Managing Director, Alumni Career Advancement & Strategic Partnerships

ROLE TITLE: MD, Alumni Career Advancement and Strategic Partnerships 

POSITION REPORTS TO: Vice President, Career Center 

PRIORITY APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 28, 2025

LOCATION: Flexible within the U.S. 

What you’ll do: 

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced career development professional to join our enterprise Career Center team as the Managing Director, Alumni Career Advancement and Strategic Partnerships. This role is designed for someone who is deeply passionate about expanding access to high-impact, career-accelerating opportunities across a variety of professional pathways. You will serve as a key contributor in designing, leading, and scaling initiatives that connect our alumni and participant network to meaningful, mission-aligned career and leadership development opportunities that accelerate their career advancement into high-impact leadership positions across sectors.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in partnership development, a nuanced understanding of the labor market landscape, and demonstrated ability to translate career trends into actionable career and leadership development opportunities, programs, and resources for our network. You will establish and manage a portfolio of strategic partnerships with universities, credentialing bodies, and professional organizations, ensuring our alumni have direct access to relevant resources and programs to support their development. You’ll also drive forward the expansion of employer partnerships, ensuring the Career Center remains a hub for high-quality, career-relevant job opportunities across sectors. 

This role sits at the intersection of strategic partnerships, alumni engagement, and career/leadership development, and is critical to our vision of building a thriving, diverse, and mission-driven leadership pipeline across the nation. 

What you’ll be responsible for: 

• Lead the design and execution of strategic initiatives and programs that support alumni career advancement in multiple professional fields, including law, business, health, and social impact. 

• Establish and maintain strong partnerships with universities, credentialing programs, and professional development organizations to expand access to alumni-facing career resources and opportunities. 

• Drive the strategic growth of employer partnerships, aligning outreach efforts with the evolving career trajectories of our participant and alumni network. 

• Curate and manage a suite of primarily partner-led programs and resources focused on upskilling, credentialing, and sector-specific career advancement opportunities. 

• Leverage data systems and reporting tools to help track the impact of initiatives, assess alumni outcomes, and continuously improve the quality and reach of career advancement efforts.

• Engage alumni through a portfolio of career-focused national programming, including webinars, workshops, and networking events designed to support navigation of competitive job markets and career transitions. 

• Collaborate with central and regional teams to amplify and localize strategic partnerships that meet regional needs and drive deeper engagement across the network. 

A Week in the Life 

No two weeks will look exactly the same in this adaptive role—but below are examples of how the Managing Director might spend their time: 

• Hosting discovery meetings with credentialing institutions and graduate schools to assess potential partnership possibilities and engagement opportunities. 

• Partnering with partner organizations to identify and/or develop fellowship programs and career advancement initiatives. 

• Curating career-focused events in collaboration with partners, drawing on alumni interests and market trends. 

• Running virtual or in-person career and leadership development programming. 

• Building virtual career development resources for a career navigation program for early career participants. 

• Connecting with staff in the field to support partnership program implementation efforts. 

Your Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in career development program development, strategic partnership development, and/or talent pipeline development work - preferably in education, career services, or a mission-aligned nonprofit organization. 

• Proven experience managing career programming that supports professional advancement in multiple sectors (education, business, medicine, law, etc.). 

• Direct experience supporting or advising alumni and/or early to mid-career professionals through career transitions or upskilling pathways. 

• Thorough knowledge of career development theories and career-focused program design; understanding of NACE career practitioner ethical standards and professional competencies. Experience building and maintaining partnerships with institutions of higher education, professional associations, and/or credentialing bodies. 

• Strong data fluency with demonstrated experience using career engagement and placement data to inform strategy. 

• Experience with CRM and career platforms (Salesforce, PeopleGrove, uConnect, Symplicity, etc.) for tracking partnerships and participant engagement. 

• Proficient in program design, content development, and public-facing presentation of resources or initiatives. 

Bonus (preferred qualifications)

• Advanced degree

• Industry recognized career practitioner certification (CCSP, LPC, CMCS, GCDF, BCC, etc.).

• Employer relations experience is strongly preferred. 

• Experience designing and implementing scalable, partner-led career programs.

• Knowledge of key industry and professional trends across sectors relevant to alumni career interests. 

• Engagement in professional associations focused on career services, alumni affairs, and/or workforce development. 

• Public speaking and/or thought leadership experience in the career advancement or alumni engagement space. 

Work Demands 

Work is typically conducted remotely from a home office during standard business hours (Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm local time). Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required to support events or time zone-aligned partnership meetings. 

Skills 

• Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills; highly collaborative team player. 

• Strong strategic and critical thinking with the ability to consider both the big picture and the executional details. 

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with experience crafting messaging for diverse audiences. 

• Deep knowledge of career and adult development theories and practices, and ability to apply them in cross-sector contexts. 

• High comfort level working independently and driving workstreams forward in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. 

• Demonstrated customer service orientation and ability to deliver a high-quality stakeholder experience. 

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong orientation toward continuous improvement and innovation. 

YOUR FUTURE TEAM 

The Career Center is driven by the belief that alumni career advancement beyond the corps is a powerful lever for making an excellent education available to all children. We work to unlock access to transformational opportunities that align with our alumni’s ambitions and our mission. You’ll be joining a collaborative, forward-thinking, and impact-oriented team committed to ensuring our alumni thrive professionally—and are positioned to lead change in communities where we work across the country.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.  The expected salary range for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.

• Tier A:  $95,200-$122,800

• Tier B:  $103,800-$133,800

• Tier C:  $112,400-$144,800

You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work here.