Director of Strategic Partnerships & Operations

Columbia University; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Columbia University’s Data Science Institute seeks a Director of Operations and Partnerships to lead the Strategic Alliances team, manage internal operations, and steward key industry relationships. This hybrid role combines team leadership with external engagement to scale collaborations and deliver mutual value for academia and industry.

The successful candidate will drive operational excellence, maintain CRM-based partnership data, and coordinate across faculty, industry partners, and support

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5-7 years directly relevant experience, with at least three years of management experience.
• Politically savvy, skilled at executive stakeholder management.
• Project management.
• Business development.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the Strategic Alliances team, ensuring internal workflows, processes, and team coordination run smoothly.
• Align cross-functional teams and manage joint business operations, including coordination on Capstones, marketing, communications, and events.
• Serve as manager in charge for Client Relations Services team output and relationship stewardship; directly manage the Program Coordinator, Client Relations Specialist and the Associate Director for business development.
• Surface operational gaps and recommend process improvements as the team scales.
• Maintain partnership documentation, timelines, deliverables, and reporting across active engagements; must have experience with CRMs.
• Proactively engage DSI faculty as new alliance opportunities emerge, facilitate introductions and surface relevant research interests to potential partners.
• Maintain a working understanding of DSI research strengths and industry priorities to improve partner matching and stewardship.
• Manage and maintain Capstone relationships with industry partners, serving as the primary point of contact and ensuring program continuity, and acting as the bridge between academic leads and external industry partners.
• Actively engage prospective members with opportunities to connect with Columbia DSI.
• Manage portfolio growth opportunities by identifying paths to build on existing relationships as well as support client relations specialists in their portfolio management.
• Create research summaries and use cases that align DSI's research work with industry needs; maintain current knowledge of the DSI research portfolio and industry challenges.
• Develop business cases by tracking and identifying partnership value to demonstrate the value of academic engagements.
• Execute client relations specialist functions as needed —relationship tracking, meeting coordination, partner communications.
• Represent the Institute at industry conferences, networking events, and in discussions with potential partners.
• Work closely across the organization to ensure alignment between the team and the broader Institute.
• Ensure integrity of industry data within the CRM.

Skills

Executive stakeholder management

Project management

Business development

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Columbia University’s Data Science Institute seeks a Director of Operations and Partnerships to lead the Strategic Alliances team, manage internal operations, and steward key industry relationships. This hybrid role combines team leadership with external engagement to scale collaborations and deliver mutual value for academia and industry.

The successful candidate will drive operational excellence, maintain CRM-based partnership data, and coordinate across faculty, industry partners, and support