Center for Careers and the Applied Liberal Arts  |  Brandeis University

Hiring Range: $99,300 - $116,000

We’re seeking a Senior Associate Director of Experiential Learning to help lead that transformation. This newly created role offers the rare opportunity to shape a university-wide initiative from the ground up. You’ll establish standards, create scalable processes, develop strategic partnerships, and help define how experiential learning is delivered across the university. If you’re excited by building and growing something with strong institutional support, long-term visibility, and meaningful impact on students, this is the role for you.

About the Role

You’ll lead the development and operation of experiential learning at Brandeis, including internships, applied research partnerships, field-based projects, shadowing, fellowships, and community-engaged work, serving undergraduate and graduate students across all five schools.

Working closely with employers, alumni, faculty, donors, IT, and campus partners, you’ll develop partnerships, create  systems and processes, and help connect students with meaningful opportunities outside  the classroom. You’ll also help shape how high-impact experiences are recognized alongside students’ academic achievements, contributing to a university-wide framework that documents learning from the classroom to the street. .

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building strong relationships, collaborating across a complex organization, and turning ambitious ideas into practical, sustainable programs.

What You’ll Do

Program Development and External Partnerships (50%)

• Build and grow Brandeis’s portfolio of experiential learning opportunities across all five schools, including internships, research partnerships, fellowships, and community-engaged work.

• Set the standards for what qualifies as an endorsed experience, including for the university’s new second transcript.

• Partner with Career Programs and Employer Relations to develop employer-led projects, alumni-connected experiences, and gift-funded initiatives.

Operations, Systems, and Student Access (30%)

• Design  and maintain a student platform for experiential learning opportunities, in partnership with University IT.

• Keep the opportunity catalog accurate and easy for students and advisors to navigate.

• Standardize how the university documents high impact experiences, and work with student-facing teams on the resources students need to find and use them.

Assessment and Data (10%)

• Build and maintain a framework for tracking participation, program quality, and outcomes, in partnership with the Center’s data team.

• Use that data to evaluate impact and contribute to university-level reporting on experiential learning.

Team Leadership (10%)

• Supervise and develop one assistant director.

• Represent the experiential learning function across the university, working with faculty, IT, career counseling staff, deans, and senior leadership.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s preferred.

• Five to eight years of progressively responsible experience in experiential learning, internship programs, career services, or a closely related field.

• A track record of building programs and processes.

• Strong relationship-building skills across employers, faculty, donors, students, IT colleagues, and senior university leadership, with a record of turning those relationships into active, sustained partnerships.

• Sound operational judgment and the ability to move work forward in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

• At least one year of supervisory experience managing professional staff.

• Clear, direct communication skills, in writing and in person, with the presence to represent the Center credibly across a wide range of audiences.

Nice to Have

• Master’s degree in higher education administration, student affairs, counseling, or a related field.

• Experience navigating a complex, decentralized, multi-school university environment.

• Experience with Handshake, Salesforce, Workday, or similar platforms.

• Working knowledge of CPT/OPT and international student work authorization.

• Familiarity with experiential learning credentialing frameworks, co-curricular records, or similar models for documenting student experiences.

• Experience working with donors or development colleagues on endowed programs, named fellowships, or gift-funded initiatives.

Why Brandeis?

Brandeis University is making a significant investment in experiential learning as part of its vision for the future of liberal arts education. Students are already participating in exceptional internships, research, community-engaged learning, and applied projects across the university. Our next step is building a coordinated, university-wide ecosystem that expands access to high-quality experiential learning, strengthens partnerships across the university, and makes these opportunities a defined and recognized part of every Brandeis student's education.

To Apply: 

Please submit a cover letter with your application for consideration. You should upload the letter with your resume; there is not a separate prompt for a cover letter in the candidate application system.

Reports to: Executive Director of External Engagement

Direct reports: One assistant director

Pay Range Disclosure

The University's pay ranges represent a good faith estimate of what Brandeis reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience and education/training, internal peer equity, and applicable legal requirements.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Brandeis University is an equal opportunity employer which does not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, ancestry, religious creed, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, genetic information, disability, caste, military or veteran status or any other category protected by law (also known as membership in a "protected class").