Executive Director, Votruba Preparatory Academy and Breakthrough NKU

Position Title:

Executive Director, Votruba Preparatory Academy and Breakthrough NKU

Position Type:

Regular

About the Role:

The Executive Director of Breakthrough NKU and the Votruba Preparatory Academy is an accomplished, mission-driven leader responsible for guiding a high-impact educational program serving students in grades 6-12 and preparing talented college students for careers in education. The Executive Director will oversee two distinct projects-Breakthrough NKU and the Votruba Preparatory Academy. Hosted by Northern Kentucky University and affiliated with Breakthrough Collaborative, Breakthrough NKU provides a 6-week summer camp for 6th-9th graders for four consecutive years. The Votruba Preparatory Academy provides the Breakthrough NKU program as well as other academic program offerings that bring students to NKU for academic enrichment, mentorship, or exploration.

As both a university leadership and externally facing partnership role, the Executive Director is accountable for the overall leadership, quality, and sustainability of Breakthrough NKU and the Votruba Preparatory Academy programs. The Executive Director sets strategic direction; identifies needs and solutions with regional partners; translates strategy into measurable annual priorities; develops and supports a strong team; coordinates, collaborates, and connects with NKU's various academic outreach units; safeguards the student and Teaching Fellow experience; builds trusted relationships with students, families, partners, and community stakeholders; leads fundraising and external engagement; and stewards the program's financial and operational resources. The role combines strategy, organizational leadership, fundraising, advisory engagement, and stewardship within NKU's institutional policies and governance.

Success requires a leader who can move comfortably between long-term strategy and hands-on execution, build authentic relationships across differences, develop people and teams, cultivate philanthropic support, and bring organizations and individuals together around shared goals.

This is a distinctive leadership role. Breakthrough NKU is a program hosted by Northern Kentucky University rather than a separate nonprofit organization. The Executive Director therefore leads the site with substantial programmatic and external responsibilities while working within the host institution's legal, financial, human resources, safety, risk management, and operational framework.

The Executive Director also partners closely with the Votruba Preparatory Academy Advisory Council, engaging members in programmatic vision, strategic relationships, and program support while maintaining a clear distinction between the Council's advisory role and the host institution's fiduciary and employment authority.

KEY LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic Leadership and Educational Pathways

• Develop and execute a multi-year strategy aligned with Breakthrough NKU's mission, Votruba Preparatory Academy's priorities, NKU's strategic priorities, and Breakthrough Collaborative standards and organizational expectations.
• Establish strategic priorities, organizational structures, and measures of success that support program quality, student achievement, organizational effectiveness, and long-term sustainability.
• Lead the development of meaningful campus-based academic enrichment and college readiness opportunities for students in grades 6-12, creating a more connected and centralized coordination of NKU P-12 outreach programs as well as a stronger pathway to postsecondary education for economically disadvantaged, first-generation students.
• Serve as a senior advocate for academic outreach and educational pathway initiatives within NKU and the broader community, building alignment among institutional leaders, staff, advisory council members, families, and other stakeholders.

2. Regional Partnerships and Educational Innovation

• Cultivate strategic partnerships with school districts, educational cooperatives, community organizations, and university stakeholders to identify and address regional educational needs.
• Identify and advance innovative educational initiatives that leverage NKU's expertise and resources to strengthen student learning, expand educational opportunities, support educator preparation, and promote improvement within regional schools.
• Identify and articulate emerging organizational, financial, and resource needs as partnerships and initiatives expand, supporting responsible growth and positioning NKU as a collaborative regional leader.
• Partner with regional school districts to identify persistent and emerging educational challenges and develop, implement, and evaluate innovative responses that leverage NKU's faculty expertise, research, resources, and partnerships to strengthen student learning, educator preparation, and school improvement.

3. Program Oversight and Organizational Leadership

• Provide executive oversight of program operations, personnel, financial resources, and student experiences, ensuring high-quality programming and effective organizational performance.
• Build and support a strong leadership team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, professional growth, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure that the experiences, aspirations, and needs of students, families, and communities inform program design, implementation, and decision-making.
• Oversee the development and support of Teaching Fellows and instructional personnel in collaboration with program leaders, ensuring high-quality teaching and mentoring experiences.
• Ensure responsible financial stewardship, effective operational systems, and compliance with applicable NKU policies, including student safety, risk management, and institutional requirements.

4. External Relations, Advisory Leadership, and Resource Development

• Provide leadership for the Votruba Preparatory Academy Advisory Council, engaging members in strategic planning, advocacy, partnership development, and support for the programs' mission and priorities.
• Serve as a principal representative of NKU's educational pathway initiatives with philanthropic supporters, community leaders, institutional partners, and other external stakeholders.
• Lead annual and multi-year fundraising and resource development strategies, collaborating with NKU Advancement, institutional partners, and the Advisory Council to secure philanthropic, grant, and other external support.
• Communicate the mission, outcomes, opportunities, and resource needs of educational pathway initiatives through compelling proposals, presentations, reports, and stakeholder engagement.

5. Assessment, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement

• Establish and monitor meaningful outcomes related to academic growth, student engagement, high school success, college readiness, Teaching Fellow development, and regional impact.
• Use program, financial, and regional data to evaluate effectiveness, inform strategic decisions, strengthen program quality, and identify opportunities for improvement and expansion.
• Communicate program outcomes, organizational performance, and strategic priorities to university leadership, advisory council members, funding partners, and other stakeholders.

6. Breakthrough Collaborative Partnership

• Maintain a strong and productive relationship with Breakthrough Collaborative, ensuring alignment with national standards, affiliate expectations, organizational health requirements, and reporting obligations.
• Engage actively in the Collaborative's professional learning, national initiatives, evaluation activities, and network of affiliate leaders, leveraging available expertise and resources to strengthen local programming.
• Ensure that Breakthrough NKU maintains the essential elements and expectations of the national model while responding effectively to the needs and priorities of local students, families, and communities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Strong candidates will demonstrate many of the following qualifications. We encourage candidates to apply even if they do not meet every listed criterion.

Education & Experience

At least 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience, including significant leadership of people, programs, budgets, and organizational strategy.

Relevant experience in education, youth development, college access, teacher preparation, nonprofit leadership, higher education, K-12 education, or a related field strongly preferred.

A record of recruiting, coaching, developing, and retaining strong teams and successfully managing individual and team performance.

Demonstrated success building relationships across organizations, institutions, and communities and translating those relationships into meaningful collaboration.

Demonstrated success in fundraising, resource development, grant writing, or partnership development, including cultivating and stewarding donors or funders and securing gifts, grants, or other resources.

Experience engaging volunteer leaders, Boards, senior institutional leaders, or other influential stakeholders.

Experience working effectively within or in close partnership with an institution of higher education is strongly valued.

A terminal degree (PhD or EdD), though not required, is highly valued. A minimum of a master's level degree is required.

Knowledge & Skills

Deep commitment to Breakthrough's mission, educational opportunity, and the success of students from financially under-resourced communities.

Demonstrated ability to establish trust and build authentic relationships with people representing different backgrounds, identities, experiences, roles, and perspectives.

Cultural humility, self-awareness, curiosity, and the ability to listen, learn, and adapt across different communities and institutional contexts.

Strong people-management skills, including setting expectations, coaching, providing feedback, developing talent, managing performance, and building healthy team culture.

Strong financial and operational judgment, including budget development, forecasting, internal controls, compliance, and risk management.

Ability to move fluently between long-range strategy and hands-on execution, manage competing priorities, and make sound decisions with incomplete information.

Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills and credibility with students, families, educators, staff, donors, community leaders, and institutional colleagues.

Sound judgment, discretion, resilience, adaptability, and a collaborative leadership style.

Ability to navigate the relationships among local program leadership, the host institution, Advisory Council, community stakeholders, funders, and Breakthrough Collaborative.

Knowledge of the region's education and philanthropic landscape, or the ability to build that knowledge and network quickly.

EARLY INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

• An understanding of Breakthrough Collaborative's national affiliate expectations, resources, and reporting requirements, with productive relationships established across the national network.
• A clear, actionable timeline and implementation framework supporting the successful launch of Breakthrough NKU in summer 2027, building upon two years of summer camps with River City school partners.
• Establishment of an engaged Votruba Preparatory Academy Advisory Council with a clear purpose, membership structure, and opportunities to support the Academy's mission and strategic priorities.
• Meaningful engagement with internal and external stakeholders, resulting in strengthened district partnerships, faculty involvement, and collaborative opportunities that address regional educational needs.
• Effective supervision and support of the Breakthrough NKU Program Director, ensuring the staffing, resources, and organizational capacity necessary to recruit, prepare, and retain Teaching Fellows and deliver high-quality programming.
• Successful implementation of high-quality Breakthrough NKU and preparatory programming that reflects national standards, responds to regional needs, and supports a coherent educational pathway for students.
• A clearly articulated plan for grades 6-12 academic enrichment and campus engagement, including priorities, potential programming models, and a timeline for phased academy implementation.
• A multi-year resource development strategy that identifies funding opportunities, partnership investments, and sustainable approaches to supporting and expanding educational pathway initiatives.
• Development of an initial performance dashboard that monitors academic progress, student participation, educational transitions, partnership engagement, matriculation of Teaching Fellows into preparation programs, and other indicators of program quality and regional impact.

Please provide:

A resume

A thoughtful letter describing their interest in the mission of the Executive Director's role and how their experience prepares them to strategically lead the Breakthrough NKU and Votruba Preparatory Academy initiatives.

Names and contact information of three relevant references

For full consideration, application should be submitted by November 24, 2026..

Posted Salary:

$100,000-$120,000, commensurate with experience

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

This is a full-time, year-round on-site leadership position based at NKU (eligible for Flexwork considerations, if approved by supervisor). The Executive Director is expected to maintain a significant on-site presence during summer programming and other major program activities.

The role requires regular engagement with students, families, staff, donors, partners, and community stakeholders throughout Northern Kentucky.

Periodic evening and weekend work is required.

Some local and national travel may be required.

Employment is with Northern Kentucky University and is subject to the institution's employment policies, required background checks, student-safety requirements, and other applicable employment conditions.