Senior Associate Director of Experiential Learning

Brandeis University•Waltham, MA

21h•Onsite

About The Position

The Center for Careers and the Applied Liberal Arts at Brandeis University is seeking a Senior Associate Director of Experiential Learning to lead the development and operation of experiential learning initiatives. This role involves establishing standards, creating scalable processes, developing strategic partnerships, and defining how experiential learning is delivered across the university. The position will focus on internships, applied research partnerships, field-based projects, shadowing, fellowships, and community-engaged work for both undergraduate and graduate students. The Senior Associate Director will collaborate with employers, alumni, faculty, donors, IT, and campus partners to create systems, processes, and connect students with meaningful opportunities. A key aspect of the role is shaping how high-impact experiences are recognized alongside academic achievements, contributing to a university-wide framework that documents learning from the classroom to the street. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building relationships, collaborating across a complex organization, and turning ambitious ideas into practical, sustainable programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
Five to eight years of progressively responsible experience in experiential learning, internship programs, career services, or a closely related field.
A track record of building programs and processes.
Strong relationship-building skills across employers, faculty, donors, students, IT colleagues, and senior university leadership, with a record of turning those relationships into active, sustained partnerships.
Sound operational judgment and the ability to move work forward in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
At least one year of supervisory experience managing professional staff.
Clear, direct communication skills, in writing and in person, with the presence to represent the Center credibly across a wide range of audiences.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in higher education administration, student affairs, counseling, or a related field.
Experience navigating a complex, decentralized, multi-school university environment.
Experience with Handshake, Salesforce, Workday, or similar platforms.
Working knowledge of CPT/OPT and international student work authorization.
Familiarity with experiential learning credentialing frameworks, co-curricular records, or similar models for documenting student experiences.
Experience working with donors or development colleagues on endowed programs, named fellowships, or gift-funded initiatives.

Responsibilities

Build and grow Brandeis’s portfolio of experiential learning opportunities across all five schools, including internships, research partnerships, fellowships, and community-engaged work.
Set the standards for what qualifies as an endorsed experience, including for the university’s new second transcript.
Partner with Career Programs and Employer Relations to develop employer-led projects, alumni-connected experiences, and gift-funded initiatives.
Design and maintain a student platform for experiential learning opportunities, in partnership with University IT.
Keep the opportunity catalog accurate and easy for students and advisors to navigate.
Standardize how the university documents high impact experiences, and work with student-facing teams on the resources students need to find and use them.
Build and maintain a framework for tracking participation, program quality, and outcomes, in partnership with the Center’s data team.
Use that data to evaluate impact and contribute to university-level reporting on experiential learning.
Supervise and develop one assistant director.
Represent the experiential learning function across the university, working with faculty, IT, career counseling staff, deans, and senior leadership.