Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison

NSCS; Wayne (NE); On-site; USD 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

Wayne State College is seeking an Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison to lead the ongoing development of experiential learning programs, including internships and Career Scholars. The role partners with students, faculty, employers, and community leaders to translate workforce needs into student opportunities.

The ideal candidate will combine program leadership, industry engagement, and project management with strong communication and relationship-building skills.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent business experience.
• Minimum of five years of related professional work experience.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders and audiences.
• Ability to lead cooperative education initiatives and build partnerships with industry.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for cooperative education initiatives, specifically the continued development, implementation, assessment, and growth of the Career Scholars program.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a scalable model that integrates academic learning, career preparation, employer engagement, and meaningful professional experience.
• Serve as the industry liaison for the cooperative education program which includes identifying and cultivating strong working relationships with industry managers and human resource units.
• Develop partnerships with faculty and assist with creating learning outcomes for the cooperative education experience.
• Maintain a current understanding of the industry/field, employers, and positions; including site visits and outreach to potential new employers.
• Monitor participation, retention, student outcomes, and employer engagement; coordinate with campus partners responsible for recruitment, advising, financial aid, and student success.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Relationship building

Project management

Communication skills

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison

All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Applications received after interviews are scheduled may not be fully considered for this position.

We do not accept references or other application materials from outside credential management organizations. Application materials and references must be submitted through our applicant tracking system.

Please see Special Instructions for more details.

Wayne State College is seeking a collaborative, strategic, and relationship-driven leader to serve as Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison. This position will lead the continued development and growth of the College’s cooperative education effort, the Career Scholars program.

We are looking for someone who can continue to build and maintain the programming, partnerships, and systems associated with Career Scholars. The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between big-picture strategy and hands‑on implementation and will work closely with students, faculty, campus partners, employers, community leaders, and other external stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong combination of program leadership, employer and industry engagement, student career development, relationship building, and project management. They should be able to cultivate new employer partnerships while strengthening existing ones; translate employer and workforce needs into meaningful student experiences; collaborate with faculty on academically sound experiential learning opportunities; and help prepare students to succeed professionally.

This is a highly collaborative position that also requires considerable initiative and judgment. We are particularly interested in candidates who:

• Are builders and problem-solvers who can take an idea from concept through implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Can develop authentic, long‑term relationships with business, industry, workforce, and community partners.
• Understand how to connect academic learning, career readiness, and real-world professional experience.
• Are comfortable working directly with students through coaching, career preparation, and experiential learning.
• Can coordinate complex initiatives involving multiple departments, stakeholders, priorities, and locations.
• Use data and assessment to evaluate outcomes, identify opportunities, communicate impact, and guide program growth.
• Communicate effectively with audiences ranging from students and faculty to employers, institutional leaders, funders, and community partners.
• Are comfortable representing Wayne State College externally and spending significant time traveling to employers, communities (Grand Island & Norfolk), and partner organizations.
• Can balance strategic leadership with the day‑to‑day work necessary to make a growing program successful.

Ultimately, we are looking for someone who sees cooperative education as more than placing students into internships. The goal is to build a comprehensive, sustainable experiential learning ecosystem that prepares students for successful careers, strengthens relationships between Wayne State College and industry, and contributes to Nebraska’s workforce.

Position Information

Job Title

Job Title Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison

Nature of Work

The Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison will provide executive, administrative, and analytical support and leadership for the cooperative education program. The Executive Director will be responsible for creating a comprehensive experiential learning program that will include internships, practicums, and student teaching. They will work with industry to identify cooperative education opportunities as well as collaborate with the faculty to develop academic requirements. The Executive Director will identify and prepare students for the cooperative experience by coordinating placement interviews, class presentations, and individual career advising meetings. Preparation includes communicating with students about specific cooperative education requirements including learning and outcome expectations. The Executive Director is also expected to coach students to improve individual learning outcomes such as critical soft skills, interviewing skills, resume writing, professional communication, professional behavior, ethics, and other applicable skills. The Executive Director will be available to support the advisement of students prior to and during cooperative assignments as well as an opportunity for students to reflect about their experiences.

This position will also serve as the contact for business and industry leaders to engage in experiential learning opportunities. This Executive Director position exercises a high level of discretion and independent judgement in matters of significance to perform these duties.

Examples of Work Performed

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the cooperative education initiatives, specifically, the continued development, implementation, assessment, and growth of the Career Scholars program.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a scalable model that integrates academic learning, career preparation, employer engagement, and meaningful professional experience.
• Serve as the industry liaison for the cooperative education program which includes identifying and cultivating strong working relationships with industry managers and human resource units that can provide internships, cooperative education placements, employment opportunities, mentorship, professional development, and other career connected experiences
• Develop partnerships with faculty and assist with creating learning outcomes for the cooperative education experience.
• Maintain a current understanding of the industry/field, employers, and positions. Activities to support this endeavor include site visits to new and existing employers and outreach to potential new cooperative education employers via employment development agencies, alumni contacts, professional networking, etc.
• Responsible for the maintenance of cooperative educational student records.
• Meet and collaborate with students, faculty, and staff on cooperative education projects. Provide regular reports on student numbers, program progress, and industry or business leads and coordinate with campus partners responsible for recruitment, advising, financial aid, academic programs, student success, housing, and other elements of the Career Scholars experience.
• Monitor participation, retention, student outcomes, employer engagement, placement, conversion to employment and other measures of program effectiveness.
• Analyze assessment data and prepare annual reports to aid in evaluation of student progress and program effectiveness.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive communication plan for the cooperative education program including assisting with development of communication and marketing materials. This includes the preparation of reports, presentations, dashboards, and other materials for institutional leadership, external partners, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Provide instruction for Fundamentals of Professional Practice program or related courses as appropriate.
• Conduct site visits to businesses involved in the cooperative education program. Extensive travel will be required to fulfill this responsibility.
• Represent Wayne State College at employer, workforce, economic‑development, chamber, community, and industry meetings and events.
• Support the development of sustainable strategies for program growth, employer capacity, geographic expansion, and long‑term funding.
• Build strong working relationships across academic affairs, student affairs, enrollment management, college relations, and other College divisions.
• Position will supervise the Assistant Director- Cooperative Education
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent business experience.
• Minimum of five years of related professional work experience.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders and audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cooperative education programs.
• Experience in career development of undergraduate students.
• Advising and counseling of undergraduate students.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently to manage complex projects.
• Ability to build positive working relationships and foster strong partnerships with industry leaders.

Physical Demands

N/A

License and Certification Requirements

N/A

Other Requirements

Criminal background and DMV check.

Valid driver’s license.

Salary Information

Salary Information Competitive, commensurate with qualifications and experience. Attractive and comprehensive benefit package. Minimum salary is $90,000.

FTE

1.000

FLSA

FLSA Exempt

Union Status

Union Status Non-Union

Number of Vacancies

Number of Vacancies 1

Posting Number

Posting Number PS1731P

Desired Start Date

Open Date

Open Date 09/03/2026

Close Date

Open Until Filled Yes

Special Instructions to Applicants

Wayne State College is seeking a collaborative, strategic, and relationship-driven leader to serve as Executive Director of Cooperative Education and Industry Liaison. This position will lead the continued development and growth of the College’s cooperative education effort, the Career Scholars program.

We are looking for someone who can continue to build and maintain the programming, partnerships, and systems associated with Career Scholars. The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between big-picture strategy and hands‑on implementation and will work closely with students, faculty, campus partners, employers, community leaders, and other external stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong combination of program leadership, employer and industry engagement, student career development, relationship building, and project management. They should be able to cultivate new employer partnerships while strengthening existing ones; translate employer and workforce needs into meaningful student experiences; collaborate with faculty on academically sound experiential learning opportunities; and help prepare students to succeed professionally.

This is a highly collaborative position that also requires considerable initiative and judgment. We are particularly interested in candidates who:

• Are builders and problem-solvers who can take an idea from concept through implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Can develop authentic, long‑term relationships with business, industry, workforce, and community partners.
• Understand how to connect academic learning, career readiness, and real-world professional experience.
• Are comfortable working directly with students through coaching, career preparation, and experiential learning.
• Can coordinate complex initiatives involving multiple departments, stakeholders, priorities, and locations.
• Use data and assessment to evaluate outcomes, identify opportunities, communicate impact, and guide program growth.
• Communicate effectively with audiences ranging from students and faculty to employers, institutional leaders, funders, and community partners.
• Are comfortable representing Wayne State College externally and spending significant time traveling to employers, communities (Grand Island & Norfolk), and partner organizations.
• Can balance strategic leadership with the day‑to‑day work necessary to make a growing program successful.

Ultimately, we are looking for someone who sees cooperative education as more than placing students into internships. The goal is to build a comprehensive, sustainable experiential learning ecosystem that prepares students for successful careers, strengthens relationships between Wayne State College and industry, and contributes to Nebraska’s workforce.

General Information

Wayne State College serves as a model of success for regional public higher education. Investments in infrastructure and facilities, expanded academic programs and partnerships, a whole‑campus approach to recruitment and retention, and a commitment to strategic planning position the College as a strong member of the Nebraska State College System. More than 4,500 students rely on Wayne State for access to graduate and undergraduate degree programs in more than 130 programs of study each year, a role the College has proudly filled since its founding in 1891. Our goals are clear: continually improve retention and graduation rates, provide high‑quality academic programs and campus facilities, support workforce and economic development in the region, maintain affordability and access, and manage resources for sustainability. We invite qualified applicants to join us in our important work.

EEO Statement

The Nebraska State Colleges are equal opportunity institutions and prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment. Each College has designated an individual to coordinate the Colleges’ non‑discrimination efforts to comply with regulations implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Inquiries regarding non‑discrimination policies and practices may be directed to the Compliance Coordinators assigned at each College and identified on each College website.

Veteran Statement This position is subject to Veterans Preference.

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

• * Do you have a masters degree?
  • Yes
  • No
• * Do you have a minimum of five years of related professional work experience?
  • Yes
  • No
• * Please describe your experience working with stakeholders and audiences.

  (Open Ended Question)