Job Description:
Few leadership roles offer the opportunity to influence the trajectory of hundreds of ambitious young people at the stage when their beliefs about themselves, their careers, and their potential are still being formed.
Reporting to the Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Director, Student Programs will lead one of the most comprehensive student entrepreneurship portfolios in Western Canada and play a central role in developing the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
The Director will inherit a mature and highly respected portfolio that includes Alberta's largest undergraduate pitch competition, multiple innovation and venture development programs, a dedicated alumni network, and strong relationships with donors, community leaders, and ecosystem partners. The challenge is not simply to maintain what has been built, but to elevate it further.
This role combines purpose with responsibility. The successful candidate will lead a talented team, steward significant donor and funding relationships, develop new opportunities, oversee financial and operational resources, and ensure students receive world-class experiences that challenge and inspire them.
The ideal candidate brings both entrepreneurial credibility and leadership maturity. They have personally experienced the realities of building one or more businesses and can speak from both experience and theory. They can inspire students from the front of a room, coach founders one-on-one, and represent what is possible through entrepreneurship.
Equally important, they understand that meaningful impact requires disciplined execution. This is not simply an entrepreneur-in-residence role. The Director is accountable for people, budgets, donors, strategy, operations, and outcomes. They must balance ambition with accountability and vision with execution.
As a senior member of the Institute's leadership team, the Director will contribute to the Institute's long-term strategy, growth, reputation, and sustainability. For the right individual, this is a rare opportunity to extend their impact beyond a single venture, organization, or career. Their legacy will not be measured solely by what they build themselves, but by the students they inspire, the leaders they develop, and the opportunities they create for others.
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and execute a multi-year strategy for student innovation and entrepreneurship programming.
- Identify emerging opportunities that increase the Institute's impact on students.
- Contribute to the Institute's overall leadership, strategy, growth, and reputation.
- Ensure programs align with the Institute's mission while balancing ambition, sustainability, and available resources.
- Serve as a visible champion for entrepreneurship and innovation across campus and in the community.
Program Excellence and Student Impact
- Lead the design, delivery, evaluation, and continuous improvement of student-focused programs and initiatives, ensuring programs deliver meaningful, transformational experiences with measurable outcomes.
- Serve as a credible entrepreneurial role model who can inspire students through lived experience.
- Expand the reach of entrepreneurship and innovation programming to students from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
- Build a portfolio of experiences that develop an entrepreneurial mindset, innovation capability, leadership confidence, and career readiness.
- Maintain a strong understanding of best practices and emerging trends in entrepreneurship education and experiential learning.
- Directly contribute to student development through workshop facilitation, class lectures, coaching sessions, panels, and student-facing events.
Team Leadership
- Recruit, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team dedicated to student success.
- Foster a culture of ambition, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Build organizational capacity that allows programs to scale while maintaining quality.
- Model mature, constructive, and entrepreneurial leadership in a resource-constrained environment.
Financial and Operational Leadership
- Oversee the financial and operational resources dedicated to student programming.
- Develop and manage annual budgets, forecasts, and operational plans.
- Ensure donor, funder, and institutional commitments are fulfilled.
- Establish effective systems, processes, metrics, and reporting practices.
Donor, Community and Stakeholder Engagement
- Build and maintain strong relationships with donors, funders, alumni, entrepreneurs, community partners, faculty, and university leaders.
- Develop compelling impact stories and stewardship opportunities that build donor confidence and engagement.
- Secure new funding and strategic partnerships.
- Represent the Institute internally and externally to advance its profile and impact.
- Build a vibrant community of alumni, mentors, and supporters that strengthens opportunities for students.
- Master's degree or an equivalent combination of education and significant entrepreneurial and leadership experience.
- Demonstrated entrepreneurial experience as a founder, business owner, startup leader, or builder of a significant entrepreneurial initiative.
- Experience leading entrepreneurship, innovation, venture development, talent development, experiential learning, economic development, or related initiatives.
- Experience leading teams, managing budgets, and delivering programs or initiatives with measurable outcomes and executing on the established deliverables.
- Experience cultivating and managing donor, funder, sponsor, client, or stakeholder relationships.
- Strong business acumen and the ability to balance mission, impact, and sustainability.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation, coaching, and public speaking skills.
- Experience in a post-secondary, non-profit, entrepreneurial, or externally funded environment is considered an asset.
Salary: $131,084 - $180,895 per annum
Closing Date: August 3, 2026
A cover letter and resume should be submitted in one .pdf formatted document. Please title your .pdf document as follows: [Last Name], [Requisition Number], [Contents].pdf (ex. Smith, 4321, CV.pdf).
