Title:
Executive Director of Corporate Engagement

Department:
Corporate Engagement

Reports To:
President of the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII)

Position Type:
Staff

Position Summary:
Reporting to the President of the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation, and in collaboration with NJIT's Provost, Senior Vice Provost for Research, and Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations, the Executive Director of Corporate Engagement will provide leadership in establishing and developing a university-wide corporate engagement program. This program will serve as the cornerstone of NJIT's ongoing efforts to increase the breadth and depth of its engagements with corporate partners, moving from a framework that is mostly transactional to one that nurtures long-term, continuous relationships designed to foster mutual benefits in multiple areas, including:
- Talent pipeline development
- Continuing and professional education
- Research
- Intellectual property and technology transfer
- Entrepreneurship and innovation
- Philanthropy
- Campus procurement

The Executive Director of Corporate Engagement will work collaboratively with colleagues in NJII, Career Development Services, the Provost's office, the Office of Research, and the Development & Alumni Relations office, as well as deans and faculty in NJIT's individual colleges, to cultivate and sustain multilayered, mutually beneficial corporate partnerships for academic program development and expansion, pipelines to meet employment demand, partner- and/or industry-specific economic development initiatives, and the advancement of applied and translational research.

The Executive Director is expected to build a culture of collaboration and trust, with a keen understanding of internal colleagues' and external constituents' goals and priorities. He or she will be entrepreneurial in identifying, developing, and presenting appropriate opportunities for partnership and investment.

The Executive Director will maintain high-level oversight of NJIT's relationships with key corporations, spending focused time on relationship-building activities, both directly and via assigned relationship managers at the university, which will lead to the securing and/or expansion of research, talent, economic development, and philanthropic partnerships. This includes the creation and execution of comprehensive strategies designed to maximize the exchange of assets and resources between the university and its corporate partners.

Essential Functions:
- Develop and manage a portfolio of 20-25 key corporate partners with research, economic development, talent, and philanthropic potential.
- Develop and implement, in collaboration and coordination with assigned relationship managers, engagement strategies for assigned corporate prospects to maximize multilayered collaborations with, and investment in, the university.
- In collaboration with campus partners, coordinate the university's relationships with businesses, industry leaders, and other entities seeking access to NJIT's assets and resources and forge strategic partnerships related to those assets and resources.
- With the President of NJII, oversee all aspects of the university's corporate engagement efforts, including, among other functions, marketing, administration, agreements, inbound inquiries, visits, proposals, and operations.
- With the President of NJII, develop KPIs to evaluate, assess, and continually improve NJIT's corporate engagement efforts.
- In collaboration with the NJIT and NJII IT teams, develop a robust process for tracking and managing multiple corporate relationships.
- Identify faculty needs which can be addressed through specific corporate relationships.
- Create and implement policy, strategy, and direction for the university's corporate engagement efforts and ensure that all procedures, goals, and initiatives undertaken by the larger corporate engagement team are consistent with, and supportive of, the goals and strategic initiatives for the university as set by the Board of Trustees, President, Provost, Senior Vice Provost for Research, Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations, and other senior leaders.

Prerequisite Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject.
- Ten years of experience in marketing, business development, alliance management, alumni and corporate relations.
- Possess the business acumen and professional intuition needed to build and expand meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships.
- Familiarity with the technology industry in New Jersey and New York City, including corporations and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Be able to adjust priorities and the approach to corporate partners accordingly.
- Entrepreneurial, collaboration-focused and strategically minded.
- Strong relationship management skills; must be able to develop relationships at every level from entry level recruiters to CTO's as well as start-up organizations to Fortune 500 companies.
- Capable of working independently with minimal supervision.
- Possess a growth mindset, self-driven and demonstrated ability to achieve goals.
- At the university's discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be exempted where the candidate can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the university, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior supervisory experience strongly preferred

Bargaining Unit:
Non-Aligned

Range/Band:
7

FLSA:
Exempt
Full-Time