Program Director—College Bound

Program Director—College Bound (High School)

Start date: December 2026/January 2027

Location: Houston—Hybrid work model

Reports to: Senior Director of Programs

Starting salary: $90,000 annually

Benefits: We offer competitive benefits including, but not limited to: employer-sponsored health insurance plans with 100% of employee-only premiums covered by Breakthrough Houston, supplemental benefits (including dental and vision), a 401(k) plan with a 5% employer match, and a generous paid time-off policy. Most importantly, we offer the opportunity to work with an amazing, diverse group of kind, dedicated, and fun people!

Our Mission: We equip students who demonstrate remarkable promise and financial need to discover what’s possible, access and attain a college degree, and build lives of choice and purpose.

Equity is central to Breakthrough’s mission, and equity is one of our organization’s core values. We are committed to intentionally creating diverse communities and work to ensure that all identities—particularly Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and those who have been historically marginalized—are represented and supported. We strive to see the identities of the communities we serve reflected across all levels of our team.

Our Background + Our Program: Founded in 1995 with a handful of teachers and a small class of 7th graders, Breakthrough Houston makes a bold ten-year commitment to students—from middle school through college graduation. BTH comprises three fundamental programs for students: the Middle School Program, the College Bound Program, and the College Completion Program. Together, they serve over 800 students within Houston or at colleges nationwide. BTH provides summer and ongoing school year tuition-free programming that includes both academic college preparatory curriculum and learning opportunities, as well as extended enrichment programming and college access support. With this depth of focus, we aim to promote academic success and personal growth to place our students on the path to college completion and career success.

Additionally, our Teacher Training Program identifies and supports current college students who are aspiring teachers through an innovative near-peer model during our summer program. We partner these Teaching Fellows with professional educators who provide intensive instructional coaching and mentoring. We support 100+ Teaching Fellows each summer who gain 100+ hours of in-classroom teaching experience.

The Person + The Work:

The Role: The Program Director (PD) owns Breakthrough Houston’s College Bound Program—the four years of after-school and out-of-school-time programming that carry our students from 9th grade to college enrollment. This is a true ownership role. You will set the program’s annual plan and goals, lead the team that delivers it, manage the program budget, and be accountable for results—most critically, increasing postsecondary access and enrollment.

How You’ll Work: You report to the Senior Director of Programs, who sets organization-wide program priorities and coaches you as a leader. The day-to-day of College Bound—its people, design, calendar, partnerships, and outcomes—is yours. You will make decisions, solve problems, and lead your team directly, bringing your manager in for strategy, alignment, and support rather than daily direction.

What Success Looks Like in Your First Year

• First 90 days: You lead all College Bound team meetings, coaching cycles, and weekly routines. You have completed a listening tour with students, families, staff, and host partners, and you are the primary point of contact for College Bound host sites and school partners.
• By 6 months: You have set and presented the College Bound annual plan—goals, program calendar, Saturday program scope and sequence, and budget—to the Senior Director of Programs and leadership team.
• By 12 months: You report College Bound outcomes to the leadership team, board, and funders, with a clear-eyed analysis of what is working and a plan for what’s next.

The PD will lead the College Bound team to deliver high-impact programs and outcomes across the following areas of responsibility:

Program Leadership & Outcomes (20%)

• Program Strategy & Planning: Own the College Bound program model and annual plan—setting goals, priorities, and the program calendar across 9th–12th grade, aligned to BTH’s ten-year model and four through-lines.
• Accountability for Results: Own College Bound’s student outcome goals, including program persistence, FAFSA/TASFA completion, college applications and acceptances, scholarships, and college enrollment. Run the progress-monitoring routines that show when work is off track, and act on them.
• Budget Management: Manage the College Bound program budget and make resource decisions within approved parameters.
• Data & Reporting: Maintain Salesforce as the central source of truth for College Bound. Produce program data and narrative for leadership, board, and grant reports, and represent the program in funder conversations and site visits.
• Student Transitions: Partner with the Middle School and College Completion Program Directors to own seamless student transitions from 8th to 9th grade and from 12th grade to college.

People Leadership & Coaching (40%)

• Team Leadership: Lead, coach, supervise, and evaluate a team of four Program Managers and four AmeriCorps members—building their capacity to deliver excellent programs and drive strong student outcomes. Each Program Manager serves a specific grade level and supports students in developing key skills and milestones throughout their high school journey:
  • 9th Grade: Transitioning to High School & Building Community
  • 10th Grade: Career Exploration & Meaningful Summer Opportunities
  • 11th Grade: College Exploration & Developing a Targeted College List
  • 12th Grade: College Applications & Financial Aid Completion
• Hiring & Performance Management: Lead hiring for the College Bound team. Set clear expectations, conduct evaluations, and address performance concerns directly, in partnership with the Director of People and Operations.
• Team Systems & Routines: Translate program goals into a coaching strategy with clear systems, coaching practices, and team routines that drive consistent execution.
• Professional Development: Design and deliver strategic training and professional development that builds the team’s expertise in postsecondary advising and reflects current best practices for first-generation, limited-income, and BIPOC students.
• Saturday Programs: Own the design and delivery of 12 Saturday programs that cultivate a joyful, student-centered culture and rigorous curriculum—driving outcomes in postsecondary attainment, academic achievement, leadership development, and long-term student retention.

Community Partnerships & Engagement (20%)

• Host Site Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for College Bound host campus partners, managing communication, scheduling, facilities, and shared resources for seamless program operations.
• K-12 Engagement: Travel to high school campuses across Houston to build face-to-face relationships with students and school-based partners, strengthening trust and program visibility.
• University Partnerships: Build relationships with universities and admissions officers to elevate awareness of our scholars and support students throughout the admissions process.
• Summer Opportunity Access: Build partnerships that connect students to meaningful summer experiences—academic programs, internships, fly-in programs, and employment.
• Field Engagement: Represent BTH at college access organizations and conferences, including TACAC, NCAN, and others.

Student Support (10%)

• Caseload Management: Directly support a caseload of approximately 3–5 seniors to stay connected to students and the evolving college access landscape.
• Relationship Building & Holistic Support: Cultivate trust-based relationships with College Bound students and families, and ensure the team proactively identifies student needs and coordinates targeted interventions.
• Wrap-Around Support: Ensure students are connected to essential resources for their physical and socio-emotional wellbeing, including emergency funds, mental health counseling referrals, and immigration consultation services.

Cross-Team Leadership (10%)

• Organizational Leadership: Serve as a member of BTH’s program leadership team, representing College Bound in cross-functional decisions and driving alignment and continuous improvement across Middle School, College Bound, and College Completion as our programs grow together in service of our mission.

The following skills and competencies are not requirements but are designed to help you determine if this opportunity aligns with your own passion, purpose, skills, and interests:

You believe deeply in the brilliance of all students and in their ability to earn a postsecondary degree.

• You believe that our BTH students face real systemic barriers to postsecondary completion and that empowering students and families to own their unique path will help them overcome those barriers.

You are an inspiring and highly effective manager of people and processes.

• You have a talent for motivating volunteer teams and bringing out the best in people.
• You understand how to generate results through layers, building the capacity of groups of people as well as individual contributors.
• You believe in supportive accountability—holding a high standard for your own ability while providing the direct support and positive environment that foster achievement and growth.

You value working collaboratively and innovatively.

• You constantly strive to learn from and share learnings with your teammates, no matter your current knowledge or experience.
• You know when and how to engage other key stakeholders who have the insight and positional authority to help you and others overcome obstacles and seize viable, beneficial opportunities in a timely way.
• You do not simply execute pre-existing practices; instead, you thoughtfully evaluate our program and identify ways to elevate its effectiveness.

Execution is your power move: you get things done!

• You proactively identify needs and are able to build and establish the necessary workflows, collaborative processes, and systems to drive continuous improvement work in service of ambitious outcomes.
• You are known for consistent follow-through and communication, and you know that collaboration and teamwork are a best practice for innovation. Because of this, people know they can depend on you, and you are trusted by your colleagues.

You are Strategic AND Operational: moving easily from the big picture to the details.

• You are able to contribute thought leadership, strategy, and partnership. You set a clear, big-picture vision and move from broad aspirations to actionable goals, milestones, and deliverables with clear strategies and timelines.

Qualifications:

Required:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
• 3+ years of college access, advising, or completion experience
• 3+ years of people management experience, including coaching staff to results and addressing performance concerns
• A track record of owning a program or major initiative end to end—setting goals, managing a budget, and being accountable for outcomes
• An authentic and clear passion for Breakthrough’s mission and an approach to program design, implementation, and growth that is aligned to our organization's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to student success

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the Texas education/postsecondary access landscape
• Experience managing managers or leading a team through change
• Knowledge of Salesforce in both data entry and report development to track progress and build strategy

Thinking of Applying?

Research shows that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you are excited about the role and see a connection with what we are looking for, but don’t meet every single requirement, we’d encourage you to apply anyway.

To Apply:

Please follow this link to submit your application. If you have any questions, please reach out to hiring@breakthroughhouston.org.

Our application form asks you to sign in with a Google account so you can upload your resume. A Google account is different from Gmail. You can create a free one using any email address you already have, and you won’t get a new email inbox. When signing up and after completing the basic information sections, choose “Use my current email address instead.” Instructions are here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27441

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, BTH is committed to providing employment opportunities to all individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

We offer competitive benefits including, but not limited to: employer-sponsored health insurance plans with 100% of employee-only premiums covered by Breakthrough Houston, supplemental benefits (including dental and vision), a 401(k) plan with a 5% employer match, and a generous paid time-off policy. Most importantly, we offer the opportunity to work with an amazing, diverse group of kind, dedicated, and fun people!