Developing Rural Place- Partnerships to Career Pathways | FUSE Executive Fellowship

Full-Time Developing Rural Place-Based Partnerships to Improve Career Pathways | FUSE Executive Fellowship

Fellowship Dates:
October 26, 2026 – October 20, 2028

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. This amount is not representative of market-rate salaries for the experienced professionals in our program but is intended as compensation for a year of public service.

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full-time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects.

They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

Place-based partnerships are essential to strengthening education-to-career pathways and advancing long-term economic mobility for young people. These approaches bring together schools, local governments, employers, and community-based organizations to align efforts around shared outcomes, enabling communities to address complex challenges through coordinated, sustained action. For young people in communities with fewer connected resources, particularly in rural and geographically dispersed areas, aligned and locally grounded systems play a critical role in expanding access to opportunity, strengthening educational attainment, and supporting successful transitions into the workforce.

When regions invest in strong cross-sector partnerships supported by shared data, clear goals, and local leadership, they create conditions for more consistent, inclusive, and impactful outcomes.

In Utah, Utah’s Promise leads a statewide effort to advance cradle-to-career outcomes through a place-based partnership model called Promise Partnership Utah. This work has taken root in communities such as South Salt Lake and Millcreek, where local backbone organizations coordinate cross-sector partners to improve outcomes such as early literacy, youth engagement, and long-term educational success. Building on this progress, Promise Partnership Utah has expanded its focus to include rural communities, where strong local collaboration exists but opportunities remain to further align efforts and strengthen coordinated impact.

Recent investments in research, community engagement, and partnerships with national organizations, alongside the passage of SB 165, have established a strong foundation and growing momentum to support the development of…