Director, Leadership Relations

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Director, Leadership Relations leads the design, activation, and scaling of Northeastern’s global volunteer and engagement ecosystem. Reporting to the AVP of Leadership Relations, the role focuses on building and growing the Global Ambassador model by identifying, recruiting, and activating volunteers throughout their lifecycle and across generations of University relationships. It is a relationship-forward, strategy-intensive role for an experienced builder who can design new engagement models and operationalize them in complex, global environments. The Director builds and leads the Global Ambassador lifecycle, including recruitment, nomination, onboarding, toolkit development, and ongoing activation. The role also designs structured volunteer pathways and intergenerational programming for alumni, students, parents, and emerging leaders; develops leadership and mentoring initiatives; and manages and grows Leadership Relations Team affinity networks. The Director partners with internal University teams to develop engagement strategies, resources, communications, and consistent processes, and serves as the Leadership Relations Team network strategist for Global Giving Day.

Requirements

7–10 years of experience in alumni relations, advancement, volunteer management, or a related field, with demonstrated success managing complex programs across global constituencies.
Proven experience building and scaling volunteer networks, affinity communities, or leadership programs in higher education, a nonprofit, or a comparable institutional environment.
Experience leading or co-leading large-scale campaigns or events with international reach, including digital and in-person engagement strategies.
Strong relationship management skills and the ability to engage, influence, and steward senior-level volunteers, donors, and institutional partners.
Experience developing mentoring programs, generational engagement strategies, or leadership development curricula for diverse stakeholder cohorts.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex programming into compelling narratives for volunteer, donor, and institutional audiences.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent programs, priorities, and cross-functional partnerships with minimal supervision.
Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Experience working across international markets or with MENAT, LatAm, Asia-Pacific, or European alumni communities.

Responsibilities

Build and lead the full Global Ambassador lifecycle, including recruitment, nomination, onboarding, toolkit development, and ongoing activation, in partnership with Leadership Relations Team signature affinity networks.
Scale the Global Ambassador model by activating volunteers from existing networks and developing new volunteer pipelines.
Oversee application, nomination, and onboarding cycles across affinity networks, ensuring consistent processes and a quality volunteer experience.
Identify Global Ambassadors and affinity volunteers with potential for expanded University roles and philanthropic engagement.
Partner with Leadership Relations and University teams to develop ambassador toolkits, communications, and resources.
Design and implement structured volunteer engagement pathways for alumni, students, parents, and emerging leaders, tailored to interests, industries, geographies, and career stages.
Develop and execute a generational engagement strategy for students, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers.
Oversee leadership development programming that deepens volunteer engagement and prepares volunteers for expanded roles, including skill-building and philanthropic leadership development.
Manage mentoring initiatives connecting alumni, students, faculty, and staff to encourage intergenerational knowledge sharing and professional growth.
Serve as the Leadership Relations Team network strategist for Global Giving Day, developing peer-to-peer engagement approaches, volunteer-led challenges, and network activation strategies with Annual Giving and the Leadership Relations campaigns and marketing team member.
Manage and grow affinity volunteer networks through identification, recruitment, training, and ongoing cultivation, and develop an annual engagement plan with signature convenings and activations.
Identify and cultivate shared affinity groups connecting faculty, staff, alumni, students, and parents with targeted volunteer opportunities.
Maintain consistent, high-quality network program operations, including volunteer management processes, engagement tracking, and program reporting.