Senior Manager, Career Partnerships & Talent Programs

The Senior Manager, Career Partnerships and Talent Programs will build relationships and programs that connect Suffolk with emerging talent and help people thrive after they join. The role leads three connected portfolios: strategic university partnerships, military veteran recruiting and programming, and the Career Start alumni network. Across each portfolio, the manager turns relationships into clear pathways to recruit, develop, and retain talent in close partnership with regional operations, HR, and the Early Careers Team.

The role will also work closely with other national programs including the Career Start program, the Intern program and Campus Recruiting to ensure alignment among the Early Career programs.

This role requires an on-site presence 4 days a week in our amazing Boston office - which offers free parking, a free on-site gym and cafeteria and other perks that make for a great culture and unique employee experience! 

University partnerships

• Develop multi-year plans with priority universities, aligning Suffolk leaders, faculty, career services, and student organizations around shared outcomes.
• Create distinctive, recurring experiences that give students meaningful exposure to construction and Suffolk, including applied project challenges, employer-informed learning, mentoring, and site or office experiences.
• Build pathways from university engagement into Internships, Co-Ops, and Career Start; coordinate with campus recruiting and regional teams to identify, assess, and convert strong candidates.
• Track engagement and hiring outcomes, gather partner and student feedback, and refine plans annually.

Military veteran recruiting

• Build a veteran talent strategy that connects military experience with construction, project operations, and functional career paths at Suffolk.
• Develop trusted relationships with veteran transition organizations, military-affiliated universities, internal veteran employees, and other relevant partners.
• Create practical candidate pathways through role translation, targeted outreach, hiring-team preparation, peer connection, and onboarding support; partner with recruiters and hiring leaders to improve candidate experience and retention.

Career Start alumni network

• Design an ongoing experience for Career Start alumni that strengthens connection, career visibility, and belonging for Career Start graduates.
• Build structured touchpoints such as peer mentoring, alumni events, career conversations, leadership access, and opportunities for alumni to support current participants and recruiting.
• Partner with operational leaders and HRBPs to understand alumni progression, engagement, time in role, and retention risks; coordinate timely support where needed.
• Use alumni feedback and program data to recommend improvements to career development, recognition, and continued connection with the program

Shared leadership and execution

• Set goals, measures, annual plans, and budgets for each portfolio; manage timelines, communications, events, and partner commitments.
• Coordinate with campus recruiting, regional Early Careers teams, HRBPs, operations leaders, and internal communications to connect national direction with effective local execution.
• Represent Suffolk with care and credibility, ensuring initiatives are inclusive, accessible, and aligned with workforce needs and company values.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least 5-8 years of experience in talent acquisition, university relations, early career programs, workforce development, veteran engagement or hiring, alumni engagement, or a equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to build durable partnerships and turn them into coordinated programs with clear outcomes.
• Strong project management, communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills; able to work effectively with senior leaders, students, candidates, and community partners.
• Ability to use data and feedback to assess program effectiveness and improve the candidate and employee experience.
• Experience in construction, engineering, workforce transition, or a large multi-region organization is helpful.

Necessary Attributes 

• Demonstrates Suffolk’s Core Values: Passion, Integrity, Hard Work, Professionalism, Caring
• Strategic thinker who balances long-term planning with flawless execution.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align talent strategies to organizational goals.
• Collaborative leader who builds credibility and trust across all levels of the organization.
• Adaptable and resilient in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail.
• Comfortable making data-driven decisions while maintaining a people-first mindset.
• Passionate about developing early career talent and building the future leadership pipeline of the organization.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for long periods of time; talk or hear; perform fine motor, hand and finger skills in the use of a keyboard, telephone, or writing. The employee is frequently required to stands; walk; and reach with arms and/or hands. Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. The employee will spend their time in an office environment with a quiet to moderate noise level. Job site walking.

Where required by law, pay ranges can be found in Suffolk's job postings. Base Salary for this position is just one component of Suffolk’s total rewards package for employees. Actual salaries may be based on several factors including, but not limited to, a candidate's skill set, experience, education and other qualifications. Suffolk offers a comprehensive benefits package as part of its overall total rewards strategy. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly to reflect market trends.