Senior Manager, Regional Strategic Partnerships - Midwest Region

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

About the Role:

The Senior Regional Manager, Strategic Partnerships is charged with expanding the impact of the WGU network of academic, employer, and community relationships to support the University’s vision and lead a team of Strategic Partnership Managers who build relationships with corporate, academic and community partners across multi-state regions. The institution has identified regionalization as a key driver for growth and Senior Regional Managers are at the forefront, overseeing field operations to drive this.

The Senior Manager and their field team promote the value and differentiation of the full spectrum of educational program offerings, new initiatives, and business extensions. This position is a people-leader, overseeing the success, development, and growth of Strategic Partnership Managers in the Midwest multi-state region. Additionally, this role will develop relationships and support cross-regional collaboration to secure partnerships with mid-market and national employers as well as state and local entities, to increase support of student access.

In addition, the Senior Manager, Regional Strategic Partnerships helps build and nurture community relations, supports student access, improves affordability, enhances the student experience, and nurtures alumni outreach.

Location: This position requires you to be located in Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, Kansas City, MO, or Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN.

What You’ll Do:

• Develop strategies, initiatives, structure, and support to deliver partnership and other university and regional goals for self and team.
• Lead a team of Strategic Partnership Managers (SPMs), guiding them in building key relationships that culminate in partnerships for WGU. Identify attributes and alignment to guide employer and community groups in state and across region, as well as national organizations across multiple states.
• Ensure SPMs have a relevant strategic partnership activation plan for every partnership owned, ensuring partnership launches, strategic initiatives, timelines, student impact, and business development results are achieved over time and there is fluidity and consistency with each managed account.
• Work in collaboration with the VP Strategic Partnerships, Director of Partnership Operations and Enablement, and Research Analyst to advise and support data research and documentation to ensure accuracy of business intelligence related to new starts, new starts reporting, and processes and procedures for SPMs, as well as other key metrics deemed critical to SPM success, KPIs and success of the institution.
• Work across functions and departments including Communications and Marketing for go to market regional strategies, Recruiting, Career Services (Handshake) and Alumni team to identify WGU Ambassadors and leverage alums to open doors at employers.
• Advise, help develop and pilot the sales tool kits for all SPMs. Successfully implement available and new training tools and partnership resources in coordination and collaboration with Partnership Operations and Enablement team to elevate partnership engagement, process, policies, that positively influence SPM workflow and outcomes.
• Promote open SPM jobs via social media and network, vet candidates, and support talent recruiters. Identify top candidates, oversee interviews with key stakeholders, collate and review feedback to inform the best hiring decision. 
• Manage direct reports through coaching, training, and motivation to achieve results. Contribute to the overarching strategy for the region regarding talent deployment and development by state/specialty and initiatives to reach goals. Revisit and evaluate team positions due to changes in the marketplace, university goals, new initiatives and as team member strengths continue to develop.
• Stay abreast of developments in the region that impact workforce development, governmental or agency updates, large employer initiatives and other issues which may impact and inform WGU existing and prospective partnership opportunities.
• Support, con