Senior Manager, Enterprise Partnerships - Institution Strategy & Ventures

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.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Management_Executive 610

Pay Range: $130,600.00 - $235,100.00

Job Description

The Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships will accelerate WGU’s mission by cultivating and managing high-impact partnerships that expand our reach, enhance innovation, and generate new pathways for learners and employers.

This leader will bridge the academic, corporate, and non-profit ecosystems, identifying opportunities for collaboration, co-development, and strategic investment aligned with organizational-wide priorities.

 

Primary Responsibilities

Partnership Development

• Build proactive plans for co-development, joint initiatives, and first-of-its-kind collaborations for products, technologies, or market-shaping programs that advance enterprise priorities and deliver measurable impact.
• Coordinate across internal stakeholders—academic and business unit leaders, WGU Labs, Enterprise Tech, Marketing, Legal, and Operations—to ensure alignment, risk management, and delivery readiness.
• Negotiate effective partnership structures that maintain WGU’s mission integrity, financial stewardship, and brand strength.

Partner Success & Portfolio Management

• Oversee progress and performance across all partnership initiatives—from concept to launch to operational scale.
• Ensure both partners and WGU meet milestones and achieve intended outcomes, measuring jointly defined success metrics.
• Identify opportunities to deepen relationships or, where impact and alignment diminish, responsibly sunset partnerships.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the primary bridge between internal teams and partner organizations, translating vision into execution.
• Lead cross-functional workstreams (e.g., tech validations, research collaborations, go-to-market pilots, joint marketing activities) that deliver measurable value.
• Promote knowledge sharing and playbooks for partnership management across SVG and the broader WGU system.

Measurement & Reporting

• Establish partnership success metrics and dashboards to assess reach, impact, and return on investment (ROI).
• Leverage insights to refine partnership strategy, report outcomes to senior leadership and the Board, and contribute to the annual enterprise strategy review.

External Engagement & Representation

• Represent WGU at major industry events, conferences, and consortia related to education, workforce, and technology innovation.
• Position WGU as a trusted collaborator and thought leader in the talent economy ecosystem.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and mentor a small, high-performing team fostering collaboration, curiosity, and excellence.
• Model cross-functional leadership, influence without authority, and build capacity for partnership management across the SVG function.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities.  The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Solid understanding of workforce trends, and the interplay between education, technology, and labor markets
• Familiarity and exp