HERC

What HERC does

HERC (the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium) is a nonprofit membership association founded in 2000 and operated as a project of the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The organization provides a specialized recruitment platform serving over 550 member institutions — including colleges, universities, teaching hospitals, and research institutes — alongside thousands of job seekers pursuing careers in higher education. HERC operates 15 regional offices covering all US geographies plus Canada, creating a localized network of job boards, regional career fairs, and community resources. Core products include HERC Jobs (the public job board), HERConnect (the employer member portal for managing postings and accessing workforce research), a Dual Career Job Search tool for couples seeking positions at nearby institutions, and Virtual Career Fairs hosted on the CareerEco platform. Supporting content resources include eBooks, webinars, the 'Let's Talk Higher Ed Careers' video podcast (launched 2026), and Specialized Career Hubs for veterans, professionals with disabilities, Black professionals, professional women, and Latino professionals.

The underlying technology is a web-based job board with specialized search functionality — including geographic filtering across all 50 US states, Canada, and international locations, plus dual career proximity matching — integrated with virtual event infrastructure through CareerEco. HERC generates revenue primarily through annual institutional membership subscriptions, supplemented by job posting packages for non-members, corporate and non-profit partnership/sponsorship fees, and virtual career fair participation fees. Job seeker accounts remain free, creating a two-sided marketplace where the candidate pool's depth drives institutional member value. The go-to-market combines direct sales outreach to higher education HR leadership and regional membership engagement with content marketing, webinars, podcasts, and virtual events aimed at job seekers.

Name

HERC

Legal name

The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

Website

https://hercjobs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HERC is a nonprofit membership consortium providing a specialized job board, member portal, and dual career search platform connecting over 550 higher education institutions across the US and Canada with job seekers pursuing academic, staff, and executive careers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks) (EDAFAMAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC), Education Direct Hire (Teachers/Administrators) (BPACAFAI)

Keywords

• Higher education recruitment
• Faculty job board
• Dual career search
• Institutional membership network
• Virtual career fairs

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership: HERC generates revenue primarily through membership fees charged to higher education institutions. Member institutions gain access to unlimited job postings, workforce research, dual career support, training tools, and the nationwide network of peer institutions.
2. Job Posting Packages: Institutions can purchase job posting packages to list positions on the HERC Jobs platform. Pricing varies based on membership status and posting volume.
3. Corporate & Non-Profit Partnerships: HERC offers partnership and sponsorship opportunities that allow corporate and non-profit entities to present business solutions to higher education professionals and decision-makers.
4. Virtual Career Fair Fees: Employers pay to participate in virtual career fairs, gaining access to interactive rooms, live chat with recruiters, and interview scheduling capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HERC operates a two-sided higher education recruitment consortium offering a web-based job board (HERC Jobs) and member portal (HERConnect) where colleges, universities, teaching hospitals, and research institutions pay membership fees to post faculty, staff, and executive positions. Job seekers access the platform for free to search thousands of higher education roles across the US and Canada, with specialized tools including a dual career search for couples, virtual career fairs, and demographic-specific career hubs.

Product overview

HERC offers a unified higher education recruitment platform consisting of HERC Jobs (the core job board), HERConnect (employer member portal), Dual Career Job Search tools, and Virtual Career Fairs powered by CareerEco. Supporting these core offerings are content resources including eBooks, webinars, the 'Let's Talk Higher Ed Careers' podcast, and Specialized Career Hubs for specific demographics. The platform also includes fifteen Regional HERC sites providing geographic-specific job boards and resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Let's Talk Higher Ed Careers: A video podcast produced by HERC Jobs that explores higher education career topics, featuring candid conversations with higher education professionals, career coaches, and HR leaders.

Products and services

• HERC Jobs Primary job board platform enabling job seekers to search and apply for faculty, staff, and executive positions at over 550 higher education member institutions across the United States and Canada.
• HERConnect Member Portal Member portal for HERC employer members to manage job postings, access workforce research, training tools, and connect with the HERC network of institutions.
• Dual Career Job Search Specialized search tool allowing couples to find two jobs within commutable distance of each other at HERC member institutions, supporting dual career hiring and retention.
• Virtual Career Fairs Online career fair events enabling job seekers to interact with higher education employers through virtual rooms, live chat, and one-on-one interview scheduling.
• Specialized Career Hubs Curated job boards and resources for specific demographics including veterans, professionals with disabilities, Black professionals, professional women, and Latino professionals seeking careers in higher education.
• Regional HERCs Fifteen regional job board sites covering specific geographic areas including Carolinas, Greater Chicago Midwest, Metro New York/Southern Connecticut, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain West, New England, Northern California, Northwest, Southeast, Southern California, and Upstate New York, each with regional job listings and resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 550 member institutions utilizing HERC's recruitment platform and resources
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of Northwest HERC, launched in 2013 through joint effort to serve Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The university helped establish the regional HERC structure and continues as a member institution driving the consortium's mission in the Pacific Northwest.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of Northwest HERC alongside University of Washington and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Contributed to the launch in 2013 as a research institution committed to expanding recruitment reach and supporting inclusive workplaces.
• Tides CentercoreOthersHERC is a project of the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tides Center provides fiscal sponsorship and administrative infrastructure, allowing HERC to operate as a nonprofit initiative under established charitable auspices.
• CareerEcocoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform provider for HERC's virtual career fairs. CareerEco hosts the virtual event infrastructure including interactive rooms, live chat functionality, and interview scheduling capabilities for the twice-yearly career fair events.
• San Diego State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead institution for Southern California HERC, established in 2003 and expanded to include Hawaii in 2023. SDSU provides leadership and administrative support for the regional HERC serving Southern California and Hawaii.
• Partner & Sponsor ProgramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate and non-profit partners can engage with HERC through sponsorship opportunities to reach campus decision-makers and professionals at all career stages. Partners present business and personal solutions to the higher education market.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ZipRecruiter: ZipRecruiter is a multi-industry online employment marketplace with AI-driven matching used by employers across verticals. It competes with HERC for institutional recruitment marketing dollars through broad reach at lower price points.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the dominant professional network and recruiting platform with extensive penetration in higher education hiring. It overlaps with HERC for executive and professional role placements in colleges and universities.
• Indeed: Indeed is the largest generalist job search platform globally, aggregating higher education postings alongside all other industries. It competes with HERC for institutional recruitment budgets and job seeker attention via scale and brand.

Direct peers

• HigherEdJobs: HigherEdJobs is a leading job board exclusively focused on higher education faculty, staff, and administrative positions. It competes directly with HERC for both job seeker traffic and institutional employer subscriptions across the US.
• Inside Higher Ed: Inside Higher Ed is a higher education news and careers publication that provides news, opinion, and a job board serving academic professionals. It is comparable to HERC's blend of content marketing and HE-specific job search functionality.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle of Higher Education is a major higher education news publication that also operates a well-known job board and recruitment services. It overlaps with HERC in serving the same institutional buyers and job seekers with news plus job listings.
• AcademicJobs.org: AcademicJobs.org is a niche academic job board focused on faculty and research positions worldwide. It is comparable to HERC as a specialized recruitment platform targeting the higher education talent market.
• Academic Career Network (ACN): Academic Career Network operates consortium-based job boards serving academic and research institutions, similar to HERC's regional consortium model. Both aggregate multiple institutional clients into shared recruitment platforms.

Emerging players

• Handshake: Handshake is a career platform focused on university student and recent graduate employment with strong institutional integrations. It is comparable to HERC in serving higher education institutions as employers, though skewed earlier in the talent lifecycle.

Others

• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): NACE is a professional association for college career services and university relations that provides research, standards, and a job board for the higher ed talent acquisition community. It is comparable to HERC in serving the same institutional buyer community but as an association rather than a recruitment marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HERCJobs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLprpayp225WEvsLUvQhGhoOFw8eNUi_O3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/higher-education-recruitment-consortium-herc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HERC