Assistant Director, Employer Relations

Maryland Institute College of Art•Baltimore, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Director, Employer Relations will cultivate new and maintain existing relationships with employers and other partners that support experiential learning, internships, and employment for MICA students and alumni. This role serves as a key point of contact in Career Development for employers and collaborates with Career Development colleagues on internships and job recruitment. The Assistant Director contributes to experiential learning at MICA through event coordination, program development, and workshop delivery while building and sustaining internal and external partnerships.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in related field
Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in employer relations, career services, talent acquisition, workforce development, university recruiting, business development, or a related field.
Experience developing partnerships with employers or external organizations.
Experience planning and facilitating programs, workshops, or networking events.
Evidence of experience with data collection and analysis
Proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Office and contact management systems
Knowledge of employer relations, recruiting practices, workforce development, and career services within higher education.
Knowledge of internship, experiential learning, and career readiness best practices.
Understanding of labor market trends, creative industries, and emerging employment models, including freelance and entrepreneurial careers.
Ability to build and sustain collaborative relationships with employers, faculty, alumni, and community partners.
Strong business development, networking, and relationship management skills.
Excellent presentation, facilitation, and public speaking abilities.
Ability to advise and coach students from diverse backgrounds on career planning and professional development.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret employment data and generate actionable insights.
Experience using CRM or career management platforms (such as 12Twenty, Handshake, or similar) and Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
Excellent project management, organizational, and event planning skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities independently while working collaboratively within a team.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a broad range of constituents with a commitment to meeting the unique needs of students, alumni, employers, colleagues, and external stakeholders.
An active commitment to equity in all forms, including the ability to create and maintain positive working relationships with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative work style with a high level of maturity, professionalism, and diplomacy.
Excellent communication, writing, planning, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
Appreciation for the arts and an interest in art students and their educational/professional goals.
Commitment to professional development and involvement in professional associations.

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Higher Education, Marketing & PR, or related field in Art & Design.
3+ years in corporate recruiting, full-desk agency staffing, or creative industry talent acquisition.
Deep understanding of freelance, contract, and fractional work structures.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain strategic relationships with employers in the private, nonprofit, entrepreneurial, and government sectors to expand internships, employment, freelance, fellowship, residency, and project-based learning opportunities available to students and alumni.
Serve as the primary point of contact for employers recruiting MICA students and alumni.
Design and lead Career Development team’s efforts to provide networking opportunities and student and alumni access to residencies and fellowships.
Develop, iterate, assess, and refine ongoing goals for employer relations outreach, engagement strategies, and performance for MICA and the Career Development team.
Provide project management for new department initiatives designed to bolster student, alumni, and employer resources.
Serve as liaison between employers and MICA faculty to provide appropriate feedback and development of curriculum based on industry feedback and trends.
Initiate connections between employers and faculty to facilitate sponsored projects.
Strategically cultivate and broaden MICA's employment and internship opportunity outreach through analysis of current employer data and desired industry connections.
Collaborate with Global Education and other areas to develop shared skill-based badging and/or co-curricular transcripts focused on high-impact practices across areas to improve visibility of outcomes for students and alumni.
Represent Career Development at MICA events including Admission, Advancement, Orientation, Graduation, and ArtWalk events and workshops as assigned.
Provide appropriate career advising to students and alumni as part of the Career Development team as needed.
Map and create connections between employer talent needs with the unique portfolios of MICA students and alumni.
Analyze employer engagement, recruiting activity, hiring trends, and career outcomes to guide strategic planning and continuous improvement.
Identify emerging workforce trends and employer talent needs to inform outreach strategies and strengthen employer engagement.
Build connections between employers, faculty, and academic departments to support sponsored projects, curriculum feedback, industry partnerships, and experiential learning opportunities.
Manage MICA network, our data-driven employer tracking system (12Twenty), to analyze market trends and track non-traditional career outcomes.
Design and coordinate networking events, employer information sessions, career fairs, portfolio reviews, site visits, and other employer engagement programs.
Deliver workshops and presentations on career readiness topics including networking, self-marketing, freelancing, pricing creative work, client management, interviewing, and the effective use of AI tools in career development.
Support administrative and institutional research needs with systematic collection, verification, and analysis of post-graduation outcome data (employment rates, continuing education, and median starting salaries) required to meet federal reporting mandates.
Compile quantitative and qualitative data supporting accreditation, federal reporting, institutional assessment, and strategic initiatives.
Partner with academic departments to provide discipline-specific labor market information, employer insights, and career readiness programming.
Provide presentations and advising to students about local employer events, trips and site visits, and immersive learning opportunities.
Perform other related duties as assigned.