REPORTS TO: Vice President or Designee

SALARY: $20 -$25 per hour
LENGTH OF SERVICE: 12 months per year

APPLICATION DEADLINE: UNTIL FILLED 

LOCATION: Hybrid, which includes in-person events

                     College of the Desert

WORK SCHEDULE: 20-25 Hours per week / Part-time

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Campus Connection Specialist (CCS) is a proactive, relationship-driven professional dedicated to strengthening the bridge between higher education and the workforce. This role focuses on building and maintaining partnerships with employers across diverse industries, ensuring that college programs remain aligned with real-world workforce needs.

The CCS cultivates strong faculty and employer relationships to create high-quality work-based learning (WBL) opportunities—including classroom presentations, industry projects, job shadows, internships, apprenticeships, and employment pipelines. By understanding faculty and employer workforce needs and connecting them with relevant academic programs and student talent, the CCS ensures meaningful, compliant, and career-advancing experiences for students while supporting faculty and employers in developing their future workforce.

Campus Connection Specialists are expected to use effective outreach strategies—including networking, cold calling, employer visits, presentations, and relationship management with both faculty and employers—to recruit industry partners and secure commitments for internships, apprenticeships, jobs, and other WBL opportunities that benefit both students and local employers.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

The Campus Connection Specialist typically has a wide range of responsibilities, which can include:

• Relationship Building with Employers:

  • Proactively identify and reach out to potential employers in various industries. This will include cold calling and reaching out through search engine research.

  • Cultivate and maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with local businesses and organizations.

  • Organize and participate in employer outreach events, networking sessions, and meetings.

• Identify Faculty Needs:

  • Work closely with faculty to understand their curriculum and ensure strong alignment between workforce needs and student capabilities. 

  • Collaborate with employers to identify suitable WBL opportunities, such as classroom activities, internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and site visits.

• Develop and Negotiate WBL Agreements:

  • Work with employers to design customized work-based learning programs that meet both student educational goals and employer needs.

  • Negotiate agreements and manage the logistics of student placement.

• Facilitate Student Placements:

  • Recruit employers to match student interests, skills, academic programs, and location.

  • Ensure the WBL opportunities align with contract requirements, learning objectives, and educational standards.

  • Coordinate interviews, site visits, and orientation programs for students as needed.

• Provide Work-Based Learning Activity Support:

  • Serve as the main point of contact for faculty and employers throughout the WBL process.

  • Offer ongoing support, guidance, and resources to ensure successful student-employer partnerships.

  • Address and resolve any issues or challenges that arise during the student's WBL experience.

• Document Program Activities and Student Participation

  • Gather and enter information into various database systems; maintain case management notes on participants to inform clients and support state and federal reporting requirements.

• Support Tomorrow’s Talent Assigned Events

  • Supporting events such as field trips, employer visits, workshops, training, or conferences where we are vendors/exhibitors, Career Technical Education (CTE) advisory events, skills panels, job fairs, etc., by assisting with employer participation.

• Other Duties as Assigned

Essential Skills Include the Ability to:

• Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with clients, employers, staff, and students.

• Deliver engaging and interactive presentations.

• Demonstrate familiarity with employability skills.

• Organization and time management.

• Exercise an independent work ethic.

• Use a variety of computer software.

• Maintain positive public relations.

• Compose reports and messages using good grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Must have reliable transportation.

• Possession of a high school diploma (or its equivalent) or higher or possession of a GED.

• This role is appropriate for an internship if you are enrolled in college at any level.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in any type of sales, outreach, or networking.