VP of Employment Pathways at STUDENT VETERANS OF AMERICA – Washington, District of Columbia
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About This Position
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Position Title: VP of Employment Pathways
Reports to: President & CEO
Location: Remote
About the Organization
Student Veterans of America (SVA) is a 501(c)(3) higher education non-profit, headquartered in Washington, DC. With a mission focused on empowering student veterans, SVA is committed to providing an educational experience that goes beyond the classroom. Through a dedicated network of more than 1,600 on-campus chapters on record and Members, SVA aims to inspire veterans by connecting student veterans with a community of dedicated chapter leaders. Every day, these passionate leaders work to provide the necessary resources, network support, and advocacy to ensure student veterans can effectively connect, expand their skills, and ultimately achieve their greatest potential. For more information, visit us at www.studentveterans.org.
The Opportunity
The VP of Employment Pathways is a pivotal new role leading SVA’s career pathways, internships, and upskilling vertical. This leader will design, build, and scale embedded, full lifecycle programs that connect mission-driven student veteran talent to employers and position SVA as the most valuable career connection for its members.
Working closely with the President & CEO and partnering hand-in-hand with the Development team, who owns employer partnerships, the VP of Employment Pathways will help shape, deliver, and operationalize partner commitments across internships, upskilling, mentorship, and hiring programs. This leader will own the Employment Pathways ecosystem and technology stack, including the Success Hub and MySVA portals serving Members, Chapters, and Partners, and will use Salesforce to capture partner information, agreements, activity, and deal flow in close coordination with Development.
The right candidate is a relationship-driven executive with a builder’s mindset, a strong delivery orientation, and deep fluency in early career talent, internship program design, veteran employment, and upskilling trends.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Delivery Leadership
- Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, the Development team, and executive peers in shaping SVA’s employer engagement and career pathways strategy.
- Develop and execute a multi-year career pathways strategy spanning internships, upskilling, mentorship, and full-time hiring that establishes SVA as the leading voice in veteran emerging talent.
- Partner with Development to help shape, deliver, and operationalize employer partner commitments, ensuring programs are executed with consistency and quality.
- Support Development in packaging partnerships as multi-year, repeatable commitments that align employer brand, internship pipelines, hiring, and upskilling investment with SVA’s mission impact.
Career Pathways, Internships & Employer Programs
- Lead the design and delivery of embedded, full lifecycle programs, including upskilling, mentorship, internships, and employment.
- Build and scale a national student veteran internship pipeline, including program standards, placement support, employer onboarding, and intern to full-time conversion pathways.
- Build warm handoff hiring events, 90-day integration support, ERG activations, and executive sponsorship programs that drive internship conversion, hiring, retention, and long-term career growth.
- Partner with university relations and talent teams at each employer brand, alongside Development, to translate partner commitments into internship pipelines and full-time roles mapped to real open positions and credentials.
- Collaborate with and co-lead the development and hosting of Partner, Student, and Chapter advisory boards to inform our programs and offerings.
- Engage recruitment agencies and ecosystem partners to position SVA within broader early career and internship talent strategies.
Ecosystem & Technology Stewardship
- Own the Employment Pathways ecosystem and technology stack end-to-end, including the Success Hub and the MySVA portals serving Members, Chapters, and Partners.
- Serve as the business owner for Salesforce within the Employment Pathways function, using it to capture partner information, agreements, activity, and deal flow in close coordination with the Development team.
- Partner with technology, data, and content teams to evolve the portals into intuitive, secure, and impactful tools that extend internship, upskilling, and career pathway reach to Members, Chapters, and Partners.
- Build reporting and dashboards that track the full funnel, including internships, interviews, hires, and retention, and deliver regular progress updates to SVA leadership.
- Partner with Development and Finance to ensure program delivery supports funding structures, forecasting, and impact reporting for employer partners.
Brand & Thought Leadership
- Support Development and Communications in leveraging employer relationships to produce high-impact content that elevates SVA’s brand, including executive partner interviews, joint press releases, and co-branded campaigns spotlighting internships and career outcomes.
- Partner with Communications and Marketing on signature thought leadership platforms, social, and related storytelling assets.
- Represent SVA in conversations on emerging talent, internships, upskilling, and veteran employment.
People & Culture
- Build and lead a high-performing Employment Pathways team aligned with SVA’s Core Four values.
- Partner closely with Development, Programs, and Chapter & Member Success leaders to ensure internship and career pathway programs integrate seamlessly with the member, chapter, and partner journey.
- Recruit, develop, and retain talent to support both near-term program launches and long-term portfolio growth.
Candidate Profile
Experience & Education
- 12+ years of progressive leadership in career pathways, internship program design, talent development, employer engagement, or workforce development, ideally at a national level.
- Proven track record in building and scaling national internship programs and early career pipelines.
- Deep fluency in early career talent, internships, upskilling, ERGs, and emerging talent strategy.
- Demonstrated experience working in partnership with development, fundraising, or business development teams to deliver on employer commitments.
- Hands-on experience using Salesforce to manage partner information, agreements, activity, and deal flow.
- Track record owning digital program ecosystems, including member and partner portals, learning platforms, or career center technology.
- Experience working with or within the veteran ecosystem is strongly preferred.
Competencies
- Collaborative partner who can work hand-in-hand with Development to deliver on employer commitments.
- Strategic thinker who can translate partner needs into scalable, repeatable internship and career pathway program design.
- Disciplined operator who balances program delivery with fiscal responsibility and measurable impact.
- Technology-fluent leader comfortable owning a product and platform roadmap across Salesforce, portals, and learning tools.
- Clear communicator who can distill complexity into action and inspire confidence across stakeholders.
- Committed mentor and team developer.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: $130,000-$150,000
SVA offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, generous PTO, plus a 401(k) plan with employer match. Employees also enjoy the opportunity to grow professionally within a collaborative and mission-driven team.
Work Environment
This is a remote role within the U.S. with regular travel (estimated 30 to 40%) to meet with employer partners, attend signature events, and represent SVA as needed.