Associate Director of Stakeholder Engagement (DIBI)

Associate Director Of Stakeholder Engagement

The Defense Industrial Base Institute (DIBI) at Northeastern University seeks an experienced Associate Director of Stakeholder Engagement to build and maintain strategic relationships with partners across the public, private and higher education sectors. Working closely with the Senior Director for Public Outreach, this individual will develop and execute comprehensive and dynamic stakeholder engagement strategies and other public outreach initiatives in support of DIBI's mission to transform our nation's defense industrial base.

This multifaceted role combines strategic relationship management, communications strategy, and operational excellence. The Associate Director will lead the implementation and ongoing management of the Salesforce CRM system across DIBI, working collaboratively with the University's IT team to ensure effective stakeholder relationship management and data-driven engagement tracking. Additionally, this position involves coordinating high-impact events with senior executives in the government and industry, managing complex projects from conception to execution, and ensuring seamless delivery of both digital and in-person engagement experiences that support DIBI's strategic priorities and research initiatives.

The role requires expertise in project management and event planning, with responsibility for executing conferences, workshops, webinars and other stakeholder convenings with industry, government and higher education audiences. The Associate Director will develop strategic communication plans, create messaging frameworks for different stakeholder segments, and measure the effectiveness of outreach efforts to continuously improve engagement outcomes.

Reporting to the Senior Director for Public Outreach, this position involves direct supervision of an Operations Manager who supports CRM management, event coordination, and office operations.

The Associate Director will collaborate closely with Northeastern University's External Affairs and Marketing teams to ensure alignment with university policies and protocols. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker who can balance relationship building, communications strategy, project management, and tactical execution in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.

Minimum qualifications include :

• A Bachelor's degree is required, preferably in communications, marketing, public relations, or related field, with 7+ years of experience in stakeholder engagement, communications, and / or marketing.
• Experience in research, government, or agency sectors is a plus.
• Experience planning, managing, and executing events and stakeholder engagement activities for audiences in academia, industry and government.
• Strong project management experience and outstanding organizational skills, with demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously from initiation to completion.
• Excellent writing and communications skills, strong knowledge of English grammar, and an ability to work collaboratively across the institute, colleges and academic partners, industry and government, while supporting multiple projects.
• The candidate must be a self-starter with demonstrated ability to handle projects from start to finish and strong collaborative skills.
• Experience supporting marketing and communications functions including digital strategy, content development, stakeholder relationship management, event planning and execution, and project management.
• Ability to manage stakeholder expectations and build lasting relationships is critical.
• Ability to supervise and mentor staff.
• Attention to detail is a must.
• Candidate should be comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic, and "startup-like" environment. We are searching for a flexible, creative thinker who is open to new ideas and has the ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities as circumstances require.
• An ideal candidate will have the ability to manage stakeholder expectations (internal and external to the University), possess strong communication skills, and the ability to think and act both analytically and strategically.
• Ability to travel 10% of the time across the nation may be needed.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to federal contract obligations.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities include :

Position type : Marketing and Communications

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation grade / pay type : 111S

Expected hiring range : $86,490.00 - $122,163.75