Executive Director, Global Business, Northeastern University – NYC

About the Role

Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and a world leader in experiential learning. The Executive Director of Global Business is the founding academic leader charged with building and scaling Northeastern's next-generation business degree: one program delivered across two continents, designed for a future in which competitive advantage comes from human capability — not technical knowledge alone.

The Bachelor of Global Business is a transformative degree in which students move between New York and London as a core feature of the degree, developing expertise across business, design, technology, creativity, entrepreneurship, and AI. The centerpiece of the degree is a sequence of four required, progressive, cross-year Studios — Foundations, Innovation Lab, Strategy & Implementation, and Leadership & Transformation — each co-taught by one business faculty member and one design/arts faculty member, replacing select traditional core courses under an AACSB-compliant, competency-based assessment model.

Beyond the studios, students pursue an I3 studio (a specialization studio, paired with two required electives) in areas such as media and entertainment, fashion and luxury marketing, fintech, global supply chain, and tech and AI leadership — taken at either campus, serving as the degree's primary vehicle for cross-campus mobility. This role offers a significant program-building opportunity within Northeastern's global network, partnering closely with Northeastern University – London to lead the design of an AI-native, studio-based, portfolio-assessed business degree from its earliest stages through launch.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the founding academic leader of Global Business in NYC, establishing the new bachelor’s degree as Northeastern's next-generation, AI-native business degree.
• Own the four-studio progressive architecture (Foundations, Innovation Lab, Strategy & Implementation, Leadership & Transformation) as the centerpiece of the degree, ensuring each studio is problem-based, cross-year, co-taught by business and design/arts faculty, and builds toward a coherent student portfolio.
• Ensure AI fluency, human-centered leadership, cultural intelligence, and systems thinking are embedded throughout every studio, module, and assessment.
• Lead the design of the competency-grouped business core (e.g., Business Foundations, Innovation & Tech Leadership, Data-Driven Management & Strategic Decision Making) in place of traditional single-subject courses.
• Finalize and launch the initial I3 Lab concentrations (e.g., media and entertainment, fashion and luxury marketing, fintech and investments, global supply chain, tech and AI leadership).
• Differentiate the Bachelor of Global Business from the BSBA in curriculum, student-facing materials, and admissions messaging.
• Work in close partnership with the Dean of US Degree Programs at Northeastern University London to ensure the degree functions as a genuine two-continent program.
• Coordinate I3 Lab availability, studio quality, and concentration equivalence across both campuses, recognizing location-specific flavors (e.g., media and entertainment in London vs. New York).
• Oversee the primary cross-campus mobility mechanism — an I3 Lab taken at the partner campus alongside Studio 3 or 4 — ensuring seamless student movement between New York and London.
• Build and lead a portfolio of named industry and community partners who sponsor studio projects, place embedded practitioners, and contribute mentors and guest speakers.
• Establish and oversee a dedicated liaison role to source and manage external partners each semester.
• Cultivate deeper-tier partnerships — co-developing curriculum, embedding tools and case studies, and placing staff in the classroom.
• Oversee the competitive Experiential Semester model as the degree's primary alternative to a traditional co-op, including placements with Northeastern-affiliated startups, campus productions, and venture studios.
• Maintain the Studio Manager (year 3) to Studio Director (year 4) leadership progression as a credited, non-TA role.
• Support traditional co-op as a parallel path and advise students on trade-offs between paid co-op and unpaid, 16-credit Experiential Semesters.
• Recruit, pair, and develop the co-teaching faculty model — one business faculty member and one design/arts faculty member per studio — in partnership with the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD).
• Ensure studio-based competency assessment is documented to the standard required for AACSB accreditation.
• Track enrollment, retention, and post-graduation outcomes; manage the program's operating budget; and prepare regular performance updates for Northeastern's leadership.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Doctorate or terminal degree (e.g., PhD, DBA) in business, management, entrepreneurship, or a closely related field.
• Significant academic leadership experience, including service at the level of Program Director, Associate Dean, Department Chair, or equivalent, with demonstrated responsibility for curriculum design, faculty leadership, and budget oversight.
• Demonstrated experience building or launching new academic programs, ideally involving experiential, studio-based, project-based, or competency-based pedagogy.
• Experience operating in an international or multi-campus higher education environment, ideally including direct familiarity with both US and UK academic structures.
• Experience navigating AACSB or comparable business accreditation processes, particularly where non-traditional curricular models require close attention to competency documentation.
• Track record of building industry partnerships and employer engagement in business, technology, media, or entrepreneurial sectors.

Technical Knowledge & Skills

• Deep understanding of studio-based, project-based, and portfolio-assessed curriculum design, including structuring competency-based course groupings in place of traditional single-subject courses.
• Familiarity with AACSB accreditation standards and the documentation required to substitute studios or labs for required core courses.
• Knowledge of AI-native curriculum design — embedding AI fluency, supervision, and strategic application throughout coursework.
• Understanding of experiential and industry-integrated learning models, including co-op education and alternative experiential-semester structures.
• Familiarity with two-campus (or multi-campus) degree mobility design, including how cultural, regulatory, and market differences shape a shared curriculum.
• Understanding of the competitive landscape for innovative business degrees and market dynamics differentiating a next-generation program from a traditional BSBA or BSIB.

Leadership & Management

• Visionary leadership presence with the ability to articulate a compelling identity for a genuinely new kind of business degree and inspire faculty, staff, students, and industry partners.
• Proven ability to lead cross-college collaboration — particularly the business/design-arts co-teaching model — building shared ownership between DMSB and CAMD faculty.
• Experience building and sustaining partnerships with employers who sponsor project work, embed practitioners, and hire graduating talent.
• Ability to work effectively in a matrixed, multi-campus environment, coordinating with Northeastern University London leadership and aligning with Northeastern's central academic and administrative leadership.
• Demonstrated track record of faculty recruitment, development, and retention, including staffing co-teaching faculty pairs across disciplines.
• Strong financial acumen and experience managing program budgets tied to enrollment growth and phased program launches.
• Exceptional communicator and relationship builder, with the interpersonal range to engage credibly with prospective students, faculty, industry partners, and senior leadership.
• Demonstrated commitment to belonging efforts and building an inclusive academic community across business, creative, and design disciplines.

Benefits

Northeastern University offers a comprehensive benefits package for benefit-eligible employees, including:

• Medical, vision, and dental coverage
• Paid time off
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness and life programs
• Retirement plans
• Commuting and transportation benefits

Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.