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Summary of Position: The Executive Director of Workforce Engagement provides strategic leadership for the Department of Career Readiness and Workforce Launch within IWU National and Global. Reporting directly to the Vice President of Learner Success and Retention, this role is responsible for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of a three-pillar career launch system that transforms career preparation from a passive, transactional service into a lifecycle-integrated, data-driven intervention model. The Executive Director ensures that every IWU student graduates with a verified Human Capital Package and an active advocate working on their behalf in the regional labor market.
This position serves as the senior strategic leader for the department, overseeing a lean team of 1.0 to 6.0 FTE across three operational pillars: Career Clarity, Professional Development, and Market Advocacy. The Executive Director is the primary institutional liaison for the circular talent ecosystem, connecting employer intelligence from Regional Career Agents back to academic curriculum and enrollment strategy. The role operates at the intersection of student success, workforce development, and institutional advancement, requiring the ability to engage credibly at the C-suite level with employer partners while maintaining deep alignment with IWU's mission of student flourishing.
This is a foundational leadership role in a newly approved, purpose-built department. The individual selected will have the opportunity to design the model, build the team, and establish the operational infrastructure — not simply execute a pre-existing system.
Christian Commitment Requirement: In accordance with Indiana Wesleyan University's employment policy, all employees must possess a strong Christian commitment and adhere to the standards outlined in the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership and Department Vision
- Lead the implementation and ongoing refinement of the Career Readiness and Workforce Launch model, ensuring alignment with IWU National and Global's enrollment, retention, and student success goals
- Develop and execute a 24-month implementation roadmap, managing phase transitions from foundation to full-scale operation with clear milestone accountability
- Establish and maintain the department's key performance indicator framework, including placement rates, employer satisfaction scores, Human Capital Package completion rates, and 90-day graduate retention metrics
- Produce a termly Student Success Intelligence Brief that synthesizes workforce outcomes data for VP-level and Board-level audiences, translating complex placement and retention data into actionable institutional intelligence
- Represent the department in cross-divisional governance structures, including the Digital Credential Wallet steering committee and the Partnership-to-Placement integration with the Enrollment Division
- Manage the department budget within approved parameters, applying data-validated expansion triggers to authorize FTE growth from 4.0 to 7.0 as enrollment and caseload thresholds are reached
- Employer Partnership Development and Market Advocacy
- Cultivate and manage high-value employer partnerships at the C-suite and senior HR level, positioning IWU graduates as verified talent assets through the Human Capital Package framework
- Oversee the Regional Career Agent team's employer account portfolio, ensuring consistent relationship management across 15 to 30 active accounts per FTE
- Coordinate weekly with the Enrollment Division's Partnership Executive team to align on shared employer account management, relationship ownership protocols, and market intelligence sharing through Salesforce
- Provide monthly market intelligence briefs to the Vice President of Learner Success and Retention, summarizing employer workforce needs, hiring trends, and graduate performance data
- Lead the institution's participation in regional employer engagement events, workforce development convenings, and industry partnership initiatives across the Indianapolis, Chicago, and Cleveland hub markets
- Team Leadership and Pillar Oversight
- Provide direct supervision, coaching, and professional development for all three pillar roles — Career Clarity Specialists, Professional Development Specialists, and Regional Career Agents
- Establish and maintain standardized intervention protocols, caseload management practices, and documentation standards across all three pillars
- Monitor pillar-level KPIs on a monthly basis, identifying performance gaps and implementing corrective action plans as needed
- Facilitate weekly team coordination meetings and bi-weekly one-on-one supervision sessions with each direct report
- Lead the onboarding and training of all new department hires, ensuring alignment with the Human-First AI philosophy and the Intervention Science framework that underpins the department's operating model
- Technology Infrastructure and AI Augmentation
- Oversee the department's AI-augmented technology stack, including the Student Insights Agent, EdSights early alert integration, and Salesforce CRM workflows, ensuring tools are deployed to maximize human capacity for high-stakes student interventions
- Lead the department's participation in the Digital Credential Wallet initiative, coordinating with Talent Studio, Academics, and Academic Records to deploy the Comprehensive Learner Record platform and iQ4 trial
- Ensure accurate and timely documentation of student interactions, employer engagements, placement outcomes, and intervention records within Salesforce to support institutional reporting and continuous improvement
- Collaborate with IT and Data Services on Salesforce configuration, API maintenance, and the joint employer pipeline dashboard shared with the Enrollment Division
- Cross-Divisional Collaboration and Institutional Integration
- Maintain bi-weekly coordination with Academic Advising to ensure program selection alignment, student handoffs, and career-academic integration across the student lifecycle
- Collaborate with the Student Engagement and Success team on wraparound support coordination, Spiritcare referrals, and at-risk student case management
- Partner with Institutional Advancement on employer cultivation strategy, alumni engagement in the talent pipeline, and the development of the Salary Subsidy Fund pilot
- Provide quarterly academic briefings to Faculty and Program Directors, sharing market intelligence on employer workforce needs, graduate performance data, and industry credential alignment
- Collaborate with Marketing and Communications on employer-facing materials, student success stories, and institutional brand positioning as a Human Capital Partner
Qualifications: According to Indiana Wesleyan University employment policy all employees must possess a strong Christian commitment and adhere to the standards outlined in the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement.
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Education
- Master's degree in higher education, organizational leadership, human resources, business administration, or a closely related field required
- Doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) in higher education, organizational leadership, or a related field preferred
Experience
- Minimum seven (7) years of progressive experience in career services, workforce development, talent acquisition, or a related field, with at least three (3) years in a supervisory or leadership capacity
- Demonstrated experience developing and managing employer partnerships, including negotiating employment agreements and presenting talent profiles to C-suite or senior HR audiences
Required Skills
- Demonstrated experience developing and managing employer partnerships, including negotiating employment agreements and presenting talent profiles to C-suite or senior HR audiences
- Proficiency in Salesforce CRM or a comparable enterprise relationship management platform
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex data into executive-level intelligence briefs and institutional reports
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent the institution credibly in external employer and community settings
- Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a team in a fully remote or hybrid environment
- Strong Christian commitment and adherence to the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement
- Familiarity with competency-based education frameworks and T-Shaped Professional development models
- Experience serving adult learners in an online or hybrid higher education environment
- Background in executive recruiting, talent brokerage, or business development with demonstrated commission or placement performance
- Experience with AI-augmented student success platforms, early alert systems, or predictive analytics tools
- Familiarity with the Prosci ADKAR change management framework or comparable change management methodology
- Regional market knowledge across the Indianapolis, Chicago, or Cleveland metropolitan areas
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IWU Kingdom Diversity Statement
IWU, in covenant with God's reconciling work and in accordance with the Biblical principles of our historic Wesleyan tradition, commits to build a community that reflects Kingdom diversity. We will foster an intentional environment for living, teaching and learning, which exhibits honor, respect, and dignity. Acknowledging visible or invisible differences, our community authentically values each member's earthly and eternal worth. We refute ignorance and isolation and embrace deliberate and courageous engagement that exhibits Christ's commandment to love all humankind.
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