Director of Engagement

Director Student Career Development

Student & Campus Life (SCL) inspires transformation in all Cornell students on their journey of individual, academic and personal evolution. Our division is comprised of leading student affairs experts who support our campus on pressing student life matters including public service, health, wellbeing, connection and belonging, residential living, food services, sports, recreation, career services, and student activities and organizations including sorority and fraternity life.

We provide support and services to roughly 25,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on multiple campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

The Director of Employer Engagement provides strategic leadership and vision for Cornell University's "One Cornell" employer engagement strategy, including employer development and recruitment programs, and collaboration among a broad group of university stakeholders. This role serves as the thought leader on employer engagement. They create, implement, and assess a "One Cornell" employer engagement strategy, which should include a targeted and proactive multi-sector outreach strategy, employer development, KPIs for industry reach and growth, professional development and training for employer relations team members from across campus, and mechanisms for employer input.

The Director stays informed of industry trends to strategize approaches to economic changes across industries, including the development of opportunities in AI. This position also oversees assessment, outcomes, and data on employer engagement for reporting and tracking, and provides reports to college and university leadership. The Director serves all colleges and schools in the Cornell Career Network which includes 10 offices, reaching approximately 23,000+ undergraduate and graduate students.

This role interfaces with and serves students, staff, faculty, and employers. The Director convenes employer and recruiting professionals from Cornell's school and college-based career teams, as well as provides leadership to the employer engagement team positioned in the central career office. They must also build strong relationships with Alumni Affairs & Development and Corporate and Foundation Relations staff. Campus collaboration is essential to this role.

As the lead for the "One Cornell" employer engagement strategy, the Director will continue to build partnerships with college and school directors to further collaboration that enables us to achieve success.

Application will be reviewed by September 18th, 2026. The salary range for this position is $125,000 to $135,450. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Success Factors:

• Strong strategic thinker with the ability to develop and execute strategic plans in a complex environment.
• Demonstrate autonomous leadership and ability to make decisions independently.
• Expertise in building and developing strong relationships with a variety of constituents, to support the recruiting activity with Cornell students and alumni.
• Demonstrated success in executing activities and programming at multiple levels of a process.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• A demonstrated interest in working with a college-aged population and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree and 5-7 years of experience in business, recruiting, career services, higher education or a related field; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally in an office environment and to interface with employers, students, alumni, faculty, and university administrators.
• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Exceptional communication skills (written, oral, presentation) and demonstrated proficiency facilitating large-group meetings and designing and delivery presentations.
• Ability to lead change and to organize and effectively manage multiple priorities, programs, and projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and developing positive relationships, partnerships, and alliances, both within a small team, and across units/divisions.
• Experience and confidence with strategic planning, implementation, and goal setting.
• Supervision and leadership experience.
• Experience leading teams and supporting supervises as they manage initiatives and programs.
• Project management experience.
• Proven experience connecting inclusion, belonging and wellbeing practices to business goals.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in university career service, and/or experience in university recruitment in the private sector.
• Awareness of market trends and trends in higher education and career services.
• Experience with program evaluation and assessment; ability to utilize data for decision-making.
• Experience managing a budget and/or developing strategies to increase revenue.