Higher Education Workforce Development Program Manager

Working with the Director of New York Workforce Development, this role will develop partnerships with the institutions of higher education (IHE) to align degree pathways to career opportunities at National Grid.

This role is external facing and works closely with education institutions and internally with various stakeholders in the New York Business and the People Function to align recruitment opportunities.

• Work with Director of NY Workforce Development, People Function, Strategic Workforce Planning, NY Electric, NY Gas, and other business units to identify skills and competencies required for critical and hard to fill positions and align workforce development opportunities with higher education programs and degree pathways.
• Manage higher education scholarship programs in New York State, including all associated activities such as contract updates, scholarship awards promotion and events, mentoring programming and events, partner management and coordination, and community outreach for scholarship applications - all in coordination with various business units including but not limited to Corporate Affairs, NY Electric, NY Gas, and Communications.
• Build and maintain relationships and partnerships with various education institutions across New York State that have certificate and degree pathways aligned with National Grid's hiring needs.
• Skills mapping of positions at National Grid to various college certificate and degree pathways.
• Coordinate with Engineering and Recruitment teams on college visits and college career fairs.
• Coordinate with regional Corporate and Community Affairs, Social Impact, NY Electric, and NY Gas teams to ensure visibility in events and programs as necessary, and coordinate volunteer opportunities with higher education programs, specifically those with career connections to National Grid.
• Coordinate with the People Recruitment team to ensure college administrators and students have a clear understanding of training and educational pathways that lead to jobs at National Grid; provide insight into skills needs; and, when opportunities arise, provide industry-input into curriculum.
• Provide energy industry and utility career exposure opportunities for students in partnering institutions in educational and career aligned ways.
• Coordinate all higher education mentoring opportunities for National Grid's scholarship programs.
• Use internal and external data to evaluate program effectiveness and inform future program design and decision making.
• Work with funded partners to ensure quarterly and annual reports are completed, and program outcomes are communicated both internally and externally.
• Annual reporting and storytelling of program outcomes and successes.
• Support / implement key projects to deliver Strategic Workforce Development / People and business priorities.
• Education stakeholder engagement throughout New York State, traveling as needed, up to 30% of the time.

• Bachelor's degree in related topic or associates degree with equivalent and relevant experience.
• Proven ability to develop programs and partnerships for education and workforce development, aligned to the needs of employers.
• Previous experience working with career and technical education (CTE), early college high schools, and/or higher education programs or partnerships.
• Understanding of the higher education system in New York State, including public and private institutions, and how to leverage opportunities for training and education aligned career pathways.
• Strong interpersonal/communication skills and self-motivation/initiative required.
• Strong skills in public speaking, stakeholder engagement, relationship building and management.
• The ability to self-start and adapt to different business needs, with the mindset of continuous improvement.
• Discipline and attention to detail in managing data, policies and processes.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, while prioritizing work to meet business needs and stakeholder expectations.
• Demonstrated track record of managing projects from initiation to implementation through review.
• Competent in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint.
• Ability to travel across New York State up to 30%