Director of Education

The Role

The Director of Education is NIWE Academy's senior academic leader and the person every Lead Mentor and instructor reports to. This is a people role first. You will lead a large, skilled, and opinionated team of beauty and wellness educators, hold them to a high standard, and build the systems that let them deliver great programs without the CEO or the Dean in the room.

You will own every program from first approval to graduation outcomes. As each NIWE program moves to individual licensing, you are accountable for each program's compliance, every change to an existing program, and the design and launch of new programs.

NIWE Academy is a licensed private career college in downtown Calgary, founded in 2012, with thousands of graduates across hairstyling, barbering, esthetics, clinical aesthetics, nails, massage, and advanced certificate programs.

Key Responsibilities1. Lead the Education Team (40%)

• Lead all Lead Mentors directly and the full instructor team through them, with clear roles, expectations, and accountability.
• Run a consistent leadership rhythm: weekly 1:1s with Lead Mentors, monthly team meetings, quarterly performance reviews, and scorecards for every academic role.
• Hire, onboard, and develop instructors using NIWE's structured interview method. Raise the bar with every hire.
• Manage performance with fairness and firmness: give direct feedback, document issues, run improvement plans, and make the call to exit when the standard is not met.
• Resolve conflict between instructors, between instructors and students, and across departments, before it reaches the Dean.
• Build bench strength: develop Lead Mentors into leaders who can run their programs, and support the NIWE Instructor Certification Program.
• Own instructor scheduling, coverage, and workload so every class starts on time with a qualified instructor.

2. Own Program Compliance (25%)

• Act as the accountable owner for every licensed program as NIWE moves to individual program licensing.
• Keep each program's approved curriculum, hours, outcomes, instructor qualifications, and delivery records audit-ready at all times.
• Ensure student academic files are complete: attendance, assessments, practical hours, progress reviews, and graduation requirements.
• Partner with the Compliance liaison and Finance on regulatory reporting, graduate and employment outcomes, and audit responses.
• Maintain AIT apprenticeship standards and reporting for the apprenticeship hairstyling program.
• Identify compliance risk early and close gaps with documented corrective action.

3. Lead Program Changes and New Programs (20%)

• Manage every change to an existing program, from proposal and regulatory approval through instructor training and rollout.
• Lead new program development: market need, curriculum design, licensing application, resourcing, and launch.
• Direct third-party curriculum and instructional design partners, and own the quality of what they deliver into D2L Brightspace.
• Keep curriculum current with industry trends, products, techniques, and employer needs.

4. Deliver Student Outcomes (15%)

• Own academic quality, retention, graduation, and graduate employment results across all programs.
• Use data to spot struggling students, cohorts, and instructors early, and act on it.
• Work with the Dean and department liaisons so the student journey runs cleanly from enrolment to employment.
• Build a learning culture where students feel challenged, supported, and proud to be NIWE graduates.

Who We Are Looking ForRequired

• 5+ years in a senior academic or operations leadership role inside a licensed or accredited post-secondary institution.
• 3+ years leading a team of 15 or more people, including managing other leaders (leaders of leaders).
• A proven record of hiring, coaching, performance managing, and exiting staff. You can name the hard people decisions you made and what changed because of them.
• Hands-on experience with program regulatory compliance, audits, and program approval or change submissions.
• Bachelor's degree in education, adult education, educational leadership, or a related field. Equivalent experience may be considered with Dean approval.
• Strong working knowledge of learning management systems and data-driven academic reporting.

Strong Assets

• Experience in Alberta's private career college sector and with Alberta Advanced Education.
• Background in beauty, wellness, aesthetics, or another hands-on trades or vocational field.
• Experience with apprenticeship programs or AIT.
• Experience launching a new program from concept to first cohort.
• Adult education credentials such as the Provincial Instructor Diploma, CAE, or a Master's in Education.

Not a Fit

If you have not personally led a large team through performance issues, conflict, and change, this is not the role for you. We have learned that strong subject expertise without people leadership does not work in this seat.

The Leader We Need

The right person takes control of a room calmly, sets the standard, and holds it without needing to be liked every day.

• Holds the line. You enforce standards consistently, including with senior and long-tenured instructors.
• Direct and fair. You give hard feedback early and in person, and you document it.
• Reads people. You understand what motivates each team member and adjust how you lead them.
• Builds systems, not dependence. You create processes, scorecards, and rhythms so the team performs without you being the bottleneck.
• Finishes. You close loops, meet deadlines, and do not leave compliance work half done.
• Driven by student success. You measure yourself by what graduates achieve.

What This Role Is Not

This is not a classroom instructor role or a pure curriculum design role. You will teach your leaders, not your students. Most of your week will go to people, programs, and compliance.

Details and How to Apply

• Location: On site, NIWE Academy, CORE Shopping Centre, downtown Calgary, Alberta
• Type: Full-time, permanent
• Benefits: Health benefits, RRSP match after 3 years, paid birthday, device care fund, and professional development support

Hiring process: Resume and cover note review, screening call, psychometric assessments, structured leadership interview, leadership panel, reference checks, and offer.

To apply: Send your resume and a short cover note answering one question: tell us about the hardest people decision you made as a leader, what you did, and what happened as a result.

• NIWE Academy is an equal opportunity employer.