Director of Corporate Partnerships

Position Summary: The Director of Corporate Partnerships will build deep and lasting partnerships between the university and business/industry as well as other strategic external entities that result in significant investment via student and alumni hires, co‑marketing, executive education and training, as well as sponsored investments in other projects and/or research/philanthropy.

The director is responsible for careful attention and guidance to manage expectations, facilitate experiences, and drive results. Insightful and continuous matchmaking, progress tracking, story capturing, best practices research, and co‑creation are essential aspects of advancing such partnerships. The director serves as the single point of contact for a portfolio of strategic partner organizations with Vanderbilt, organizing and supporting holistic engagement across the university to create and grow these lasting partnerships.

The Center for Corporate Partnerships provides central leadership to coordinate and advance corporate engagement across Vanderbilt University. The Center stewards and connects any opportunities with business and industry, is a continuous resource for faculty and staff, and provides unified relationship management with key corporate accounts the university collaborates with. The Center is a key component of the newly launched Vanderbilt Enterprises initiative.

Vanderbilt Enterprises is a strategic initiative launched to unlock the full potential of Vanderbilt University’s assets—facilities, services, and partnerships—to generate sustainable revenue and support long‑term institutional priorities. Led by CEO Markus Schreyer, the venture draws inspiration from global best practices across industries, including hospitality, sports, and entertainment.

Key functions include:

• Serve as the Vanderbilt University focal for an assigned portfolio of strategic partner organizations.
• Create and implement client account plans to map existing alignment and forge strong, value‑added relationships through achievement of identified partner business objectives.
• Drive collaboration, engagement, and accountability to align solutions for client needs that are achieved on schedule, on budget, and meet/exceed expectations.
• Deliver repeatable engagement processes to achieve client’s desired solutions and outcomes.
• Assist with inquiries and/or answering questions on university capabilities, aligning visits and/or providing tours, making presentations, making referrals, and facilitating the achievement of official partnership agreements where appropriate.
• Represent the department on committees and initiatives as delegated by leadership.

• Facilitate and maintain deep collaborations with colleges and departments to develop and cultivate key relationships with researchers, faculty, academic leadership, administrative and research units, including Development and Alumni Relations, Government and Community Relations, Athletics, The Office of the Vice Provost for Research & Innovation, IT, Facilities, Procurement, and student employment units, including the Career Center, and other student talent gatekeepers, to increase breadth and depth of partnership opportunities.
• Assist leadership in development of internal programs to increase visibility and opportunities for industry/business engagement for faculty and staff.

• Proactively measure client satisfaction. Resolve any issues or potential process breakdowns and then leverage to preserve resources and create products and/or services that can be re‑purposed as future solutions.
• Collaborate on designing and implementing client‑focused policies and procedures that ensure that the university has an effective framework for maintaining and growing relationships with strategic partners so that they will recognize Vanderbilt University as an undeniable partner of choice.
• Capture data and partner engagement to effectively allow marketing and communications to…