Associate Vice President for Economic Development

University of Vermont; Burlington (VT); On-site; USD 190,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Vermont in Burlington seeks an Associate Vice President for Economic Development to provide strategic leadership for statewide economic development, industry engagement, and innovation. This senior role connects university offices with external partners to translate strengths into measurable economic and public impact.

You will build executive relationships, develop partnerships spanning research, entrepreneurship, workforce solutions and technology transfer, and guide multiple

Qualifications

• Master's degree and significant leadership experience in economic development.
• Proven ability to manage complex initiatives and coordinate diverse stakeholders.
• Experience influencing senior leaders across academic, corporate, government, nonprofit sectors.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for statewide economic development, industry engagement, workforce solutions, innovation, partnerships, and entrepreneurship.
• Cultivate executive-level relationships with corporations, government agencies, and community leaders.
• Lead discovery with prospective partners to define value propositions and opportunities.
• Coordinate economic development activities across university units and external partners.
• Represent the VPR and the university in regional economic development discussions.
• Develop and advance strategic partnerships combining research, entrepreneurship, and workforce initiatives.
• Oversee unit leaders to align work with goals and measures.

Skills

Leadership experience

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Education

Master's degree in a relevant field

Job description

Associate Vice President for Economic Development

Posting Summary

We will begin reviewing applications as of 10/15/2026

Reporting to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (VPR), the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Economic Development provides strategic leadership for statewide economic development, industry engagement, workforce solutions, innovation, partnerships, and entrepreneurship. The AVP also serves as a senior integrator and primary connector among university offices and resources and external partners, translating institutional strengths into mutually beneficial partnerships and new initiatives with measurable economic and public impact.

Strategic Innovation and Leadership

The AVP is responsible for identifying, developing, launching and evaluating strategic initiatives that advance the university's economic and innovation priorities, in alignment with the strategic direction of the VPR and in coordination with relevant university units. The AVP will leverage institutional strengths and emerging opportunities to create partnerships and programs that generate measurable economic, research, community, workforce, and financial impact.

The AVP will:

• Cultivate and sustain executive-level relationships with corporations, state and local government agencies, entrepreneurs, investors, business associations, chambers, economic development agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders.
• In partnership with the Office of Engagement, lead discovery with prospective partners to understand their research, innovation, talent, workforce, commercialization, or community needs and connect them with the appropriate UVM expertise and resources and where appropriate, help develop opportunities into actionable initiatives by defining the value proposition, partners, resource requirements, and measures of success.
• Develop and advance strategic and deep partnerships that may combine sponsored research, entrepreneurship support, workforce development, talent recruitment, internships, technology licensing, testing and validation, philanthropic engagement, and new venture creation.
• Coordinate with the UVM Foundation Corporate Relations Office, Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, and other relevant university and external partners to present a unified approach and clarify ownership and advance opportunities efficiently.
• Represent UVM in regional and statewide economic development strategy discussions and help position the university as a trusted convener and implementation partner.

Managerial Role

The AVP provides strategic leadership of and coordinates economic development activities and strategic initiatives under the leadership of the VPR. As a portfolio leader and manager, the AVP will:

• Provide direct leadership for five units within OVPR, including UVM Innovations, Office of Engagement, Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships, Biolabs Innovation Hub, and the Vermont Gallium Nitride Technology Hub.
• In coordination with each unit's leader, identify, prioritize, and advance new and/or stronger economic development activities, such as corporate partnerships, support for entrepreneurs, and revenue-generating activities like research partnerships, fee-for-service programs, and UVM-connected start-up businesses.
• Coordinate economic development activities with the UVM Foundation Corporate Relations Office and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, and other units within the University as needed.
• Oversee and guide unit leaders to ensure their work aligns with organizational goals and missions and that units participate in strategic initiatives, establish shared priorities and performance measures, and nurture a team approach among these units in support of university-wide economic development goals.

Communications Role

With the VPR, the AVP communicates within the university about economic development initiatives, opportunities, and outcomes and works with communications teams to advance this priority. The AVP will:

• Partner with university communications teams to develop compelling narratives, case studies, briefing materials, presentations, and reports that demonstrate the impact of UVM partnerships and innovation activity and support efforts to attract additional partners and investment.
• Provide timely strategic advice, investment recommendations, and concise decision materials to the VPR and other UVM leaders.
• Represent the VPR and the university on committees, councils, working groups, and external forums relevant to economic development, innovation, industry engagement, and entrepreneurship.

Minimum Qualifications (or equivalent combination of education and experience)

• Master's degree and significant progressively responsible leadership experience in economic development, innovation, industry engagement, entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and/or corporate philanthropy, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing complex initiatives from concept through launch, including securing resources and coordinating multiple internal and external stakeholders and producing measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with and influence senior leaders and partners across academic, corporate, government, nonprofit, and community settings, including in a decentralized organizational environment.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience in a research university, public research organization, economic development agency, innovation district, technology-based enterprise, or comparable innovation or partnership environment.
• Experience designing and launching multi-partner economic development initiatives, structuring public-private partnerships, or advancing industry-institutional partnerships.
• Experience developing performance indicators, using them to assess progress and inform decisions, and communicating economic, research, workforce, or community impact.
• Knowledge of Vermont's or a comparable state or regional innovation and economic development ecosystem.

Anticipated Pay Range

$190,000 - $225,000

Special Conditions

Non-standard work hours required, A probationary period may be required, Occasional evening and/or weekends required (if non-exempt position, may result in overtime), Travel to and from worksites required, Background Check required for this position

FLSA

Exempt

Union Position

No

Job Location

Burlington, Vermont, United States

Department

VP Research Admin Office/30600

Standard Hours at 1.0 FTE

37.5

Term (months per year)

12