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Description
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Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) is Wisconsin's largest and most diverse technical college, offering 170+ high-quality programs that connect students to a career in as little as one to two years. The college also offers a less expensive path to a four-year degree. MATC is transforming lives, industry and our community by preparing students today for the careers of tomorrow. Together, we are meeting the needs of the community we share and are focused on students with the greatest needs. We are seeking passionate individuals to join our team who shares the same passion in serving this purpose. Learn more about MATC at www.matc.edu. The Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs is a senior institutional leader with direct supervisory responsibility for three critical functions: governmental relations, marketing and communications, and strategic planning and institutional effectiveness. The role exists to advance long-term institutional priorities, strengthen external positioning, and ensure strategic initiatives move forward with clarity and momentum. As a member of the President's Executive Leadership Team, this person contributes a broad institutional perspective and participates in decision-making that supports the College's mission, vision, and goals, while promoting an environment that is passionate about meeting and exceeding student expectations. In addition, the position will ensure that the goals and objectives of the services and departments they lead are accomplished within prescribed time parameters, within budget, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and in a manner that meets service goals and customer service standards. Tasks are varied and often time critical. The Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs will serve as a senior institutional leader who advances long-term strategy, external positioning, and institutional momentum. This role exists to ensure the College is not only responsive to current demands but also proactively shaping its future.
Strategic Imperative
The institution requires a senior leader who can:
- Elevate focus from immediate issues to long-term opportunity
- Identify emerging priorities and initiate action before momentum stalls
- Move complex initiatives forward when they risk becoming stuck or fragmented
- Ensure internal and external messaging that is institutionally aligned
This role is designed to be catalytic; creating alignment, advancing priority initiatives, and ensuring accountability without duplicating operational leadership.
Areas of Direct Supervision and Leadership
Governmental Relations
- Provide executive leadership for all institutional government relations activity.
- Serve as the College's primary internal leader and point of accountability for engagement with elected officials, governmental constituents, and policymakers.
- Coordinate advocacy with external lobbying support.
Marketing and Communications
- Provide senior-level supervision and strategic direction for institutional marketing and communications.
- Ensure alignment, quality, and coherence of institutional messaging across platforms.
- Oversee high-level content and narrative development, including presidential communications.
- Responsible for crisis communication.
Strategic Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
- Supervise strategic planning and institutional effectiveness functions.
- Ensure planning, assessment, and institutional performance efforts align with long-term priorities.
- Provide accountability for progress and outcomes without over-managing operations.
- Advance a culture of evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement.
Leadership Style and Expectations
The Vice President will lead with a high degree of autonomy and sound judgment, empowering direct reports while maintaining clear accountability. This leader will move work forward, resolve ambiguity, and ensure follow-through, particularly in areas that cut across divisions, lack natural ownership, or require external presence.
Ideal Candidate Profile
This is an unusually broad and consequential leadership role, designed for a special kind of executive.
- It combines strategy, external engagement, and communications at the most senior level.
- It requires comfort operating both internally and externally, often as a sole institutional representative.
- It demands depth, versatility, and sound judgment rather than narrow specialization.
- It offers the opportunity to shape institutional direction, influence public positioning, and prepare for future presidential leadership.
The successful candidate will be highly autonomous, action-oriented, and comfortable operating through influence rather than hierarchy. They will bring strong judgment, executive presence, and a bias toward action, moving work forward, resolving ambiguity, and creating momentum. Senior leader with demonstrated experience in:
- Governmental or external relations.
- Marketing and communications.
- Strategic planning and institutional effectiveness.
- Strong understanding of higher education.
- Executive presence and credibility to represent the institution internally and externally.
- Well-suited for a rising president or senior strategist preparing for broader institutional leadership.
Key characteristics include:
- Acting as a strategic extension of executive leadership.
- Advancing priorities that require coordination, influence, and follow-through.
- Providing structure, momentum, and accountability for work that does not sit cleanly within a single division.
- Enabling senior leaders to remain focused on core responsibilities while ensuring strategic initiatives continue to move.
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Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities
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Presidential Support and Executive Operations
- Senior Advisory Role: Serve as the President's principal strategic advisor and senior confidant on all institutional matters. Manage the President's priorities, strategic initiatives, and key relationships to maximize presidential effectiveness. Coordinate and facilitate senior leadership team meetings and strategic planning sessions.
- Presidential Liaison: Serve as primary liaison between the President and Board of Directors, faculty, staff, students, and external stakeholders. In the absence of the President, or when strategically beneficial, serve as the institution's official representative and spokesperson. Represent the institution at high-level external meetings and events when designated by the President.
- Strategic Project Management: Lead and coordinate high-priority presidential initiatives and cross-divisional projects. Ensure alignment of institutional activities with presidential priorities and strategic goals. Manage special assignments and sensitive institutional matters on behalf of the President.
Government and Legislative Affairs
- Government Relations Leadership: Serve as the college's principal government relations officer and chief advocate. Lead comprehensive government relations strategy and execution at local, state, and federal levels. Build and maintain strategic relationships with elected officials, legislative staff, regulators, policy makers, and government agency leaders. Serve as primary liaison with Wisconsin Technical College System on all legislative and policy matters.
- Legislative Strategy and Advocacy: Monitor, analyze, and respond to legislative and regulatory developments affecting technical colleges, workforce development, and higher education. Develop and implement advocacy strategies to advance institutional priorities and secure favorable policy outcomes. Coordinate institutional positions on pending legislation and regulatory proposals. Testify before legislative committees and regulatory bodies as needed.
- Regulatory Affairs: Monitor regulatory changes affecting the institution. Coordinate institutional responses to proposed regulations. Maintain relationships with state and federal regulatory agencies. Ensure compliance with governmental reporting and accountability requirements.
Strategic Communications and Marketing
- Strategic Communications Leadership: Develop and implement comprehensive strategic communication plans to advance MATC's brand identity, reputation, enrollment goals, and institutional priorities. Create integrated marketing and public relations strategies that amplify MATC's mission, value proposition, and impact. Serve as primary institutional spokesperson and media contact.
- Executive Communications: Oversee presidential communications including speeches, presentations, statements, and key messaging. Develop communication strategies for sensitive issues, crisis situations, and high-stakes institutional matters. Ensure consistent, compelling messaging across all institutional communications.
- Crisis Communication: Lead institutional crisis communication and reputation management. Coordinate responses to emergencies, controversies, and sensitive situations. Develop crisis communication protocols and train leadership in crisis response. Serve as the primary institutional voice during crises.
External Relationships and Partnerships
- Strategic Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strategic relationships with key external stakeholders including media, community leaders, industry partners, and advocacy groups. Foster relationships with community organizations to enhance college presence and impact. Manage college advisory committee relationships ensuring meaningful input into program development.
- Industry and Business Partnerships: Develop and maintain partnerships with business and industry leaders to support program development and student success. Coordinate with industry partners to evaluate programs and implement changes. Build strategic alliances that advance institutional priorities and student outcomes.
Strategic Planning and Institutional Research & Effectiveness
- Strategic Planning Leadership: Lead development and implementation of institutional strategic planning processes. Facilitate strategic planning sessions and ensure alignment with presidential priorities. Coordinate strategic plan implementation across all divisions and departments. Monitor progress toward strategic goals and provide regular updates to leadership.
- Performance Management: Monitor institutional key performance indicators and present findings to leadership. Support data-informed decision making processes throughout the organization. Coordinate institutional reporting requirements for internal and external stakeholders.
Organizational Coordination and Operations
- Cross-Divisional Leadership: Coordinate activities and initiatives across all institutional divisions. Facilitate communication and collaboration between departments and divisions. Resolve cross-functional challenges and ensure seamless operations. Lead institutional committees and task forces as assigned by the President.
- Change Management: Lead organizational change initiatives and transformation projects. Facilitate adoption of new policies, procedures, and strategic directions. Manage institutional responses to internal and external challenges. Ensure effective communication of changes throughout the organization.
- Cross Functional Relationships and Collaborative Teamwork: Establishes, maintains, and enhances positive work relationships with staff, faculty, and administrators.
- Leadership and Supervision: Develops and manages high performing team highly skilled and motivated staff focused on the delivery of quality and value-added services, and allocates cross-functional responsibilities and work processes. Responsibilities include hiring, coaching/mentoring, performance management, and progressive discipline as needed.
- Continuous Learning & Professional Development: Maintains current knowledge of best practices and standards in higher education with an emphasis on community Colleges. Actively organizes and/or participates in applicable workgroups, trainings, workshops, seminars, committees and professional associations or conferences to promote continuous learning.
- Other duties: Perform other related duties within the scope of the position as required for the efficient operation of the division and to support institutional objectives.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Demonstrated ability to collect, analyze, and utilize data to achieve desired outcomes.
- Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills to serve organizational goals with the ability to inspire trust and camaraderie in employees, colleagues, and the community.
- Proven success in leading without direct authority.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Expert in giving presentations and explaining complex content in easy-to-understand terms that aid in understanding and decision-making.
- Demonstrated expertise in strategic leadership working with Boards of Directors and external leaders, as well as leading and collaborating with executive and staff teams across diverse cultural communities and areas of responsibility.
- Expertise in supervising, coaching, motivating and evaluating staff and actively supporting their professional development. Experience with providing continuous feedback and navigating performance challenges.
- Comprehensive knowledge of strategic planning, data analysis and budgeting, including demonstrated experience with policy development and change management. Experience in or of the WTCS System preferred.
- Proficient with Google Suite and Microsoft Office including Excel, Word and Outlook and other necessary software.
- Ability to work with culturally diverse populations of students, employees and community stakeholders.
Core Competencies:
- Business insight
- Decision quality
- Resourcefulness
- Plans and aligns
- Drives results
- Manages conflict
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- Develops talent
- Builds effective teams
- Demonstrates self-awareness
- Instills trust
- Customer focus
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- Action oriented
- Values differences
- Self-development
- Compassion
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Qualifications
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Compliance with all state, federal, and accreditation standards/requirement, as well as all MATC policies and procedures. Required Education & Experience: Master's degree in a related field required with experience overseeing multiple operational areas, including expertise in performing the responsibilities described in the job description. Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible senior management experience, preferably in higher education; Five (5) years of administrative supervision experience including supervision of various position levels including manager positions and above.
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Supplemental Information
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Start Date: This position supports the Institutional Strategy Division and reports directly to the President, Dr. Cruz. Tentative start date March 2, 2026
Hours: This position requires a minimum commitment of 40 hours per week. The standard work schedule is Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Occasional overtime may be necessary based on business needs.
Salary Information: Salary is listed to the midpoint of the range and placement is determined based on years of experience, internal salary equity, and a review of the applicant's employment and educational background as listed on the fully completed job application.
Minimum Requirements:
Master's degree in relevant field (public affairs, public policy, government relations, public relations, communications, marketing, higher education administration, business administration, political science, or related field). Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible senior management experience, preferably in higher education; Five (5) years of administrative supervision experience including supervision of various position levels including manager positions and above.
Application and Nomination Process
Academic Search is assisting Milwaukee Area Technical College in this search. Nominations, applications, and inquiries may be sent in complete confidence. The Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs position is open until midnight CST
on February 23, 2026.
Application materials (to include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of five references - who will not be contacted without permission) must be electronically submitted in PDF format to: MATCVPSIEA@academicsearch.org.
For further information or to discuss this opportunity, please contact Rich Cummins, Senior Consultant, at rich.cummins@academicsearch.org. Leaders who know of outstanding candidates are welcome to submit confidential nominations by sending an email to MATCVPSIEA@academicsearch.org. Be sure to include the nominee's full name, position, institution/ organization, and email address.
Academic Search will notify individuals of their nomination, provide details about the position, and encourage them to apply.
Interviews: Selected qualified candidates will be invited to participate in the following activities
- One way video interview through Spark Hire, Tentative, February 27, 2026 - March 2, 2026
- Virtual Panel Interviews, on or around week of March 9, 2026
- Final in-person interviews, on or around March 23, 2026
- Candidates from out of state will be reimbursed for travel
EEO: Milwaukee Area Technical College will not discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, student, or applicant for admission on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, creed, religion, political affiliation, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, disability, age, membership in any reserve component of the armed forces, union affiliation, arrest and conviction record, or any other protected category under applicable local, state or federal law.
Milwaukee Area Technical College is an Equal Opportunity/Access Educator/Employer. Reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability and need special accommodation for the application process, please contact our office at 414-297-6529 (Wisconsin Relay System: 711) or email jobs@matc.edu
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Milwaukee Area Technical College
$142,662.00 - $192,599.00 Annually
medical insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, flexible benefit account, vacation time, paid holidays, sick time, tuition reimbursement, 403(b), retirement plan, pension
Jan 05, 2026