Director, Partnerships and Programs

Director, Partnerships & Programs About Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta

Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta (JA Southern Alberta) empowers young people with the financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work-readiness skills they need to succeed. Working with educators, volunteers, businesses and community partners, JA Southern Alberta delivers relevant learning experiences to students throughout southern and central Alberta.

The Director, Partnerships & Programs is a senior leadership role responsible for translating JA Southern Alberta’s strategy into strong partnerships and sustainable regional growth. The Director will lead the planning, delivery, evaluation and continuous improvement of the program portfolio while building relationships that expand access, strengthen delivery capacity and improve the experience of educators, volunteers and students.

This role is well suited to a collaborative and practical leader who can move comfortably between strategy and execution. The Director will bring together people, systems and partnerships to ensure JA Southern Alberta grows with quality, consistency and measurable impact.

• Lead the development and implementation of JA Southern Alberta’s program strategy in alignment with the organization's strategic plan, annual priorities and learning-experience targets.
• Oversee the full program portfolio, including classroom programs, digital learning, volunteer led delivery, experiential events and regional initiatives.
• Use participation, impact and operational data to identify gaps, strengthen programs and guide responsible growth, with particular attention to underserved schools and communities.
• Assess new program opportunities and pilots, ensuring they are mission-aligned, financially viable, measurable and operationally realistic.

• Develop and steward partnerships with school authorities, post-secondary institutions, businesses, community organizations and other JA offices.
• Create partnership models that expand student access, strengthen volunteer and educator participation, support regional delivery and advance shared priorities.
• Represent JA Southern Alberta in external meetings, working groups and community forums, building trust and positioning the organization as a responsive education and workforce-development partner.
• Work closely with the Director of Development to identify partnership opportunities, contribute program expertise to proposals and stewardship, and ensure commitments made to funders and partners are deliverable.
• Lead the implementation and operational stewardship of program-related agreements, including deliverables, timelines, reporting requirements and partner communications.

• Lead, coach and develop the programs team, setting clear expectations, strengthening accountability and fostering a supportive, high-performing culture.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop teams through growth, change and continuous improvement.
• Translate annual goals into team work plans, delivery calendars, performance measures and resource requirements.
• Oversee program budgets and forecasts, monitor performance against plan and make timely recommendations to address risks or capacity constraints.
• Strengthen systems, processes and documentation that support effective scheduling, inventory, data collection, reporting and cross-team coordination.
• Collaborate as a member of the senior leadership team, contributing to organizational planning, risk management, change initiatives and board reporting.

• Maintain accurate, timely program data and ensure reporting requirements are met for internal…