Director of Career Advising - School of Medicine

Why Work at BYU   

As the flagship higher education institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University (BYU) strives to be among the exceptional universities in the world. At BYU, we are devoted to our faith and to our students. We take an active role in the University's Mission: "To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.” 

Our unique mission, deeply rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, provides countless ways to serve and make an impact. This, along with our remarkable culture of belonging, weekly devotionals, and endless opportunities for learning and growth—all situated within a beautiful and historic campus—make it an inspiring place to work. 

Brigham Young University strongly prefers to hire faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must hold and be worthy to hold a current temple recommend.

Director of Career Advising - School of Medicine

Provides strategic leadership for career advising and residency preparation for medical students in the BYU School of Medicine. The Director of Career Advising oversees the full career development continuum from early self-assessment and specialty exploration through residency application, Match preparation, SOAP planning, and transition to residency. This position designs and implements longitudinal career development programming, provides individualized advising, interprets national and institutional residency outcome data, and reports directly to the Associate Dean of Student Progress. 

A central responsibility of the Director is building and sustaining a network of community specialty career advisors—physician volunteers trained to provide specialty-specific guidance to students on specialty fit, competitiveness, application strategy, and the Match process. The director recruits, trains, and retains these advisors, ensuring consistent, current, and high-quality advising across key disciplines.

This position is critical to the success of the BYU School of Medicine, a newly established organization within the university. As the school continues to launch and grow, a successful candidate must demonstrate adaptability and a willingness to take on evolving responsibilities and assignments to support its effective implementation and ongoing operations.

What you'll be doing in this position

Career Advising and Student Support

• Provide individualized, longitudinal career advising to all medical students across all phases of training.
• Guide students in specialty exploration, including alignment of interests, values, academic performance, and competitiveness.
• Identify students who may require enhanced residency advising due to academic risk, professionalism concerns, specialty competitiveness, delayed exam timelines, or late changes in specialty direction and escalate concerns to the Associate Dean of Student Progress as needed.
• Coordinate with the Director of Academic Learning and Progress when academic performance may affect residency competitiveness, while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and role boundaries.
• Utilize national and institutional data (e.g., NRMP match data, specialty competitiveness metrics) to inform advising.
• Educate students on residency application components and systems including but not limited to ERAS, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and interview preparation.
• Support students in developing strategic residency application plans, including alternate planning where appropriate.
• Assist students in understanding specialty-specific expectations (e.g., research, away rotations, board scores).
• Deliver structured advising using Association of American Medical Colleges Careers in Medicine framework.
• Coordinate with the registrar, Associate Dean of Student Progress, and Director of Academic Learning and Progress to ensure students understand MSPE timelines, residency application milestones, and required documentation.

Career Development Programming

• Design and implement a comprehensive career advising curriculum across the medical school timeline.
• Develop workshops on specialty selection, residency application strategy, CV building, and interview skills.
• Coordinate residency preparation milestones and timelines for students.
• Maintain resources and guides for specialty advising and application processes.
• Maintain advising resources for students considering dual applications, preliminary or transitional years, research years, couples match, military match, changing specialty direction, or SOAP participation.
• Evaluate effectiveness of advising programs and continuously improve based on outcomes and student feedback.

Manage Specialty Advisor Network

• Provides functional oversight, training, coordination, and quality assurance for a network of specialty-specific physician/faculty advisors.
• Develop and execute a strategy for recruiting physician specialty advisors representing all major specialties, with priority given to areas of high student interest and underrepresented disciplines.
• Design and deliver onboarding and ongoing training for specialty advisors, including instruction on the residency application process, Match data interpretation, specialty competitiveness benchmarks, signaling norms, letters of recommendation, interview expectations and SOAP.
• Establish annual update expectations for specialty advisors, including specialty-specific advising guides, competitiveness benchmarks, application timelines, signaling guidance, away rotation norms, interview expectations, and Match/COAP considerations.
• Maintain a current and active roster of trained specialty advisors, actively managing advisor engagement, participation, and retention over time.
• Establish clear role expectations, advising boundaries, confidentiality requirements, and quality standards for all specialty advisors.
• Facilitate connections between students and specialty advisors based on career interests.
• Build quality assurance processes for the specialty advisor network, including student satisfaction feedback, advisor participation tracking, and annual content update cycles.
• Partner with clinical departments, associate chairs, alumni networks, and affiliated health systems to identify and recruit prospective specialty advisors.
• Ensure advising alignment with current and evolving residency selection practices, specialty trends, and national workforce data.

Data Analysis and Strategic Advising

• Maintain, analyze, interpret, and disseminate data related to residency match outcomes, specialty trends, and workforce needs.
• Provide reports and insights to leadership on student career outcomes and advising effectiveness.
• Identify at-risk students in the residency application process and develop targeted advising interventions.
• Align advising strategies with institutional mission and workforce priorities (e.g., primary care, global health, underserved populations).

Institutional Service and Administrative Responsibilities

• Participate in School of Medicine responsibilities related to student affairs and career advising.
• Plan and carry out Match day and week in coordination with other institutional partners.
• Collaborate with admissions, curriculum, and student affairs leadership to ensure alignment of career development across the program.
• Remain current in medical education, residency selection trends, and advising best practices.
• Support accreditation requirements related to student career advising and outcomes.
• Additional responsibilities as needed.

What qualifies you for this role

Education/Experience

Minimum Required:  

• Master’s degree in counseling, higher education, student affairs, health sciences, or related field AND 2 years of experience in career advising, counseling, or student services
  OR
• 6 years of directly related experience in healthcare administration, medical education, student affairs, or career development with demonstrated leadership responsibilities

Preferred:

• Experience working with medical students or health professions learners.
• Familiarity with residency application processes (ERAS, NRMP Match).
• Experience using Association of American Medical Colleges Careers in Medicine or similar frameworks.
• Experience working with physician faculty and clinical departments.

Skills, abilities, knowledge, licenses, certifications:

Required:  

• Knowledge of the medical education continuum, including residency training pathways.
• Understanding of residency selection criteria and specialty competitiveness.
• Ability to interpret and communicate complex data (e.g., match statistics, workforce trends).
• Strong interpersonal, advising, and coaching skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage sensitive student information.
• Ability to build relationships with students, faculty, and clinical partners.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic academic environment.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of Association of American Medical Colleges Careers in Medicine advising model.
• Experience developing longitudinal advising programs.
• Experience with data dashboards or student tracking systems.
• Experience advising diverse student populations.

What we offer in return:

This position comes with fantastic benefits, including:

• 401k. BYU automatically contributes 8% at no cost to you. Additionally, if you contribute 5%, BYU adds an additional 4% (Rehires may qualify for different retirement plans) 

• Excellent work-life balance: 13 paid holidays + 22 days paid vacation + 12 sick days, accrued annually 

• Employee assistance program, available to the employee and all members of their household 

• Tuition benefits for employees and eligible family members 

• Access to athletic facilities 

• Excellent medical/dental benefits 

• Short/long-term disability benefits 

• Paid parental and maternity leave 

• Wellness Program 

• Free on-campus parking 

• Free UTA passes for employees, spouses, and qualified dependents 

• Discounts at the BYU Store and for many events at BYU 

Pay Grade: 54

Typical Starting Pay: $82,000-$106,500

The actual compensation offered will take into consideration internal equity and may vary based on the candidate’s job-related experience, knowledge, skills, and other relevant factors. Candidates with very significant work-related experience may receive an offer higher than the posted typical range.

Required Documents:

All Staff positions require a resume.

Refer to the Job Posting for any additional required documents.

Brigham Young University is an equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veteran status.

Brigham Young University (BYU) is widely recognized not just for its world-class education, but for its deep commitment to inspired religious values. Gathered together in a Christ-centered atmosphere, BYU employees are a vital part of a community of belonging, where we value the experiences, perspectives, and talents of each individual. If you share in our devotion to faith and to excellence, we have a place for you here at BYU!