Community Engagement Director

Community Engagement Director

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Community Engagement Director at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university locatedin the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Ourdeep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity,diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

The Community Engagement Director (CED) is responsible for Wayne State University's (WSU) community engagement efforts across

Detroit and Southeast Michigan, including campus stakeholderrelations and local and regional government relations. The rolebuilds and sustains relationships with city, county, and regionalofficials, and with community leaders, organizations, and stakeholders, in service of the university's institutional priorities and its role as an engaged anchor institution in theregion.

Reporting to the Chief of Government Relations and Community Engagement (GRACE), the CED develops and implements an integratedlocal government relations and community engagement strategy. Therole identifies opportunities for collaboration and publicinvestment with local and regional stakeholders, builds and documents community partnerships and programming, and represents the university at civic and community events across the region. Therole proactively looks for ways to connect campus activities and stakeholders to opportunities in and around government and community entities.

The CED works with the GRACE team and its goals to keep local,regional, state, and federal-level engagement aligned and strategic, and may support other advocacy activities as needed. TheCED collaborates with Alumni Relations to engage alumni in advocacy and community leadership, works with UCAM and academic and administrative units to coordinate engagement activities, and helpsestablish consistent practices for tracking and evaluating theimpact of community and government relations work across campus.

The CED makes specific recommendations on WSU’s sponsorshipstrategy and execution of that strategy, and acts as a key partner and implementer for sponsorship activities.

The specific mix of local government relations and community engagement responsibilities may shift as the team grows. The CEDshould expect the scope of this role to evolve over time.

Develop, document, and execute a strategic community engagement plan for Wayne State University, in collaboration with colleagues within GRACE and relevant entities across WSU. This documented plan should be flexible to grow and change over time, reflect themultiplicity of communities in the city and region, include dataand measures of success, and align with available resources forsponsorships, programming, and outreach. Track and measureactivities and outcomes.

Lead development and implementation of a local and regionalgovernment relations strategy for Wayne State University across

Detroit and Southeast Michigan. Identify opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and public investment with municipal,county, and regional stakeholders. Monitor and analyze locallegislative and regulatory developments affecting the university and provide timely updates and recommendations to GRACEleadership.

Cultivate and maintain relationships, networks, and contacts withlocal and regional officials, their staff, and relatedorganizations and associations. Work in coordination with Alumni Affairs to identify and engage alumni and community leaders who can support university priorities in governmental and public policysettings.

Build, develop, document, and track mutually beneficialpartnerships, relationships, and programming with communityleaders, organizations, and alumni engaged in community leadership across Detroit and Southeast Michigan. Proactively look for andseek to create opportunities for Wayne State students, faculty,staff, and alumni to be engaged in community and local governmentinitiatives.

Work with partners on campus and in the community to develop,implement, and measure the impact of signature engagement program sand events. Support campus events involving elected officials and community partners.

Advise university leadership on community matters while communicating WSU priorities and decisions to community stakeholders, helping to clarify institutional actions and…