Executive Director, Workforce Engagement

Indiana Wesleyan University•Indianapolis, IN

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Director of Workforce Engagement provides strategic leadership for the Department of Career Readiness and Workforce Launch within IWU National and Global. Reporting directly to the Vice President of Learner Success and Retention, this role is responsible for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of a three-pillar career launch system that transforms career preparation from a passive, transactional service into a lifecycle-integrated, data-driven intervention model. The Executive Director ensures that every IWU student graduates with a verified Human Capital Package and an active advocate working on their behalf in the regional labor market. This position serves as the senior strategic leader for the department, overseeing a lean team of 1.0 to 6.0 FTE across three operational pillars: Career Clarity, Professional Development, and Market Advocacy. The Executive Director is the primary institutional liaison for the circular talent ecosystem, connecting employer intelligence from Regional Career Agents back to academic curriculum and enrollment strategy. The role operates at the intersection of student success, workforce development, and institutional advancement, requiring the ability to engage credibly at the C-suite level with employer partners while maintaining deep alignment with IWU's mission of student flourishing. This is a foundational leadership role in a newly approved, purpose-built department. The individual selected will have the opportunity to design the model, build the team, and establish the operational infrastructure — not simply execute a pre-existing system. Christian Commitment Requirement: In accordance with Indiana Wesleyan University's employment policy, all employees must possess a strong Christian commitment and adhere to the standards outlined in the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement.

Requirements

Master's degree in higher education, organizational leadership, human resources, business administration, or a closely related field required
Minimum seven (7) years of progressive experience in career services, workforce development, talent acquisition, or a related field, with at least three (3) years in a supervisory or leadership capacity
Demonstrated experience developing and managing employer partnerships, including negotiating employment agreements and presenting talent profiles to C-suite or senior HR audiences
Proficiency in Salesforce CRM or a comparable enterprise relationship management platform
Demonstrated ability to translate complex data into executive-level intelligence briefs and institutional reports
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent the institution credibly in external employer and community settings
Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a team in a fully remote or hybrid environment
Strong Christian commitment and adherence to the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement

Nice To Haves

Doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) in higher education, organizational leadership, or a related field preferred
Familiarity with competency-based education frameworks and T-Shaped Professional development models
Experience serving adult learners in an online or hybrid higher education environment
Background in executive recruiting, talent brokerage, or business development with demonstrated commission or placement performance
Experience with AI-augmented student success platforms, early alert systems, or predictive analytics tools
Familiarity with the Prosci ADKAR change management framework or comparable change management methodology
Regional market knowledge across the Indianapolis, Chicago, or Cleveland metropolitan areas

Responsibilities

Lead the implementation and ongoing refinement of the Career Readiness and Workforce Launch model, ensuring alignment with IWU National and Global's enrollment, retention, and student success goals
Develop and execute a 24-month implementation roadmap, managing phase transitions from foundation to full-scale operation with clear milestone accountability
Establish and maintain the department's key performance indicator framework, including placement rates, employer satisfaction scores, Human Capital Package completion rates, and 90-day graduate retention metrics
Produce a termly Student Success Intelligence Brief that synthesizes workforce outcomes data for VP-level and Board-level audiences, translating complex placement and retention data into actionable institutional intelligence
Represent the department in cross-divisional governance structures, including the Digital Credential Wallet steering committee and the Partnership-to-Placement integration with the Enrollment Division
Manage the department budget within approved parameters, applying data-validated expansion triggers to authorize FTE growth from 4.0 to 7.0 as enrollment and caseload thresholds are reached
Cultivate and manage high-value employer partnerships at the C-suite and senior HR level, positioning IWU graduates as verified talent assets through the Human Capital Package framework
Oversee the Regional Career Agent team's employer account portfolio, ensuring consistent relationship management across 15 to 30 active accounts per FTE
Coordinate weekly with the Enrollment Division's Partnership Executive team to align on shared employer account management, relationship ownership protocols, and market intelligence sharing through Salesforce
Provide monthly market intelligence briefs to the Vice President of Learner Success and Retention, summarizing employer workforce needs, hiring trends, and graduate performance data
Lead the institution's participation in regional employer engagement events, workforce development convenings, and industry partnership initiatives across the Indianapolis, Chicago, and Cleveland hub markets
Provide direct supervision, coaching, and professional development for all three pillar roles — Career Clarity Specialists, Professional Development Specialists, and Regional Career Agents
Establish and maintain standardized intervention protocols, caseload management practices, and documentation standards across all three pillars
Monitor pillar-level KPIs on a monthly basis, identifying performance gaps and implementing corrective action plans as needed
Facilitate weekly team coordination meetings and bi-weekly one-on-one supervision sessions with each direct report
Lead the onboarding and training of all new department hires, ensuring alignment with the Human-First AI philosophy and the Intervention Science framework that underpins the department's operating model
Oversee the department's AI-augmented technology stack, including the Student Insights Agent, EdSights early alert integration, and Salesforce CRM workflows, ensuring tools are deployed to maximize human capacity for high-stakes student interventions
Lead the department's participation in the Digital Credential Wallet initiative, coordinating with Talent Studio, Academics, and Academic Records to deploy the Comprehensive Learner Record platform and iQ4 trial
Ensure accurate and timely documentation of student interactions, employer engagements, placement outcomes, and intervention records within Salesforce to support institutional reporting and continuous improvement
Collaborate with IT and Data Services on Salesforce configuration, API maintenance, and the joint employer pipeline dashboard shared with the Enrollment Division
Maintain bi-weekly coordination with Academic Advising to ensure program selection alignment, student handoffs, and career-academic integration across the student lifecycle
Collaborate with the Student Engagement and Success team on wraparound support coordination, Spiritcare referrals, and at-risk student case management
Partner with Institutional Advancement on employer cultivation strategy, alumni engagement in the talent pipeline, and the development of the Salary Subsidy Fund pilot
Provide quarterly academic briefings to Faculty and Program Directors, sharing market intelligence on employer workforce needs, graduate performance data, and industry credential alignment
Collaborate with Marketing and Communications on employer-facing materials, student success stories, and institutional brand positioning as a Human Capital Partner