Director, Industry Relations

Emerson College•Boston, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Industry Relations provides visionary, enterprise-level leadership for employer engagement, industry partnerships, and early-career pipeline development across the institution. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, Career Development, this role designs and executes a comprehensive industry relations strategy that advances student outcomes, strengthens institutional reputation, and builds sustainable talent pipelines into priority sectors including film, television, digital media, journalism, communications, marketing, and the arts. Serving as the institution’s primary ambassador to industry, the Director cultivates high-impact partnerships with employers, studios, agencies, production companies, nonprofits, and emerging creative enterprises. The role ensures that employer engagement efforts translate into measurable student opportunities, including internships, project-based learning, fellowships, and full-time employment. This position operates at both strategic and executional levels—setting vision, securing flagship partnerships, and building scalable systems, while ensuring consistent, high-quality employer engagement across geographic markets (e.g., Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and beyond).

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in media, human resources, communications, or related field or equivalent experience required
10–12 years of progressive experience in employer relations, industry partnerships, workforce development, or creative industries leadership required.
Demonstrated success building high-level, strategic partnerships with employers or industry organizations required.
Experience leading teams and managing complex, cross-functional initiatives required.
Demonstrated success in revenue generation, partnership development, and/or business development required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or higher preferred.
Experience within higher education career services or a closely related ecosystem preferred.
Established professional network within key markets (e.g., LA, NYC, Boston, Atlanta) preferred.
Experience working with creative portfolios, freelance pipelines, or gig-based industries preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a multi-year, institution-wide employer and industry relations strategy aligned with enrollment priorities, academic programs, and student success outcomes.
Identify and prioritize target industry sectors and geographic markets, with a focus on high-growth creative and communications fields.
Serve as the senior liaison to executive-level industry partners, including C-suite leaders, alumni executives, and advisory boards.
Build and steward flagship partnerships that yield recurring pipelines (e.g., studio partnerships, agency cohorts, production pipelines, media fellowships).
Position the institution as a preferred talent partner through consistent branding, storytelling, and outcomes reporting.
Design and implement structured early-career talent pipelines, including internship-to-hire programs and rotational or cohort-based hiring models
Establish and scale employer commitment frameworks, including resume review and portfolio critique programs, guaranteed interview programs or priority candidate pipelines, and multi-year recruiting partnerships
Collaborate with academic and career development leadership to align partnerships with curriculum, credit-bearing internships, and experiential learning models.
Expand opportunities across emerging and nontraditional employers, including startups, creator economy platforms, and independent production networks.
Develop and implement revenue-generating employer engagement models, such as sponsored programs and recruitment packages, employer-funded internships or fellowships, and industry-sponsored labs, studios, or experiential programs
Partner with Emerson’s advancement, alumni relations, and external affairs groups to align employer partnerships with philanthropy and institutional priorities.
Identify opportunities for public-private partnerships, grants, and workforce development funding.
Lead, coach, and scale a high-performing industry relations team, including establishing portfolio management strategies and segmentation.
Build and standardize employer engagement protocols, ensuring consistency in outreach, relationship management, and service delivery.
Collaborate closely with career coaching, internship, and alumni teams to ensure seamless student-to-employer pipelines.
Develop and maintain comprehensive employer engagement dashboards, tracking employer growth and retention, internship and job posting volume, student participation and pipeline utilization, and conversion rates.
Produce regular reports for senior leadership on ROI, market trends, and outcomes.
Benchmark performance against peer institutions and national standards (e.g., NACE).
Monitor and analyze labor market data, hiring cycles, and industry shifts, particularly within creative and communications sectors.
Advise institutional leadership on emerging trends such as streaming industry dynamics, AI in media, and creator economy growth.
Translate industry insights into actionable strategies for programs, partnerships, and student preparation.
Represent the institution at industry events, festivals, conferences, and professional associations, including film festivals, media summits, and advertising industry events.
Build visibility and credibility for the institution within key industries and markets.
Cultivate a strong network of alumni and industry champions who actively support student pipelines.
Other duties as assigned.