Director, Workforce Partnerships

Hadrian Automation • Mesa, AZ

3d

About The Position

Hadrian is seeking a Director of Workforce Partnerships to lead the company's external training strategy and build talent pipelines through institutional relationships. This is a new role crucial for Hadrian's factory expansion, responsible for developing a framework for internal vs. external training, managing partnerships with educational institutions, and ensuring external programs meet Hadrian's standards. The ideal candidate understands educational institutions, can translate workforce needs into actionable designs, and is comfortable working with diverse stakeholders from college presidents to factory floor personnel.

Requirements

• 7+ years in workforce development, partner success, educational program management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing relationships with educational institutions — including navigating institutional bureaucracy and building durable agreements.
• Background in instructional design, curriculum review, or training operations with an ability to evaluate program quality against defined standards.
• Track record of building or significantly growing a partnership function, not just maintaining one.
• Strong cross-functional communication — you can represent workforce needs to factory leadership and translate operational realities back to institutional partners.
• Comfort operating in an environment where the playbook is still being written.
• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Workforce Development, Business, Public Policy, or a related field; advanced degree a plus; equivalent experience considered.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with workforce development grants, government funding programs, or public-private partnerships.
• Background in or deep familiarity with community college systems.
• Experience building dual-enrollment or early college programs with high schools.
• Familiarity with advanced manufacturing or precision manufacturing environments.
• Experience working in or alongside a fast-scaling company where the workforce development playbook was still being written.
• A genuine point of view on what manufacturing workforce development should look like for the next generation — not just how it’s always been done.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a framework for determining whether a training need is best met internally or through an external partner.
• Map and prioritize institutional partners by geographic market, program fit, and pipeline potential.
• Own the long-term strategy for building Hadrian’s talent pipeline across all markets, including identifying non-traditional pathways through veteran programs and industry associations.
• Build and manage a portfolio of active institutional partnerships — community colleges, universities, trade schools, veteran programs, industry associations, and dual-enrollment high school pathways.
• Represent Hadrian in partner negotiations, MOU development, and ongoing relationship management with institutional leadership.
• Oversee Hadrian’s existing high school internship program and expand similar models into new markets.
• Work with external partners to ensure their programs align with Hadrian’s technical and behavioral standards.
• Own curriculum review and approval for outsourced training programs, providing specific, actionable feedback and holding partners to defined quality benchmarks.
• Collaborate with Training Operations to ensure external program outputs integrate smoothly with internal onboarding and close gaps between what external programs produce and what Hadrian actually needs.
• Establish success metrics for each partner relationship and run regular performance reviews against those standards.
• Track cohort outcomes for externally trained candidates and use that data to refine partner strategy over time.
• Manage grant opportunities and external funding that support partner program development.
• Maintain systems and documentation that give internal stakeholders clear visibility into the external training pipeline.
• Build Hadrian’s reputation as a partner of choice in the communities where we operate.
• Create relationships that support long-term talent development and workforce sustainability across all Hadrian markets.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees
• 401k
• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.
• Flexible vacation policy

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director