team (CST) and serve as the vital strategic bridge between Career Services and the College Success office. The Assistant Director will supervise our team of Career Specialists and co-manage our comprehensive college internship and placement programs alongside the Career Placement Coordinator.
The ideal candidate will be an exceptional leader, systems-thinker, and relationship-builder who can manage staff, analyze program outcome data, and design structured pathways that turn college-aged experiences into powerful professional stories.
For more information, check out Want to Work at Harlem Children’s Zone? Here’s 7 Things You Need to Know.
Requirements
- Master's Degree
- 2+ years of experience directly advising, coaching, or supporting college students
- Proven experience in staff supervision, team leadership, or program management within higher education, career services, or youth development
- Experience collaborating across departments or teams to coordinate student success pipelines
Who you are
- Master’s degree, preferably in Higher Education Administration, Counseling, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field
- An empathetic and strategic leader with a proven track record of supervising, coaching, and developing staff
- Exceptionally organized planner with strong attention to detail and a proven ability to manage programmatic workflows, monitor complex timelines, and make data-driven decisions
- Clear, professional communicator who is comfortable building and nurturing relationships with internal departments, community organizations, and corporate partners
- Resourceful and analytical problem-solver who can leverage data to assess career program effectiveness, measure scholar outcomes, and scale operations
- A collaborative team player who takes initiative, manages multiple strategic priorities simultaneously, and maintains a proactive approach to student economic mobility
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); familiarity with database, CRM, or student tracking platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Simplicity, Naviance, Handshake) is highly preferred
- A deep commitment to the mission and programs of the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ)
What you'll do
- Provide strategic vision and oversee the daily career program operations of the Career Services Team (CST) in close partnership with the Director
- Provide direct supervision, coaching, and professional development to Career Specialists
- Develop and execute comprehensive strategies promoting economic mobility, focusing on job training, career exploration, financial literacy, and professional readiness
- Oversee the design and delivery of individualized support services, ensuring high-quality career coaching and skill-building workshops for scholars
- Work in close collaboration with the College Success office to build structured, aligned development plans for college scholars from entry to graduation
- Co-manage and oversee college-aged internship programs in partnership with the Career Placement Coordinator, supporting portal management, logistics, matching, and recruitment workflows
- Utilize robust data analysis to assess career program effectiveness, monitor team goals, and make strategic decisions for program scalability
- Build, maintain, and leverage relationships with internal HCZ teams, external community organizations, and corporate partners to expand professional opportunities for scholars
- Perform other duties and projects as assigned
Schedule
- Maintain a full-time schedule (Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM), including occasional evenings
- Work primarily on-site in our Harlem office, with flexibility based on program and team needs
- Demonstrate flexibility to support scholars and program needs
Benefits
As a member of the Harlem Children's Zone team, you will join a supportive and inclusive community dedicated to helping children, families — and our staff — thrive. We offer highly competitive salaries, a comprehensive benefits package, and opportunities for growth.
Our exceptional full-time benefits include:
- Highly competitive base salaries
- Paid time off
- Employee referral bonus
- Career Advancement
- No-cost health insurance
- Life Insurance
- Short-and long-term disability
- Additional voluntary benefits
- Wellness discounts
- Commuter benefits
- Financial wellness perks
- Additional Benefits (Discounts on flights, hotels, theme parks, concert tickets, and more.)
We offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. The salary range is $85,000 - $100,000. To be considered, interested applicants should submit their applications directly through the posting. No telephone inquiries or recruiters, please. Replies will only be sent to qualified applicants. HCZ is an EOE.