VP of College Success (Immediate Opening)

IDEA Public Schools•Weslaco, TX

19h•Remote

About The Position

The Vice President of College Success will lead IDEA’s national college access strategy, defining how the organization delivers on its commitment of College For All. Ensuring every student is prepared to enroll in and succeed through a best-fit postsecondary pathway. This leader is responsible for building the systems, programming, and capacity that ensure students graduate academically prepared, identity-grounded, and equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in college. In doing so, the Vice President advances the front end of IDEA’s postsecondary continuum, laying the foundation for long-term persistence, degree attainment, and economic mobility. As the leader of college access, this role will oversee and integrate academic readiness, college knowledge, college-going identity, and access execution into a cohesive, data-driven model. This includes strengthening academic rigor, ensuring high-quality advising and matriculation, and building the capacity of school-based and regional teams to deliver strong, consistent outcomes. The Vice President will also serve as a strategic partner across IDEA’s postsecondary ecosystem, aligning closely with Alumni Success and other teams to ensure a seamless path from high school through college completion. Through strong systems, clear accountability, and continuous improvement, this leader ensures IDEA students are not only accepted to college, but fully prepared to persist and graduate. The Vice President will directly manage two senior leaders, including two National Managing Directors and oversee a matrix-managed team of 6 National Directors, 8 Regional Directors, 60 Directors of College Counseling, 85 College Counselors, and 100+ college access teachers. The VP and their team will serve as key partners to regional principals, vice presidents of schools, and executive directors, while also collaborating closely with the IDEA HQ National teams (e.g., Schools, Academics, Advancement, R&A, Finance, Communications, Talent). Through these partnerships, the VP will drive strong short-term execution while building the systems and infrastructure necessary to achieve IDEA’s long-term vision at scale.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree is required.
Minimum of 10 years of higher education and/or college access/readiness experience.
Minimum of 3 years of experience leading high-performing teams at scale and delivering results.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree is preferred.
Minimum of 3 years of experience managing college access programming.

Responsibilities

Set Strategic Vision & Direction: Define and execute the national vision for IDEA’s college access strategy, ensuring systems, academic readiness, advising, and matriculation models prepare all students to enroll in and succeed through a best-fit postsecondary pathway.
Establish clear performance standards, accountability structures, and cross-functional processes that translate IDEA’s mission into measurable college access outcomes.
Drive College Readiness & Matriculation Outcomes: Design and execute strategies that strengthen academic preparedness, increase college knowledge, and ensure students successfully matriculate to best-fit institutions, laying the foundation for long-term persistence and degree attainment.
Ensure Strong Advising & Student Experience: Oversee the development and implementation of high-quality college advising and student-facing supports, ensuring all students are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and guidance needed to navigate the path from high school to college enrollment.
Build and Align Cross-Functional Systems: Partner across academic, regional, and national teams to ensure alignment between instruction, advising, and postsecondary goals, strengthening the coherence and effectiveness of IDEA’s college access model.
Drive Data, Accountability, and Performance Management: Establish clear performance metrics, dashboards, and review cycles that monitor college readiness, application, and matriculation outcomes, ensuring consistent progress toward ambitious goals.
Shape the National College Access Agenda: Position IDEA as a leader in college access by advancing scalable strategies that improve college enrollment and readiness outcomes.
Lead and Develop a High-Performing National Team: Build, coach, and manage a team of leaders responsible for college access, advising, and readiness, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and strong results.
Execute critical national operating mechanisms.
Analyze data dashboards, share resources, and communicate progress across the organization.
Develop and maintain the business partnerships that will help drive results to achieving goals across multiple national and regional teams.
Manage a $1MM operating budget for the College Access Team.
Additional Duties as assigned.