Director, Strategic Initiatives (Student Experience)

Who we are

At Yorkville University and Toronto Film School, we believe education is more than the pursuit of knowledge – it is a catalyst for transformation. Our mission, grounded in democratizing education, is to create access for learners from every background and empower them to achieve their aspirations and advance their careers.

We are committed to delivering rigorous, flexible programs that are both personally fulfilling and professionally rewarding, while contributing to the betterment of society. Since 2004, Yorkville has been among Canada’s few private, for-profit, fully accredited degree-granting universities, with campuses in Ontario, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. Together with Toronto Film School, we offer creative and academic pathways at both the college and university levels, cultivating a multidisciplinary environment where innovation and the arts converge.

Our community is vibrant and diverse. Many of our learners are adults balancing education with careers and personal commitments. Every member of our team – whether in teaching, operations, or technology – is dedicated to removing barriers and expanding access. Together, we deliver flexible, industry-informed learning that leads to meaningful opportunities. 

At our core is human connection – guiding people to reimagine their futures in a community defined by opportunity, creativity, and growth.

Who we need

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Student Experience, we are seeking a Director, Strategic Initiatives (Student Experience) to lead the design and advancement of institution-wide priorities that shape the student experience across Yorkville University.

This is a high-visibility leadership role with national scope. As Director, you will foster collaborative relationships across Student Experience (SE) teams and with academic and administrative partners, to support continuity of the student experience throughout the student lifecycle, while respecting local nuance across programs, delivery models, and campuses. You will balance strategy and execution to reduce operational strain, build advisor capacity, and ensure that student‐facing services are clear, timely, and responsive. 

This is an existing full-time role, working 1 day remotely and 4 days on-site at 85 Richmond Street West corporate office with some travel to our Steeles and Bloor Street East campuses. 

What’s in it for you

Shape the journey. This is a high‑impact role that contributes to shaping the learner journey from orientation to graduation by fostering clarity, continuity, and innovation. You will help define shared frameworks, priorities, and standards that guide our student experience, translating insight into institution‑wide initiatives that support engagement, retention, and consistency across campuses and delivery models in collaboration with national and campus leaders who steward the student experience day‑to‑day.

Lead through collaboration. You will guide the strategy and orchestration of complex initiatives by bringing teams together, synthesizing insight, and supporting shared decision‑making. Your influence will extend across leaders and functions, enabling alignment, building consensus, and advancing high‑impact outcomes through partnership.

Influence. For a senior higher‑education professional, this role offers the opportunity to contribute at an institutional level by shaping strategy, guiding complex initiatives, and strengthening how the university delivers on its commitment to student success. You will bring experience, perspective, and leadership to work that is advanced through partnership, helping teams align around shared goals and supporting coordinated action across a dynamic and growing university.

As our new Director, Strategic Initiatives, you will:

• Serve as the central integrator for student experience strategy. You will support the design and development of integrated student experience initiatives for Yorkville University, establishing shared frameworks, standards, and high-impact practices (e.g., orientation, onboarding, advising touchpoints) that campus and functional leaders can implement and adapt. You will collaborate with registrarial, administrative, and operational leaders nationally and enable Directors and teams to lead local execution by providing strategic direction, sequencing, tools, and enterprise-level coordination, without displacing existing accountabilities. You will contribute to institution-wide KPIs and assessment approaches using results to inform continuous evolution led by functional and campus-level Directors.
• Design strategic initiatives (Student Experience). You will support institutional discovery, assessment, and initiative design to deliver a more cohesive and predictable student experience across the institution. Working in partnership with national and campus leaders, you will help identify systemic gaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities for improvement across student-facing services, processes, and touchpoints.. You will co-design, support implementation, and help evaluate strategic initiatives that strengthen the student experience across the institution.
• Build capacity to increase operational effectiveness. You will lead initiatives that strengthen the capacity of student experience teams, reduce operational strain, and improve the sustainability of student support models. You will identify opportunities to streamline processes, reduce duplication, and improve role clarity across Student Experience teams. You will partner with leaders across the institution to align policy, processes, and technology to support efficient, student-centred service delivery.
• Increase service awareness. You will support efforts to improve clarity, consistency, and timeliness of student communications across the student Lifecycle. You will lead efforts to increase awareness, understanding, and utilization of student support services. You will work collaboratively with Marketing, Academic, and Student Experience teams to ensure messaging is coordinated, accessible, and student-friendly.
• Implement continuous improvement efforts. You will contribute to strengthening mechanisms for gathering and interpreting actionable insights from learners. Working with colleagues who steward institutional surveys, dashboards, and service platforms, you will help synthesize data to identify trends, gaps, and emerging needs across the student lifecycle. You will translate student insights into recommendations that inform improvements to services and communications, helping the institution prioritize initiatives that will have the greatest impact on engagement, service effectiveness, and student success.
• Champion innovation and foster collaboration. You will build and model a culture of innovation, responsiveness, and continuous improvement across Student Experience teams. You will lead and support cross-functional working groups and initiative teams to advance shared student success and retention goals. You will contribute to change management efforts that promote adoption, alignment, and long-term sustainability of new approaches.

What you bring:

• The education and experience. You have a Master’s degree and senior-level experience in post-secondary education, leading cross-functional initiatives, service redesign, or strategic projects. You bring deep familiarity with the student affairs and registrarial landscape and a strong understanding of the post-secondary student lifecycle, including how they intersect to shape the learner journey. You are comfortable shaping strategic student initiatives across campuses, defining frameworks, and orchestrating cross-functional priorities through collaboration, relationship-building, and institutional awareness.
• The analytical and strategic approach. You bring systems thinking and the ability to see connections across functions, processes, and student touchpoints. You have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate insight into action. You are highly proficient at gathering and interpreting data, spotting trends and identifying gaps in services and opportunities for improvement. You can synthesize multiple institutional data sources, such as student surveys, engagement metrics, service utilization data, and operational dashboards to identify systemic issues and help prioritize initiatives that deliver measurable improvements and guide institution-wide decisions.
• Change leadership and influence. You have a high degree of emotional intelligence, combined with sound judgment and adaptability. You build trusting relationships and influence without authority, engaging respectfully with existing structures while championing engagement with new ideas and approaches. You foster buy-in, coordination, and cooperation across teams and institutional partners. You are open-minded and skilled at balancing innovation with best practices. You navigate complex institutional dynamics with ease, guiding change, and building consensus among academic, administrative, and student-experience leaders.
• Institutional perspective and impact. You bring a senior-level, enterprise-wide perspective, capable of seeing connections across campuses and functions, anticipating implications of decisions, and shaping strategic student experience initiatives at an institutional level. You are comfortable operating in a high-visibility, national role, where your work supports institutional priorities, strengthens student engagement, and contributes directly to the University’s long-term strategy.

Why work at Yorkville University?

At Yorkville University and Toronto Film School, we are united by a shared purpose: placing the student experience at the heart of everything we do. Whether you are teaching, designing curriculum, advising learners, advancing technology, or supporting operations, your work directly fuels learning potential, strengthens inclusive communities, and fosters purposeful curiosity.

Here, professional growth is part of our culture. In your role, you will have opportunities to help the launch of career-relevant programs, expand your expertise, and access tuition-free courses across our institutions - from certificates to master’s degrees. Curiosity, initiative, and innovation are encouraged, and your ideas can move from vision to reality.

Our scale offers the best of both worlds: the reach and stability of a national institution combined with the agility of a mid-sized organization, where contributions are visible and valued. You will be part of a diverse and inclusive community where authenticity is celebrated, collaboration is expected, and impact is shared - on learners, colleagues, and your own professional journey.

At Yorkville and Toronto Film School, your work does more than make a difference. It empowers others to achieve their potential, while giving you the opportunity to realize yours.

Compensation philosophy

At Yorkville University and Toronto Film School, we believe compensation should be fair, straightforward, and supportive of your growth. Our salary ranges reflect progression from learning in the role to excelling, with each offer based on skills, experience, and role complexity.

This position offers a minimum annual salary of $130,000, a midpoint of $140,000, and a maximum of $150,000. Established hires typically start near the midpoint, while the upper range is reserved for those with deep expertise and sustained contributions. Offers below the midpoint recognize strong potential with room to grow.

We strive for equitable, consistent pay, though rates may vary within the same role based on performance, specialized knowledge, and impact.

We welcome conversations about compensation throughout the hiring process.

Join us

We welcome and appreciate candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you have 70% of the qualifications we seek, express your interest. 

What you can expect from our hiring process:

• A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor discussing your interest in the role and your experience. The conversation will be recorded using BrightHire, an AI-powered video interview tool. More details will be shared when you are invited to interview.
• A virtual interview with the Senior Vice President, Student Experience, to explore how your experience aligns with the needs of the role. 
• An in-person panel interview with members representing the cross-functional teams you will collaborate with.
• A virtual interview with the Senior Vice President, Student Experience to gain further insights into the day-to-day and overarching challenges and rewards of the role.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical components of life at Yorkville University and Toronto Film School, and we are committed to making these values an integral part of our culture. We encourage applications from all qualified applicants, including women, persons with disabilities, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual + (LGBTQ2SIA+) community and other equity-seeking groups.

Yorkville University is committed to providing accessible employment practices that comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodation for disability, please notify Human Resources at 1-877-429-4029.

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