Senior Director, External Relations and Strategic Planning, Break Through Tech at Cornell University in New York, New York

Job Description:

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty and staff of all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.

Cornell requires that all faculty and staff members, regardless of their work location, disclose their vaccination status, and provide proof of vaccination if vaccinated, immediately upon hire.

Cornell Tech is leading a nationwide initiative called Break Through Tech that is a collaboration between higher education institutions and industry partners in selected cities around the country. The mission is to propel more undergraduate women into tech education and careers. Break Through Tech is currently operating in 3 cities around the country and will expand to 9 cities in the next two years.

Cornell Tech seeks a part time Senior Director who will act as a senior advisor to the Executive Director and the leadership team in the areas of strategic planning, external relations, board management, public relations, fundraising and communications. In addition, this individual will be responsible for the execution of selected programs that fall within these same domains.

The ideal candidate comes with deep experience in strategic planning within higher education in general and Cornell/Cornell Tech in particular as well as significant experience as a leader in external relations and communications strategy and planning. This individual should have experience building and maintaining relationships externally with both corporate, academic, government and institutional leaders. The ideal candidate has had experience developing and managing a high-powered Advisory Board.

This position will report directly to the Executive Director of Break Through Tech with additional accountability to the Senior Directors of Break Through Tech.

This position is a part-time term-limited position working at 50% time for a period of up to 3 years with the possibility of renewal subject to funding. It is expected that the individual will be on campus 4-5 days/month and consistently on Wednesdays.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• 
  20% ~ Strategy; Responsible for developing strategies to enable the growth and impact of Break Through Tech. This includes but is not limited to identifying potential external partners for collaboration.


• 
  20% ~ Board Development and Engagement: Responsible for developing an annual plan for building and maintaining meaningful and results-oriented engagement with the board; including, but limited advising on composition, agenda setting and meeting follow up.


• 
  20% ~ Fundraising; in partnership with the leadership team of Break Through Tech, responsible for shaping and supporting development strategy that corresponds with the organization's mission as well as coordinating that strategy with Cornell Tech's Alumni Affairs and Development office.


• 
  40% ~ Strategic Communications oversight; Responsible for providing strategic oversight and consulting support for all marketing and communications activities including:


• Web (including infrastructure/maintenance) and Social execution


• Recruitment of any/all communications team members. Support their onboarding as well as the overall prioritization of their work.


• Source and manage the use of external resources (e.g., public relations firms, advertising and marketing agencies, photographers, printers, digital media experts, graphic designers, among others).


• Acting as liaison as necessary with Cornell Tech's Strat Comms team


• Acting as liaison to Break Through Tech's funders for the purpose of communications related activities.
  
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree and 5 to 7 years relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience


• Passion for diversity in tech, education, and social impact.


• Significant experience and demonstrated success in leadership roles developing and executing programs in the areas of communications, fund raising, board management and strategic partnership development in the private and public sectors.


• Very strong organizational and strategic planning skills with experience in independently planning and executing large scale communications and external relations programs.


• Must have a passion for developing mission-driven strategies for programmatic growth within higher education.


• Must have experience building and maintaining authentic and reciprocal relationships externally with both corporate and academic executives to expand the influence of the initiative.


• Strong interpersonal skills and cross-functional partnership abilities to effect change in complex organizations without wielding formal authority.


• Proven ability to work in and lead teams, with demonstrated ability to mentor, develop, and support staff. Highest standards of integrity in order to develop trust with staff, Advisory Board members, funders and industry partners.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A demonstrated experience in higher education in strategic communications and external relations.


• Deep knowledge and experience in higher education in general and Cornell/Cornell Tech in particular.


• Familiarity with related educational/entrepreneurial programs at other universities and organizations.


• Experience supervising employees or providing strategic advice and oversight to programs that are in growth mode.

University Job Title:

Director Program

Job Family:

Student Services

Level:

H

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Company:

Endowed

Contact Name:

Judith Spitz

Number of Openings:

1

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

To learn more about Cornell's non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator. The final rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience.




• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.




• Unique applicable skills.

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2021-09-22-07:00 Apply Now