Role & responsibilities:

1. External Relations Strategy

- Support the development and execution of the University's external relations strategy in alignment with institutional priorities.
- Identify and develop strategic relationships with industry leaders, corporates, institutions, alumni, and other influential stakeholders.
- Represent GITAM in relevant external forums, meetings, conferences, and networking platforms.

2. Alumni & Stakeholder Engagement

- Strengthen engagement with the GITAM alumni community across India and international geographies.
- Build and maintain relationships with senior alumni, industry professionals, corporate leaders, and institutional partners
- Identify opportunities to leverage external networks for mentoring, student opportunities, industry engagement, knowledge sharing, internships, placements, collaborations, and institutional growth.

3. Strategic Partnerships

- Identify, develop, and manage strategic partnerships with corporates, institutions, professional bodies, and other external organizations.
- Facilitate opportunities for MoUs, collaborations, joint initiatives, knowledge partnerships, industry engagement, and other strategic programs.
- Ensure effective coordination between external partners and relevant internal stakeholders.

4. Events & Engagement Programs

- Lead and oversee high-impact external engagement initiatives, including alumni events, leadership interactions, industry meets, conferences, reunions, networking events, and institutional programs.
- Develop event strategies, stakeholder plans, communication plans, and execution frameworks.
- Ensure that external commitments are aligned with internal approvals, priorities, and execution readiness.

5. Industry & Corporate Relations

- Build a strong network of corporate and industry leaders and identify opportunities for meaningful engagement with GITAM.
- Facilitate industry interactions, leadership sessions, student opportunities, internships,



projects, mentoring, and other forms of collaboration.
- Work with academic and functional teams to convert external relationships into measurable institutional outcomes.

6. University Representation & Reputation Building

- Represent GITAM professionally in external engagements and strategic forums.
- Support initiatives that strengthen GITAM's institutional visibility, reputation, and relationships with key external stakeholders.
- Identify opportunities for GITAM leadership and faculty to engage with influential external networks.

7. Team Leadership

- Provide leadership, mentoring, and direction to the External Relations team.
- Establish clear goals, work plans, processes, and performance metrics for the team.
- Encourage collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement across the function.

8. Data, Reporting & Governance

- Develop dashboards and regular reports to track external relations performance and outcomes.
- Monitor metrics such as active alumni engagement, strategic partnerships, corporate engagement, events, student opportunities, stakeholder participation, and collaborations.
- Maintain appropriate documentation, databases, engagement records, and governance processes.

9. Cross-functional Collaboration

- Work closely with academic schools, admissions, career services, research, communications, advancement, and other functional teams.
- Understand institutional priorities and identify external engagement opportunities that support them.




- Ensure seamless coordination and timely execution of initiatives across campuses.

10. Continuous Improvement

- Evaluate the effectiveness of external engagement initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Develop scalable processes and frameworks for stakeholder engagement.
- Stay updated on trends and best practices in alumni relations, corporate relations, higher education partnerships, and institutional engagement.

Preferred candidate profile

- Bachelor's degree with a Master's degree preferred in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Higher Education Administration, Public Relations, or a related field.
- 12+ years of relevant experience in external relations, alumni relations, corporate relations, stakeholder engagement, partnerships, institutional relations, program management, or a related function.
- Prior experience in higher education, corporate relations, non profit organizations, professional associations, or a similar stakeholder driven workplace is preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in building and managing relationships with senior leaders, corporate executives, alumni, institutions, and external stakeholders.
- Proven ability to develop partnerships and convert relationships into measurable institutional outcomes.
- Robust leadership and team-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple teams, stakeholders, and workstreams.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Strong event planning and stakeholder-management capabilities.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and take ownership of outcomes.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data, dashboards, and reports to measure engagement and impact.
- Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, multi-campus university environment with frequent interaction with senior leadership and external stakeholders.

📌 Deputy Director - External Relations (Alumni Relations) (Visakhapatnam)
🏢 Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM)
📍 Visakhapatnam