Virginia Tech is seeking a talented event and outreach professional who has a proven track record in their field and thrives on the challenge of creating high-profile, innovative, and carefully curated experiences. This position offers a unique opportunity to engage industry partners, from new professionals to C-suite VIPs, through fit-for-purpose experiences and events that drive engagement with the university, showcase the university’s world-class research and talent, and inspire ideas for collaboration, partnership, experiential learning, and investment.
The Assistant Director of Corporate Engagement role within the Innovation and Partnerships team is responsible for executing engagement and outreach activities to advance the university's ambitious goals. As the front-end of the engagement/partnership funnel, this role manages a full range of events and experiences, such as alumni professional networking events, corporate visits, engagement around experiential learning, intimate events and workshops, and small and large-scale industry and government forums.
With a direct reporting line to the Director of Strategic Engagement and Partnerships and a dotted reporting line to the Innovation Campus’ Associate Vice President for Advancement, this individual serves as a key connector for the Innovation and Partnership team to the Greater Washington D.C. Metro area, managing regional programming and outreach that are key to the unit’s success. The successful candidate will execute new engagement efforts, measure their success, and implement strategies to improve their effectiveness.
This position is responsible for ongoing stewardship and communication with key alumni and partners on topics that relate to their corporate/professional roles, new and existing corporate partners, executive champions, and internal stakeholders. This role requires strong project management skills, and the ability to work closely and effectively with various stakeholders to develop effective strategies for planning events, developing sponsorships, and offering quality services to alumni and industry partners. The ideal candidate should have excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills to support meaningful engagement with VIP individuals. Overall, the Assistant Director of Corporate Engagement plays an important role in expanding research-based partnerships, fulfilling the pipeline around project-based learning opportunities, increasing fundraising, and building Virginia Tech's brand in the DMV region and beyond.
Additional responsibilities include:
Serve as a liaison for partners, corporate alumni networks, and corporate contacts in the D.C. Metro area, fostering relationships that enhance engagement and support university initiatives.
Support and execute DMV-region-specific events and engagement activities on behalf of the centralized Innovation and Partnership team; examples include Hokies at Work, Women in Industry, Hokies in Federal Government, Leaders+, and more. Measure and track activities to ensure appropriate ROI and benchmark best practices to stay current with industry trends.
Support LINK’s Business Development team in planning and execution of corporate visits in NOVA
Support and execute Innovation Campus and Northern Virginia Research Center-specific events and engagement activities; examples include the quarterly Center of Next panel series, endowed research symposia, Project Based Learning Pitch and Showcase events, corporate recruitment events, and more.
Help with coordination and management of annual summits that may occur in DC Metro area.
Support and help execute virtual programming for our corporate alumni audience and across all corporate networks
Serve as engagement liaison for 4 to 5 Corporate Networks.
Provide support for alumni-focused professional and career networking opportunities.