Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships

Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships

McMinnville Campus - McMinnville, OR

Linfield University seeks a collaborative, relationship-focused, and student-centered Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships to join the Career & Life Design team. This position plays a pivotal role in expanding career opportunities for students by cultivating strategic partnerships with employers, alumni, and community organizations that lead to internships, employment, mentoring, and other high-impact experiential learning opportunities.

In addition to leading employer engagement initiatives, the Assistant Director provides individualized career coaching to students, helping them explore career pathways, develop effective job and internship search strategies, and connect with meaningful professional opportunities. This position serves as a key ambassador for Career & Life Design, representing the university to employers and community partners while collaborating across campus to strengthen students' career readiness and post-graduation success.

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive employer engagement and strategic partnership plan that supports student career outcomes.
• Build and sustain relationships with employers, alumni, and community and industry partners that generate internships, employment opportunities, mentoring relationships, and experiential learning opportunities.
• Identify and prioritize target industries, sectors, and geographic regions for partnership development aligned with institutional priorities and student interests.
• Understand employer recruiting needs and align university talent pipelines with workforce demands.
• Serve as the primary university contact for employer and partner relationships while maintaining exceptional customer service and responsiveness.
• Develop innovative partnership opportunities, including employer site visits, job shadowing, micro-internships, consulting projects, networking events, and other experiential learning initiatives.

• Provide individualized career coaching to students, including career exploration, internship and job search strategies, resume and interview preparation, networking, and professional development.
• Connect students with employer, alumni, and industry opportunities that support career readiness and long-term success.
• Guide students in identifying and pursuing experiential learning opportunities aligned with their career goals.

• Lead the planning and execution of employer-facing events, including career fairs, internship fairs, employer information sessions, recruiting events, and networking programs.
• Recruit and coordinate employers, alumni, and community professionals to participate as guest speakers, mentors, mock interviewers, panelists, evaluators, and career advisors.
• Collaborate with faculty and campus partners to integrate employer and alumni engagement into academic programs, classroom presentations, and career-related programming.
• Coordinate the Connect Me! mentoring program by identifying, cultivating, and matching alumni and community partners with students for career exploration and professional networking.

• Oversee employer and partnership data within the university's career management system (such as Symplicity), ensuring accurate records, reporting, and analysis.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret employer engagement, alumni participation, and graduate outcomes data to inform strategic planning and continuous improvement.
• Research labor market trends, industry developments, and employer engagement best practices and share insights with students, faculty, staff, and university leadership.

• Supervise, mentor, and support student employees involved in employer engagement and outreach initiatives.
• Represent Career & Life Design at university, employer, alumni, and community events through presentations and public speaking engagements.
• Exercise sound judgment, professionalism, and conflict resolution skills when addressing concerns involving…