For over 180 years, the University of Notre Dame has been a leading American research university, offering a distinct perspective in higher education. This Catholic institution, based in Notre Dame, Indiana, is driven by a powerful blend of faith and intellectual curiosity, consistently pursuing excellence in education, groundbreaking research, and service to society. Notre Dame fosters a welcoming and vibrant campus where students, faculty, and staff are united in their commitment to creating an inclusive community and making a difference in the world. For individuals passionate about innovation, ethical leadership, and leveraging world-class facilities and renowned academic programs, Notre Dame provides a dynamic and impactful career path.

The University of Notre Dame is committed to advancing the economic vitality, innovation, and shared prosperity of the South Bend-Elkhart region. Operating within the Office of AI Strategy and Regional Engagement, this leadership role helps strengthen the University’s impact as a catalyst for regional economic wellbeing. 

We are seeking a strategic operational leader to serve as Executive Director, Regional Engagement. Reporting directly to the Associate Vice President for AI Strategy and Regional Engagement, the Executive Director heads the iNDustry Labs team and directs Notre Dame's broader regional engagement initiatives.

In this role, you will translate institutional strategy into measurable regional impact. You will direct major economic development grant initiatives, advance artificial intelligence adoption and workforce readiness across local industries, manage the iNDustry Labs portfolio, and support the physical and programmatic activation of the Colfax Corner and Tech and Talent District in Downtown South Bend. Through multi-sector partnerships across higher education, economic development organizations, industry, and philanthropy, you will help position Notre Dame as a catalyst for regional economic growth.

Responsibilities:

Leadership of iNDustry Labs

• Set strategic direction and oversee performance for the iNDustry Labs team, establishing annual goals and performance benchmarks.

• Manage portfolio execution across signature initiatives, including industry site visits, executive relationship management, regional talent placement, and student applied learning, with a particular emphasis on partnering with the academic core

• Oversee budgeting, staffing allocations, vendor contracts, and system of record architectures to track campus engagement and industry insights.

• Build a collaborative team culture bridging regional industry needs with university talent, faculty expertise, and technological capabilities.

Special Projects and Regional Positioning

• Identify and validate opportunities to leverage Notre Dame assets to advance economic vibrancy in the South Bend Elkhart region

• Build and steward relationships with civic leaders, economic development organizations, non-profit leaders, and foundation executives across the South Bend-Elkhart region to align and act on regional priorities

• Conceptualize and champion initiatives that prepare local industries and workforce for technological disruption and AI adoption.

Economic Development Grants and Regional Strategy

• Direct Notre Dame's participation in major competitive federal, state, and foundation economic development opportunities

• Convene cross-sector public-private coalitions to build competitive proposals, governance frameworks, and execution budgets.

• Lead post-award grant implementation to ensure compliance, milestone tracking, reporting cadences, and partner commitments.

Downtown South Bend and Colfax District Activation

• Provide operational support for Notre Dame's footprint in Downtown South Bend, driving activation of the Colfax Corner and Tech and Talent District.

• Collaborate with university leadership, developers, and corporate tenants to support business recruitment and economic activity.

• Operationalize flagship regional convenings, showcase events, and industry forums within the downtown core to bridge campus and community vitality

Minimum

• Bachelor's degree.

• At least 8 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in economic development, corporate partnerships, innovation ecosystems, or public-private consortium management.

• Proven track record leading multidisciplinary teams and operationalizing complex strategic plans.

• Executive presence with strong interpersonal, negotiation, and coalition-building skills across diverse corporate, civic, academic, and government stakeholders.

• Strong fiscal and operational acumen, including experience managing departmental budgets and project pipelines.

Preferred

• Experience managing complex multi-institutional public-private initiatives.

• Demonstrated success developing, writing, or executing large-scale federal or state economic development grants.

• Deep familiarity with the regional economy of the South Bend-Elkhart region

• Salary: up to 180K, commensurate with experience

• Deadline to Apply (subject to change): Sunday, November 22, 2026.

• Please Note: This is a fully onsite position.

• Please include a cover letter for full consideration of your application

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.