Executive Director, Community Relations & Partnerships

Monroe Community College; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY seeks an Executive Director of Community Relations to lead strategy for external relations, community engagement, and major institutional events. The role reports to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and MCC Foundation.

The ideal candidate will drive partnerships with businesses, government, alumni, and donors; oversee budgets and staff; and use data analytics to measure impact and guide planning and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, public administration, higher education administration, community development, business administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in community relations, external affairs, public relations, government relations, higher education administration, event management, or a related area.
• Demonstrated success in planning and executing large-scale events, programs, and stakeholder engagement initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience supervising professional staff and leading cross-functional teams.
• Experience developing, managing, and monitoring budgets and financial resources.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and utilize data to inform strategy, evaluate outcomes, and communicate results.
• Outstanding written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills, including exceptional business writing and editing abilities.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining partnerships with diverse community stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior leadership, community leaders, public officials, donors, business executives, and internal constituencies.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements a comprehensive community relations strategy aligned with the College's strategic plan and Institutional Advancement goals.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for community organizations, local and national professional associations, civic leaders, government agencies (in collaboration with the Executive Director of Government Relations), business and industry partners, as well as internal and external constituents.
• Builds, cultivates, and sustains strategic partnerships that advance student success, workforce development, diversity, equity, and belonging, and community impact.
• Leads the planning, coordination, and execution of significant institutional events, public programs, community engagement activities, and VIP stakeholder experiences that enhance the College's profile and strengthen community relationships.
• Oversees all aspects of event management, including strategic planning, logistics, budget development and monitoring, vendor coordination, communications, risk management, and post-event assessment.
• Advises the Vice President, Institutional Advancement, President, and senior leadership on community relations issues, opportunities, institutional visibility, and emerging external trends.
• Represents the College at community events, public meetings, conferences, and regional forums, ensuring a consistent and positive institutional presence.
• Collaborates with all College units to coordinate outreach, messaging, event participation, and partnership activities.
• Partners with the MCC Foundation to support fundraising, alumni engagement, stewardship, and advancement initiatives through community partnership development and relationship management.
• Collects, analyzes, and utilizes data to evaluate community engagement efforts, measure program effectiveness, identify trends, and support strategic planning and continuous improvement.
• Develops reports, dashboards, presentations, and recommendations using qualitative and quantitative data for senior leadership and key stakeholders.
• Manages sensitive and confidential issues and supports crisis response efforts in coordination with College leadership and communications staff.
• Supervises assigned staff; recruits, trains, mentors, and evaluates employees; establishes priorities and performance expectations; and fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing work environment.
• Develops, administers, and monitors departmental and event budgets; ensures responsible stewardship of College resources; and oversees expenditures in accordance with institutional policies and procedures.
• Prepares and reviews high-level correspondence, speeches, reports, presentations, briefing materials, and other written communications for internal and external audiences.
• Performs related duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of Monroe Community College.

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications, public administration, higher education administration, community development, business administration, or a related field

Job description

Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY seeks an Executive Director of Community Relations to lead strategy for external relations, community engagement, and major institutional events. The role reports to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and MCC Foundation.

The ideal candidate will drive partnerships with businesses, government, alumni, and donors; oversee budgets and staff; and use data analytics to measure impact and guide planning and continuous improvement.