Early Career and University Programs Manager Early Career and University Programs Manager

Foundever®•Wise, VA

8d•$0 - $80,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Workforce & Education Partnerships is a strategic, hybrid role that bridges Talent Acquisition, Training, and Operations to develop sustainable workforce education programs through collaboration with universities, community colleges, technical schools, workforce boards, and adult education organizations. This role will design and execute scalable partnership models that strengthen Foundever’s talent ecosystem, align academic programs with business needs, and position Foundever as an employer of choice in key markets. The ideal candidate excels at stakeholder engagement, program design, student outreach, and translating operational requirements into academic partnership strategies. The candidate must be located in Wise, VA ; Morristown,TN; Hazard, KY.

Requirements

Experience in Talent Acquisition, Workforce Development, Higher Education Partnerships, L&D, or Operations (BPO preferred).
Strong understanding of university systems, career services, workforce agencies, and educational program structures.
Experience designing or supporting training programs, curriculum alignment, or early-career hiring pipelines.
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to engage deans, faculty, career services, and executive leadership.
Comfortable working in a cross-functional environment with TA, Ops, L&D, HR, and community partners.
Comfortable with client facing interactions.
Willingness to travel to campuses and sites as needed.

Responsibilities

Build and manage partnerships with universities, colleges, technical schools, and community-based organizations to generate qualified talent pipelines.
Develop internship, apprenticeship, co-op, and “learn-and-earn” programs aligned to Foundever and client hiring needs (education pathways, career pathways).
Partner with TA leaders and site leaders to forecast talent demand and align educational partnerships to volume hiring cycles.
Conduct on-campus and virtual outreach activities
Partner with staff to create referral funnels from academic programs (business, IT, communications, accounting finance, etc.) into Foundever roles.
Create Brand Ambassador on campus to assist with student outreach
Collaborate with Learning & Development to co-design curriculum, job-prep workshops, soft skills training, and certification pathways that enhance student job readiness.
Support instructional design teams in mapping competencies between academic programs and Foundever job roles.
Develop “Workplace Readiness Bootcamps” or bridge programs to shorten ramp time and improve day-1 quality.
Evaluate effectiveness of training-to-hire programs and recommend continuous improvements.
Serve as the operational liaison between educational institutions and internal leadership teams.
Translate business needs, KPIs, and performance expectations into clear partnership deliverables.
Track hiring outcomes, retention, training quality, and performance metrics tied to educational pipelines.
Support operational leaders by building long-term community presence through workforce development boards, economic development agencies, and industry advisory boards.
Present partnership results and recommendations to senior leadership and client stakeholders.