Director, Internships and Work-Based Education

emerson; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Emerson College in Boston seeks a Director of Internships and Work-Based Education to provide institution-wide strategic leadership for internships and work-based learning, aligning with academic priorities and industry trends.

You will partner with faculty and industry relations to develop and implement a cohesive framework, ensure quality and compliance, and expand access to meaningful, paid, credit-bearing opportunities for students.

Qualifications

• Experience in higher education strategic leadership.
• Ability to develop and implement institutional frameworks for internships.
• Knowledge of credit-bearing and non-credit internship programs.

Responsibilities

• Provide institution-wide strategic leadership for internships and work-based education.
• Lead development and continuous improvement of an institutional framework for internships.
• Align internship strategy with student success and academic quality.
• Partner with faculty and industry relations to align pipelines with priorities.
• Co-chair internship governance and address cross-functional issues.
• Ensure compliance with labor, accreditation, and risk management standards.
• Expand paid internship opportunities and access for students.
• Oversee EMTERN program direction, operations, and assessment.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Policy development

Stakeholder collaboration

Compliance & risk management

Learning outcomes assessment

Tools

Governance frameworks

Job description

Join our community and experience Emerson College !

The Director, Internships and Work-Based Education provides institution-wide strategic leadership for internships and work-based learning at Emerson College. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, Career Development, the Director leads the development and implementation of a cohesive, high-quality ecosystem of experiential learning opportunities-both credit-bearing and non-credit-that is aligned with academic priorities, responsive to industry trends, and accessible to all students.

Working in close partnership with faculty, academic leadership, and industry relations, the Director sets strategy and provides institutional leadership for the infrastructure, policies, systems, and practices that support internships and work-based learning. The Director advances consistency, compliance, quality, and student success across programs while respecting the central role of faculty and academic leadership in shaping curriculum, academic content, and learning outcomes.

As the College's senior strategic lead for internships and work-based education, the Director convenes and influences stakeholders across academic and administrative units, translates institutional priorities into scalable practices, and advances innovation in experiential learning. The Director co-leads relevant governance structures, identifies emerging opportunities and risks, and ensures that students have access to meaningful, well-supported experiences that contribute to their academic and professional development.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• Provide institution-wide strategic leadership for internships and work-based education, establishing shared vision, priorities, strategy, and guiding practices in collaboration with academic and institutional partners.
• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive institutional framework for internships and work-based learning.
• Ensure internship and work-based education strategy is aligned with institutional priorities related to student success, access, academic quality, and post-graduate outcomes.
• Partner with the Director, Industry Relations to align employer pipelines and internship opportunities with institutional, academic, operational, and policy priorities.
• Serve as the institutional strategic lead for internship policy and shared practices. Lead the development, communication, and implementation of guidance related to academic credit and learning outcomes, compensation and labor compliance (e.g., FLSA considerations), risk management and liability, and international internships and regulatory considerations. Ensure clear, accessible guidance for students, faculty, staff, and employers.
• Co-chair the cross-college internship committee, setting agendas and priorities and bringing together stakeholders from academic departments, academic affairs, legal, risk management, career services, and other relevant areas to advance institutional strategy and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Lead cross-functional coordination to ensure internship programs and practices align with legal, ethical, institutional, and accreditation standards.
• Partner with faculty and academic units to advance and expand high-impact embedded work-based learning opportunities, including credit-bearing internships, capstone and project-based courses, and industry-sponsored courses or studios.
• Provide strategic consultation and resources to faculty and academic units related to learning outcomes, assessment frameworks, and reflective components for experiential learning.
• Lead the development, piloting, evaluation, and scaling of new work-based learning models in partnership with faculty, academic leaders, and external partners.
• Expand access to experiences through micro-internships and short-term projects, on-campus and campus-affiliated experiential roles, and alumni and industry-sponsored projects.
• Ensure institutional work-based learning models reflect the realities of freelance, gig-based, entrepreneurial, and portfolio-driven careers common in arts and media industries.
• Set priorities and lead initiatives that address barriers to participation, including funding, location constraints, and unpaid work.
• Advance broad access to high-quality internships and work-based learning by identifying systemic barriers and leading cross-institutional strategies to reduce them.
• Partner with institutional and industry stakeholders to expand paid internship opportunities, financial supports such as stipends or micro-grants, and employer practices that support fair, transparent, and skills-based recruitment.
• Establish and monitor institutional measures of participation, quality, and outcomes; identify trends, risks, and opportunities to strengthen access and student success.
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the EMTERN program, including program direction, operations, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Lead the development and man