Director, Public Leadership Career Pathway at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN

Job description

Position Summary: The Director, Public Leadership Career Pathway is part of Vanderbilt University’s Career Advancement & Engagement (CAE) team and serves as the strategic leader for career development across government, public policy, advocacy, nonprofit and civic leadership, and other mission-driven public-facing careers. The Director is responsible for developing and advancing a distinctive Vanderbilt pathway that integrates career advising, sector 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 evolving public leadership landscape, including federal, state, and local government; legislative and executive branch roles; public policy and research organizations; advocacy and civic organizations; nonprofit and social-impact leadership; campaigns and political organizations; and adjacent public-interest fields. The Director will bring deep knowledge of public leadership ecosystems and the varied, often relationship-driven and experience-intensive routes into these fields. Working closely with CAE’s Employer Relations and Experiential Learning teams, the Director will strengthen Vanderbilt’s relationships with government agencies, policy organizations, nonprofits, alumni, parents, public leaders, and other partners and translate those relationships into internships, projects, mentoring, fellowships, industry immersion, networking, recruiting opportunities, and full-time outcomes for students. The Director will lead the Public Leadership pathway and collaborate across Vanderbilt to connect students with the University’s academic programs, alumni networks, geographic assets, and institutional relationships in Washington, D.C., Nashville, New York, and other key centers of public leadership. 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 and sectors. 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: Public Leadership Pathway Leadership & Strategy Lead Vanderbilt’s Public Leadership career pathway strategy and establish priorities for student preparation, experiential learning, external engagement, and career outcomes. Define priority sectors, career opportunities, readiness milestones, and preparation models appropriate to the distinctive hiring, fellowship, appointment, and recruiting practices of public leadership fields. Ensure advising, employer and partner engagement, experiential learning, alumni engagement, and programming operate as an integrated pathway rather than as separate activities. Monitor emerging policy, civic, labor-market, technology, 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 for government, policy, advocacy, nonprofit, civic, and mission-driven leadership. Government, Employer, Alumni & External Engagement Serve as a senior external-facing representative of Vanderbilt and cultivate relationships with government leaders, public agencies, policy organizations, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, alumni, parents, and other influential public leadership partners. Partner with Employer Relations leadership to identify priority organizations and