Dean of Experiential Learning, Career Development and Partnerships

Dean of Experiential Learning, Career Development and Employer Partnerships Dean of Experiential Learning, Career Development and Employer Partnerships

Posted: September 14, 2026

Position Code: 835

The Opportunity Merrimack College invites applications for a Dean of Experiential Learning, Career Development and Employer Relations to lead the College’s integrated strategy for experiential learning, career development, and employer engagement.

This is a significant leadership opportunity at a moment of institutional growth and innovation. Merrimack is making a major investment in ensuring that students graduate not only with a strong academic foundation, but also with meaningful professional experience, relationships, skills, confidence, and preparation for an evolving world of work.

The Dean will provide strategic and operational leadership for the O’Brien Center for Career & Professional Development and the James

E. & Cynthia

E. Scammon Center for Experiential Learning, with the staff of both centers reporting to this position.

The Dean will work closely with academic leaders, faculty, alumni, employers, and other campus partners to advance Merrimack’s institution-wide approach to career readiness and experiential learning.

This is not a traditional career-services role. Merrimack seeks an entrepreneurial, externally oriented leader who can build partnerships, lead teams, develop systems, translate employer needs into student opportunities, and scale an ambitious institutional vision.

The strongest candidates may come from higher education, industry, early-career talent development, campus recruiting, workforce development, employer relations, or a combination of these areas.

One Year Ahead
The Dean will play a central leadership role in advancing Merrimack’s One Year Ahead Initiative, the College’s signature initiative connecting academic learning, experiential education, professional development, and career preparation.

One Year Ahead reflects Merrimack’s commitment to preparing students for a rapidly changing economy by creating meaningful opportunities for professional experience, skill development, mentorship, employer engagement, and career exploration throughout the undergraduate experience.

The Dean will be responsible for translating that institutional commitment into measurable student outcomes and a distinctive competitive advantage for Merrimack.

Key Responsibilities

Provide Strategic Leadership

• Lead Merrimack’s institution-wide strategy for experiential learning, career development, employer engagement, and career readiness.
• Provide leadership, direction, and accountability for the O’Brien Center for Career & Professional Development and the Scammon Center for Experiential Learning.
• Develop a unified vision, operating model, and set of priorities across the two centers.
• Establish clear measures of success and use data to evaluate student participation, employer engagement, program effectiveness, and post-graduate outcomes.
• Advise senior leadership on workforce trends, employer expectations, and emerging opportunities affecting Merrimack students and graduates.
• Build a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and exceptional service to students.

Expand Employer and Industry Partnerships

• Develop and execute an ambitious strategy to expand Merrimack’s relationships with employers in Greater Boston, New England, and selected national markets.
• Personally cultivate relationships with senior leaders in corporations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, healthcare organizations, research institutions, entrepreneurial ventures, and other organizations.
• Position Merrimack as a valued source of early-career talent and a strategic partner to employers.
• Increase the number, quality,…