Director of Partnership Relations & Strategic Initiatives

The Director of Partnership Relations and  Strategic Initiatives leads a team responsible for building, managing, and expanding high-impact relationships with new and existing industry partners across Northeastern’s global University system in support of the AI Innovation Lab. This role is responsible for expanding opportunities for industry and student experiential learning innovations related to AI, including industry projects in and out of the classroom, professional practicums, co-op education placements, and research opportunities.

The Director develops and nurtures strong partnerships that deliver meaningful experiences for both students and industry partners, leveraging deep institutional knowledge and strong internal and external communication skills. The Director organizes events as a key strategy for building partnerships and works with the team to plan and execute these engagements is essential. The Director should have the ability to propose a vision for each partnership and see it through to execution or support team members in realizing their partnership visions.

The position requires occasional travel to industry partners and our global university system. This role will supervise a partnership development manager.

• Knowledge and skills required for this position are normally obtained through a Bachelor’s degree and 10 years’ work experience in the private sector or higher education

• Existing relationships with employers preferred; experience in supporting students to secure career placement considered an asset.

• Existing relationships with employers preferred; experience in supporting students to secure career placement considered an asset

• Proven track record in business development, fundraising, strategic relationship management and/or strategic planning

• Understanding of industry growth trends and workforce development needs, with a motivation to make education options more accessible

• Entrepreneurial, collaborative, and creative with exceptional communication skills

• Creative thinker, action-oriented, and versatile, with ability to adapt to a dynamic environment

• Proven ability to lead and manage negotiations and to implement productive initiatives that drive value for Northeastern

• Demonstrated skills to lead, manage, support and encourage a team.

• Develop and attract new partners to the university across company, government, community, and institutional relationships, with a focus on growth and advancement of the AI Innovation Lab.

• Leverage relationships to grow co-op, experiential learning models, and research opportunities, and integrating an event strategy to increase awareness, with a strategic focus on AI.

• Provide insights into what existing and prospective partners want and need to drive the development of new offerings.

• Create student opportunities in AI in collaboration with key partners based on network campus locations and aligned with campus goals and priorities.

• Develop and lead a team engaging in partnership work, community engagement, and student support.

• Manage budget, working with financial teams to develop budgets, tracking expenses, and making decisions about resource allocation to ensure that programs are financially sustainable and meet the needs of various stakeholders.

• Represent the university in external meetings and negotiations related to non-traditional experiential programs for students.

• Leads engagements with college stakeholders, focused on creating meaningful engagements for students both within and outside of academic programs.

• Coordinates with Central Partnership Development Team on new business development and expansion opportunities within existing employer relationships.

• Works in collaboration with college leadership, central leadership, partnership teams, co-op directors, alumni engagement, advancement, marketing, and all network campus teams.

• Integrate active, high-quality and strategic usage of Salesforce and other key systems/processes.

• Leverage data to report to leadership on the status of existing and prospective partners.

• Provide benchmarking data and reports to aid partners in achieving their goals.

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.