Edtech.com's Summary

Vanderbilt University is hiring a Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway for its Career Advancement & Engagement team. The on-site role is the strategic leader for career development across media, entertainment, sports, and creative industries. It integrates career advising, employer and alumni engagement, and experiential learning into a distinctive Vanderbilt pathway for students.

Highlights

Lead the Media, Entertainment & Sports career pathway strategy and set priorities for student preparation, experiential learning, and career outcomes.
Cultivate relationships with employers, executives, alumni, and parents and turn them into internships, projects, mentoring, and full-time opportunities for students.
Develop industry immersion experiences such as Vandy in Hollywood, industry treks, employer-sponsored projects, shadowing, and company visits.
Partner with Employer Relations and Experiential Learning teams to build an integrated pathway across advising, programming, and recruiting.
Lead and develop the staff responsible for pathway advising and student programming, and coach students on especially competitive opportunities.
Collaborate with faculty, Development and Alumni Relations, Athletics, and student organizations to connect academic programs with industry opportunities in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles.
Track pathway engagement, employer activity, and placement outcomes and use the data to refine strategy.
Bachelor’s degree and 10 or more years of experience in media, entertainment, sports, creative industries, career development, or employer relations, with regular travel to key industry markets.

Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway Full Description

Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway

Career Advancement & Engagement, Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN (On-site) | Full time

Job Identification: 10009028 | Apply before October 19, 2026

Position Summary

The Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway is part of Vanderbilt University’s Career Advancement & Engagement (CAE) team and serves as the strategic leader for career development across media, entertainment, sports, and adjacent creative industries. The Director is responsible for developing and advancing a distinctive Vanderbilt pathway that integrates career advising, industry expertise, employer and alumni engagement, experiential learning, and student preparation. The role will build a coherent strategy that helps students explore and successfully pursue careers across a broad and rapidly evolving set of industries, including film and television, music, sports, streaming and digital media, gaming, content and creative industries, and entertainment technology.

Working closely with CAE’s Employer Relations and Experiential Learning teams, the Director will strengthen Vanderbilt’s relationships with employers, alumni, parents, and industry leaders and translate those relationships into internships, projects, mentoring, industry immersion, recruiting opportunities, and full-time outcomes for students. The Director will lead the Media, Entertainment & Sports pathway team and collaborate across Vanderbilt to connect students with the University’s academic programs, alumni networks, geographic assets, and industry relationships in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, and other key markets.

About the Work Unit

Career Advancement & Engagement connects Vanderbilt students with meaningful career opportunities through advising, experiential learning, employer partnerships, and industry engagement. CAE is building a pathway-based model that integrates career advising, employer engagement, and experiential learning across key industries.

Key Functions and Expected Performance

Industry Pathway Leadership & Strategy

Lead Vanderbilt’s Media, Entertainment & Sports career pathway strategy and establish priorities for student preparation, experiential learning, industry engagement, and career outcomes.
Define priority industry sectors, career opportunities, readiness milestones, and preparation models appropriate to the distinctive recruiting and hiring practices of MES industries.
Ensure advising, employer engagement, experiential learning, alumni engagement, and programming operate as an integrated pathway.
Monitor emerging industry, technology, labor-market, and recruiting trends and use those insights to refine pathway strategy.
Build Vanderbilt’s visibility and reputation as a source of exceptional undergraduate talent across media, entertainment, sports, and creative industries.

Industry, Employer & Alumni Engagement

Serve as a senior industry-facing representative of Vanderbilt and cultivate relationships with employers, executives, alumni, parents, and other influential industry leaders.
Partner with Employer Relations leadership to identify priority organizations and develop multidimensional relationships that create opportunities for Vanderbilt students.
Activate Vanderbilt alumni and parents as mentors, connectors, speakers, advisers, employers, and champions for students pursuing MES careers.
Expand student access to internships, projects, industry professionals, networking opportunities, and full-time employment.
Leverage Vanderbilt’s presence in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, and other industry centers to create a connected Vanderbilt MES network.

Experiential Learning & Industry Immersion

Set the pathway strategy for experiential learning and industry exposure, working closely with CAE’s Experiential Learning team.
Develop distinctive experiences such as Vandy in Hollywood, industry treks, employer sponsored projects, shadowing, mentoring, internships, company visits, and other forms of industry immersion.
Create opportunities for students to explore MES careers early and progressively build more sophisticated experiences.
Partner with academic programs, faculty, alumni, employers, and student organizations to connect classroom learning with industry practice.

Student Preparation & Pathway Development

Lead the overall strategy for preparing students to navigate the nonlinear, competitive, and relationship-driven nature of MES careers.
Establish pathway-specific milestones and readiness expectations related to industry knowledge, professional relationships, experiential learning, portfolios or creative work, and recruiting preparation.
Lead and develop staff responsible for pathway advising and student programming.
Provide selective high-level coaching and industry perspective for students navigating particularly competitive opportunities or complex career decisions.

Cross-Campus Collaboration & Ecosystem Development

Build strong partnerships with faculty, academic programs, Development and Alumni Relations, Athletics, student organizations, and other university partners whose work intersects with media, entertainment, sports, and creative industries.
Collaborate with CAE leadership to ensure employer, alumni, and experiential relationships are stewarded as institutional assets.
Identify opportunities to connect the MES pathway with Vanderbilt’s growing presence in New York and other network locations.

Data, Outcomes & Continuous Improvement

Establish and monitor measures of pathway engagement, experiential learning participation, employer activity, internship and placement outcomes, and student readiness.
Use student feedback, employer input, labor-market information, and outcomes data to evaluate and refine pathway strategy.
Identify gaps in access or outcomes and develop strategies to ensure students can build meaningful industry relationships regardless of their existing networks.

Supervisory Relationships

While the position does not initially have direct supervisory responsibility, the Director leads Vanderbilt’s Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway and its broader ecosystem. The Director reports directly to the Vice Provost for Career Advancement & Engagement and serves as a member of the Vice Provost’s leadership team.

Education and Certifications

Bachelor’s degree is required.
Master’s degree or equivalent combination of advanced education and relevant professional experience is preferred.

Experience and Skills

Minimum 10+ years of relevant professional experience in media, entertainment, sports, creative industries, career development, employer relations, or a closely related field.
Significant professional experience within one or more media, entertainment, sports, or creative-industry sectors is strongly preferred.
Deep understanding of the structure, culture, career paths, talent needs, and relationship driven hiring practices of MES industries.
Demonstrated ability to develop relationships with senior industry leaders, employers, alumni, and other external stakeholders.
Experience developing industry partnerships, experiential learning opportunities, talent programs, or professional networks.
Leadership experience managing staff, complex programs, or cross-functional initiatives.
Strong strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
Willingness to travel regularly to key industry markets and engage extensively with employers, alumni, and industry leaders.

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Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway

Edtech.com's Summary

Director, Media, Entertainment & Sports Career Pathway Full Description

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