University Relations & Early Career Program Manager

Build your career at Sazerac! With almost 400 years of rich history, Sazerac Company has thrived as an independent, American family-owned company with operations in the United States and around the world. Since the 2000s, Sazerac has averaged double digit growth every year! Sazerac Company produces and markets the most award-winning bourbons and whiskeys in the world, including Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and Sazerac Rye. Additionally, Sazerac owns many popular brands across a range of spirits, including Fireball, Southern Comfort, Seagram’s V.O., Myers’s, Goldschläger, Parrot Bay, 99 Brand, and Platinum Vodka. 

We’re proud of our award-winning culture and distilleries. Our Louisville office has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” four times, and our Buffalo Trace Distillery has earned the title of “world’s most award-winning distillery” through the dedication of our craftsmen for well over 200 years. Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced professional, Sazerac provides extraordinary opportunities for growth with competitive salaries and benefits in an exciting, entrepreneurial industry.

We are seeking an innovative and results-oriented University Relations Program Manager to lead and enhance our recruiting efforts for interns and leadership development rotational hires across our Corporate and Manufacturing functions. This role will play a critical part in building a talent pipeline from universities while supporting recruitment marketing and employment branding initiatives. The ideal candidate has a background in corporate programs for engaging Interns and early career talent, strong relationship-building skills, and experience in optimizing recruitment marketing strategies.

Key Responsibilities

University Relations & Program Management:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive university relations strategy, including partnerships with key colleges and universities, to source top talent for internship and leadership development rotational programs.
• Coordinate and facilitate on-campus recruitment activities, such as career fairs, information sessions, and student organization partnerships.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with university faculty, career services teams, and student organizations to promote the company’s brand and opportunities.
• Oversee the full-cycle recruitment process for interns and leadership program candidates, including screening, interviewing, selection, and offer management.
• Manage program logistics, including onboarding, mentorship assignments, performance evaluations, and end-of-program transitions for both Corporate and Manufacturing functions.

Recruitment Marketing & Employer Branding:

• Partner with the recruitment marketing team to develop and execute marketing campaigns to attract early-career talent, utilizing social media, digital platforms, and on-campus marketing channels.
• Create and distribute targeted content (videos, blogs, social media posts) to highlight the company’s culture, values, and career opportunities for students and recent graduates.
• Ensure consistency and alignment of the employer brand across all university relations and recruitment marketing efforts.

Program Performance & Metrics:

• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for university recruiting, including application rates, offer acceptance rates, intern-to-hire conversion rates, and retention of leadership development hires.
• Provide data-driven insights and regular reports on the effectiveness of recruitment initiatives to HR leadership and business stakeholders.
• Collaborate with business leaders to continuously improve the structure and impact of the internship and leadership development programs, ensuring alignment with talent needs.
• Develop and implement strategies to attract and hire diverse talent for internship and leadership programs.

Key Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in recruiting, with at least 3 recent years in college recruiting with a focus on internships and early-career hiring.
• Experience recruiting or working in both Corporate and Manufacturing environments is strongly preferred.
• Proven track record in planning executing comprehensive university relations programs.
• Familiarity with designing and managing leadership development programs or early career rotational programs is strongly preferred.

Skills:

• The successful candidate will collaborate effectively across teams and departments to drive program success.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to plan for multiple and concurrent recruitment cycles and initiatives.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to leverage recruitment data and metrics to optimize hiring strategies and program outcomes.
• Proficiency with applicant tracking systems (such as iCIMS), early career recruiting platforms and tech (such as Handshake and Epic Hire), and recruitment marketing platforms.

Performance Goals

• Increase intern-to-hire conversion rates within the first year of employment.
• Build and nurture relationships with new university partners, ensuring a diverse and high-quality candidate pipeline.
• Improve program retention rate for leadership development rotational hires after the first 12-18 months of their program.
• Drive an increase in social media engagement and application rates for university-targeted recruitment marketing campaigns.
• Within 90 days:
• Prepare for the engaging onboarding of incoming class of Interns and LDPs for Summer 2025
• Lean into engagement strategy to keep incoming class engaged and updated on our business and the exciting work they’ll be doing
• Review and refine the Fall 2025 recruiting strategy and calendar
• Learn end to end process
• Develop relationships with HRBPs and business leaders in our biggest customer groups
•  Within 120-180 days:
• Refine and streamline end to end process map
• Present updated strategy and process to TA and HR leadership and business leaders to gain alignment
• Train appropriate parties on updates strategy and process in advance of the Fall recruiting season kickoff