Executive Director of Workforce Strategy

CNM Central New Mexico Community College; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Retirement Plans

Paid Time Off

Educational Benefits

Job summary

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) seeks an Executive Director of Workforce Strategy to lead the development, implementation, and scaling of strategic workforce initiatives within the CNM Division of Workforce & Community Success. The role collaborates across CNM, CNM Ingenuity, CNM Foundation, and external partners to align education with regional and statewide opportunities.

The position requires strategic advisory capacity to senior leadership, strong cross-functional leadership, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of relevant experience in workforce/economic development or related field.
• Experience leading cross-functional workforce initiatives and partnerships.
• Ability to translate labor market intelligence into institutional strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of CNM’s enterprise workforce strategy.
• Advise executive leadership on workforce trends, investments, and partnerships.
• Direct workforce investments, programs, and partnerships for scalable impact.

Skills

Leadership

Strategy

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Job description

Compensation $119,808-$152,693 Limited Term End Date 6-30-2027

Position Summary Reporting to the Vice President, Workforce & Community Success, the Executive Director of Workforce Strategy provides senior-level leadership for the development, implementation, and scaling of strategic workforce initiatives within the CNM Division of Workforce & Community Success (WCS). The position strengthens the College’s ability to anticipate changing workforce needs, translate labor market and industry intelligence into action, coordinate complex cross-functional initiatives, and align education and training investments with regional and statewide economic opportunities. Serving as a strategic advisor to WCS leadership and the VP of WCS, the Executive Director works across the CNM, CNM Ingenuity (CNMI), and the CNM Foundation, and with employers, industry, education, workforce, economic development, and community partners to move major workforce priorities from concept through implementation, measurement, and sustainable scale.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of CNM’s enterprise workforce strategy, aligning institutional priorities, academic programming, employer demand, economic trends, and regional workforce needs.
• Serve as a senior strategic advisor to executive leadership on workforce trends, talent needs, institutional opportunities, and investments that position CNM for future workforce demands.
• Establish and direct a comprehensive workforce strategy and operating framework spanning education and training, employer engagement, career pathways, work-based learning, workforce intelligence, and strategic partnerships.
• Lead high-impact, cross-functional initiatives involving multiple divisions, academic programs, funding sources, institutions, industries, and external stakeholders.
• Shape institutional priorities and investment decisions through analysis of labor market intelligence, employer demand, economic conditions, learner outcomes, and emerging technologies.
• Develop forward-looking workforce intelligence capabilities that anticipate changes in occupations, skills, industries, technology, and employer demand and translate findings into institutional strategy.
• Advise executive leadership on opportunities to launch, expand, redesign, or discontinue programs and workforce initiatives based on market demand, outcomes, and strategic value.
• Establish enterprise-wide approaches for evaluating workforce investments, including impact, scalability, sustainability, risk, and return on investment.
• Lead strategies to secure and leverage significant federal, state, philanthropic, employer, and other investments in support of institutional workforce priorities.
• Direct strategic relationships with employers, industry leaders, government agencies, workforce organizations, economic development entities, and education partners to advance shared workforce objectives.
• Represent CNM in regional and statewide workforce and economic development initiatives and serve as a senior institutional representative with key external stakeholders.
• Establish and influence regional talent strategies that position CNM as a central partner in addressing current and emerging workforce needs.
• Direct the development and scaling of talent pathways connecting short-term training, credentials, certificates, degrees, work-based learning, and career advancement to high-demand occupations.
• Establish enterprise-level performance measures and accountability structures for workforce strategies, investments, partnerships, and outcomes.
• Provide executive-level analysis, dashboards, and recommendations that inform institutional priorities, resource allocation, program investments, and continuous improvement.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business, education, economic development, labor relations, social sciences, or a closely related field AND Eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in workforce development, economic development, employer/industry engagement, education and training strategy, public-sector leadership, or a related field.
• Experience must include substantial responsibility for leading complex, cross-functional initiatives; building partnerships; using data to inform strategy; and implementing workforce, education, economic development, or talent initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and funding sources.

EEO STATEMENT

As an EEO employer, Central New Mexico Community College will not discriminate in our employment practices based on an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, serious medical condition or status as a protected veteran or spousal affiliation. Central New Mexico Community College hires only U.S. citizens and individuals lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.

As the institution with the largest undergraduate student body in New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) provides affordable education to over 30,000 students and offers rewarding career opportunities to over 2,000 faculty and staff. Despite our large size, we still think of ourselves as the "CNM Family." Our diverse community of leadership, faculty, and staff work cohesively and collaboratively to make a positive difference in our students' lives, while always exploring ways to improve the institution.

CNM staff is our most important resource for achieving our vision of Changing Lives, Building Community.

Benefits

Review our summary of benefits CNM offers a wide range of competitive benefit plans to meet the needs of its employees and families, including:

• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Dependent Care Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program
• Retirement Plans and Savings
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Educational Benefits

We support our staff and their families to continue their education, whether at CNM or other educational institutions, through our CNM tuition waivers and tuition reimbursement benefits.

Professional Development Our future success depends on internally developing our employees' leadership and professional skills. CNM is committed to providing quality professional development opportunities on an ongoing basis CNM has consistently ranked among the top five community colleges in the country for the number of associate degrees and certificates awarded to both Hispanics and Native Americans, and consistently ranks among the top 10 for total degrees and certificates awarded.

Regardless of your role, whether you're faculty, administration, or support staff, you'll play a pivotal role in instilling students with integrity, leadership, and compassion. Qualities that bring forth capable, confident, and productive citizens who want to make a change for the better.