About the Role

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 Albertas 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 Institutes leadership team the Director will contribute to the Institutes 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.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a multi-year strategy for student innovation and entrepreneurship programming.
• Identify emerging opportunities that increase the Institutes impact on students.
• Contribute to the Institutes overall leadership strategy growth and reputation.
• Ensure programs align with the Institutes 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.

Qualifications

• Masters 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: $131084 - $180895 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 (ex. Smith 4321 ).