Director of Employer Success

University of Texas at Austin

5d•$105,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Employer Success strengthens UT Austin's employer ecosystem. Working closely with the Senior Director of Employer Success and leadership across colleges and schools (CSUs), this role leads the programs, partnerships, and infrastructure that deepen how employers engage with students. That means developing new forms of employer involvement that go beyond traditional recruiting — connecting employers to students through experiences, projects, and work-integrated learning that bridges curriculum and real-world practice. Success in the role means bringing new employers to UT Austin, expanding existing relationships across more CSUs, and providing each CSU with playbooks and resources to engage employers effectively in a rapidly changing talent landscape. This is a newly created role that requires someone ready to lead and build equally. The right person is a strong people manager who knows how to build programs, not just run them. The ideal candidate is comfortable navigating a large, complex institution and genuinely curious about where employer–university partnerships are headed.

Requirements

8+ years of professional experience in employer relations, program management, account management, corporate development, or a closely related field
3+ years of direct people management experience, with demonstrated ability to develop and coach professional staff
Demonstrated experience developing new partnerships or growing a portfolio of relationships, not just managing existing ones
Experience developing and managing programs or initiatives through the full lifecycle — from design and launch through adoption, iteration, and sustained execution
Demonstrated ability to lead or support change management efforts in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment
Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable representing UT Austin in external and cross-institutional settings
Experience working across organizational lines to get things done in a complex institution
Working knowledge of AI tools and demonstrated experience incorporating them into day-to-day work
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Background in higher education, workforce development, or university–industry partnership
Comfort working within a CRM or employer-facing platforms such as 12twenty or Handshake
Track record designing or launching experiential, project-driven, or work-integrated engagement programs
Familiarity with life design or career development frameworks, including experience facilitating workshops or convienings
Ability to work with data and insights teams to develop employer-facing reporting or strategic narratives

Responsibilities

Lead ESM Team: Directly supervise two Employer Success Managers, providing coaching, direction, and guidance on relationship management and program execution. Set clear priorities so the team stays focused on employer relationships and program development rather than operational coordination. Support staff development and build a team culture grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Partner with the Senior Director on hiring, onboarding, and long-term team planning.
Grow and Deepen Employer Partnerships: Steward and grow a portfolio of employer partnerships across CSUs, working with ESMs to develop account strategies that move relationships beyond traditional recruiting into sustained, programmatic involvement. Serve as a strategic resource for employers navigating engagement at a large, decentralized university. Develop and pilot new engagement models including work-integrated learning, project-based experiences, and other forms of meaningful student-employer connection and scale what works. Stay current on trends in employer-university partnership, early-career hiring, and the evolving world of work; bring that perspective into program design and employer conversations. Represent UT Austin at employer-facing events, industry convenings, and national conferences; bringing back insights that inform how Career Success evolves its approach.
Employer Engagement Enablement: Serve as the primary point of coordination for employer engagement across CSUs — convening the community of practice, aligning around shared goals, and ensuring employers experience one university rather than a collection of disconnected units. Build and maintain strong working relationships with employer leadership in each CSU, serving as a strategic resource and thought partner on how to strengthen and grow employer engagement within their context. Develop the standards and frameworks for how employer partners are onboarded and stewarded, ensuring CSUs and ESMs have what they need to maintain those relationships consistently. Set direction and oversee development of external marketing materials and employer-facing assets, ensuring UT's value proposition is clear and compelling across all touch points. Partner with the Director of Recruiting Operations to ensure platform standards, employer-facing practices, and the programs and operations layers of employer success are well-integrated and working.
Bridge Employer Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning: Partner closely with the Director of Career and Life Integration to ensure employer programming is well-connected to student-facing curriculum and academic priorities. Connect employer partners to work-integrated learning opportunities, ensuring employers understand how to engage with academic programs beyond traditional recruiting. When piloting new engagement models, work closely with the Career and Life Integration team and CSU partners to ensure employer involvement is well-integrated into curricular and co-curricular activities. Stay current on national trends and emerging practices in employer-university partnership; bring that perspective into internal strategy and program development.
Track and Improve: Work with the Career Success Reporting and Insights team to develop employer engagement reporting for internal use and external audiences, including CSUs and employer partners. Track program effectiveness, employer engagement trends, and partnership outcomes; use findings to inform strategy and resource decisions. Track and interpret how technology shifts and labor market changes are reshaping employer expectations and talent needs; use those insights to anticipate where employer-university partnerships are headed. Contribute to team-wide learning by sharing what is working, what is not, and what peers at other institutions or in industry are doing differently.