Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN

Job description

Position Summary: The Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway is part of Vanderbilt University’s Career Advancement & Engagement (CAE) team and serves as the strategic leader for career development across media, entertainment, sports, and adjacent creative industries. The Director is responsible for developing and advancing a distinctive Vanderbilt pathway that integrates career advising, industry expertise, employer and alumni engagement, experiential learning, and student preparation. The role will build a coherent strategy that helps students explore and successfully pursue careers across a broad and rapidly evolving set of industries, including film and television, music, sports, streaming and digital media, gaming, content and creative industries, and entertainment technology. The Director will bring deep knowledge of these industries and their often nonlinear and relationship-driven career paths. Working closely with CAE’s Employer Relations and Experiential Learning teams, the Director will strengthen Vanderbilt’s relationships with employers, alumni, parents, and industry leaders and translate those relationships into internships, projects, mentoring, industry immersion, recruiting opportunities, and full-time outcomes for students. The Director will lead the Media, Entertainment & Sports pathway team and collaborate across Vanderbilt to connect students with the University’s academic programs, alumni networks, geographic assets, and industry relationships in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, and other key markets. About the Work Unit: Career Advancement & Engagement connects Vanderbilt students with meaningful career opportunities through advising, experiential learning, employer partnerships, and industry engagement. CAE is building a pathway-based model that integrates career advising, employer engagement, and experiential learning across key industries. Within this structure, pathway leaders own strategy and student preparation for specific sectors while collaborating closely with Employer Relations and Experiential Learning teams responsible for developing and activating institutional partnerships. Together, these teams create clearer pathways for students from career exploration through experience, relationship building, recruiting, and launch. Key Functions and Expected Performance: Industry Pathway Leadership & Strategy Lead Vanderbilt’s Media, Entertainment & Sports career pathway strategy and establish priorities for student preparation, experiential learning, industry engagement, and career outcomes. Define priority industry sectors, career opportunities, readiness milestones, and preparation models appropriate to the distinctive recruiting and hiring practices of MES industries. Ensure advising, employer engagement, experiential learning, alumni engagement, and programming operate as an integrated pathway rather than as separate activities. Monitor emerging industry, technology, labor-market, and recruiting trends and use those insights to continuously refine pathway strategy. Build Vanderbilt’s visibility and reputation as a source of exceptional undergraduate talent across media, entertainment, sports, and creative industries. Industry, Employer & Alumni Engagement Serve as a senior industry-facing representative of Vanderbilt and cultivate relationships with employers, executives, alumni, parents, and other influential industry leaders. Partner with Employer Relations leadership to identify priority organizations and develop multidimensional relationships that create opportunities for Vanderbilt students. Activate Vanderbilt alumni and parents as mentors, connectors, speakers, advisers, employers, and champions for students pursuing MES careers. Expand student access to internships, projects, industry professionals, networking opportunities, and full-time employment. Leverage Vanderbilt’s presence and relationships in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, and other industry centers to create a