Associate Director, Academic Program Strategy

Toronto, Canada

Full-Time

Remote/Flexible Work

Let’s reimagine access to Canadian education, together.

Boreal Education is an EdTech company that empowers Canadian post-secondary institutions to grow and develop distance, hybrid and online education programs. Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly necessary for professionals to match the pace of automation and digitization in the workplace. To achieve this mission, we’re looking for an Associate Director, Academic Program Strategy to join the Boreal team. This person will lead the research and analysis behind our academic programs at our university partners, from program ideation through ongoing performance in market.

Boreal designs, funds, markets, and operates online degree programs alongside Canadian universities, focused on the working professionals who increasingly need flexible pathways back to learning. This role helps us decide which programs to bring to market and how those programs evolve over time.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Do you have a strong research and analysis background from inside Canadian higher education? Are you ready to apply that experience to live program decisions across multiple universities?

In this role, you own program and academic strategy at Boreal. You lead research and analysis for new program development with our university partners, and carry that analytical lens forward to programs already in market. This analysis influences which programs Boreal pursues, how we position them with academic leadership, and how we sharpen them once they are running.

Within a year, you will have built a repeatable research and analysis process that scales as Boreal adds more programs and partners. You will be the senior voice on Canadian program landscapes inside Boreal and a respected analytical partner to academic leaders at the universities we serve.

You will make an impact by:

Owning the research and analysis behind program ideation, determining which programs Boreal pursues with our university partners
Identifying white-space opportunities by scanning the Canadian and international post-secondary landscape for unmet demand and underserved audiences
Mapping the regulatory, accreditation, and quality assurance landscape for each program under evaluation
Pressure-testing program ideas against demand evidence and institutional fit
Leading the analysis for programs already in market, identifying opportunities for growth, expansion, and evolution
Contributing to Boreal’s broader research and analysis agenda, including sector-level thought leadership
Building a repeatable research and analysis process that compounds across programs and partners

We are looking for someone who has:

Significant experience working in or alongside Canadian higher education, with meaningful time spent in institutional research, planning, quality assurance, or management consulting
Expertise shaping program and enrolment decisions through research and analysis, whether in institutional research, strategic enrolment planning, academic planning, or related teams
A passion for Canadian higher education. You understand how universities review and approve new programs, and how academic decisions get made inside an institution
Strong research instincts and a track record of translating evidence into recommendations that influenced real decisions, including in moments when public data is thin and you have to triangulate
Comfort in a small, remote team where research feeds live partnership decisions
Master’s or PhD is an asset
Legal authorization to work in Canada

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Flexible Work

We are a remote by design company based in Toronto. We meet 2 to 3 times per year for team-wide offsites and gather in the GTA for social events throughout the year. We believe this flexible approach gives team members the best of both worlds: time to focus on your role while also ensuring in-person collaboration and community building.

Benefits

At Boreal, we are committed to providing you with what you need to succeed in your role. All employees receive:

Competitive salary and bonus
Tuition reimbursement and partner education program
Employer-paid benefits package
Paid mental health days

Application Support

We offer inclusive support throughout the recruitment process. If you have accessibility requirements that need to be considered during the recruitment process, please let us know. You are also welcome to share your pronouns with us at any point throughout the process.

As a start-up, we are always looking for passionate, curious and growth-minded team members who bring diverse perspectives and experiences to accomplish our shared mission. Even if you don’t meet all the qualifications, we would suggest you still apply.