Director Educational Partnerships

The Director of Educational Partnerships will design and lead Sonic Automotive's enterprise strategy for building long-term talent pipelines through partnerships with colleges, universities, and technical schools. This role focuses on developing future sales, F&I, and operations leaders by creating structured early-career pathways aligned with Sonic's high-performance culture and guest-first philosophy.

Location: Charlotte, NC, United States

Salary: $100K - $120K Total Annual Compensation

Responsibilities

• Develop a national partnership strategy targeting community colleges, universities, HBCUs, and technical trade programs aligned to Sonic's footprint and growth markets.
• Build strong relationships with academic leadership, career services, and faculty to embed Sonic into curriculum, programs, and career pathways.
• Position Sonic Automotive and EchoPark as leading destinations for business, sales, and automotive career growth.
• Work with Talent Acquisition to develop campus recruiting strategies across priority markets, including hiring events, classroom engagement, and branded activities.
• Equip Talent Acquisition teams and store leaders with tools and messaging to effectively attract and convert early-career talent.
• Work with Talent Acquisition to build innovative recruitment approaches that resonate with Gen Z talent, highlighting earnings potential, career pathing, and entrepreneurial opportunities within Sonic.
• Coordinate with brand and dealership leadership to participate in campus events.
• Coordinate with talent acquisition team in recruiting efforts to fill Internships and Leadership Development Programs.
• Define and track key success metrics, including pipeline volume, conversion rates, retention, and time-to-productivity.
• Analyze program effectiveness and continuously optimize partnership ROI.
• Deliver regular insights and recommendations to executive leadership.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in either talent acquisition, workforce strategy, campus recruiting, or external partnerships.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to translate talent strategy into operational impact.
• Experience influencing senior leaders in a multi-location or decentralized environment.
• Willingness to travel (40–50%) to campuses and dealership locations.