Executive Director of Educational Initiatives

for a private foundation

About the foundation

This private foundation provides substantial capital and endowment grants to nonprofits with outstanding leadership that can demonstrate measurable, impactful outcomes in its areas of philanthropic interests. These include but are not limited to Intellectual Freedom/Civil Discourse and other important work.

The foundation believes higher education is at an inflection point: the norms, structures, and cultures taking shape today will define the conditions for open inquiry for a generation. It is making a long-term commitment to strengthening intellectual diversity, open inquiry, and constructive engagement—particularly in the humanities and social sciences—with the potential to deploy more than $50 million annually (and even as much as $100 million in some years). The foundation approaches philanthropy entrepreneurially: not simply supporting existing work, but catalyzing initiatives and partnerships that would not otherwise take shape.

The Opportunity

This is a rare founding role. The Executive Director will build and execute the foundation's education strategy in collaboration with the board—designing new programs, forging partnerships, deploying capital, and ultimately defining how a growing foundation shapes higher education in America.

The ideal candidate is: (1) a domain expert in viewpoint diversity and intellectual pluralism (with a particular expertise in higher education) and (2) an entrepreneur who knows how to build programs and institutions. This is not a traditional grantmaking or academic role. It demands someone with a genuine point of view on the current state of academic culture—and the drive to act on it.

This is a small, high-trust team that operates with urgency and informality. Reporting to the Foundation's Board, the Executive Director will have substantial latitude to shape strategy, identify opportunities, recommend investments, and define long-term priorities. Over time, they will build a team and a portfolio. The role also includes exploring opportunities in K-12 education.

Key responsibilities include:

The ideal candidate is a highly entrepreneurial, high-capacity professional who thrives in building new initiatives from the ground up.

Strategy and Thought Leadership

Shape and refine the Foundation’s higher education strategy focused on open inquiry, intellectual pluralism, and constructive dialogue.
Monitor and identify trends and engage in higher education networks related to academic freedom, campus culture, and intellectual diversity and translate insights into recommendations for the Foundation’s

Building and Execution

Design, launch, and scale new initiatives, partnerships, and programs from concept through execution.
Translate ideas into actionable plans, and personally drive implementation in a hands-on manner.
Operate effectively in a lean environment, taking ownership across both strategy and execution.
Build the foundation for a high-impact portfolio that can grow and evolve over time.

Programs, Partnerships and Field Engagement

Build and manage partnerships and programs with academic institutions to support and promote diversity of thought, open inquiry, and
Collaborate with institutional leaders and faculty to support heterodox approaches to course design, syllabi, and co-curricular programming.
Support and select graduate students, postdocs, and faculty for research and teaching grants through grants, fellowships and other
Fund and oversee projects that develop inter-institutional networks of faculty, academic leaders, and administrators committed to open

Qualifications and experience:

Successful candidates may come from philanthropy, higher education, public policy, think tanks, mission-driven entrepreneurship, or other settings where they have built programs, organizations, or movements from concept to impact.

Excellent judgment and intellectual curiosity, with the ability to engage credibly with a wide range of stakeholders including but not limited to academic leaders and scholars across disciplines and perspectives
Demonstrated track record of—or clear aptitude for—building new initiatives, developing strategy in ambiguous environments and translating ideas into concrete initiatives
Experience in or adjacent to higher education, public policy, or mission- driven organizations is valuable, but a successful candidate could come from another background so long as he or she brings deep domain expertise
Comfort operating in a role that combines strategy, execution, and relationship-building, with a bias for action
Strong, proactive management style including hands-on implementation of complex projects
Understanding of the operational and decision-making processes in institutions of higher learning and by senior university leaders and scholars
Exceptional work ethic and capacity; willingness to operate at a high level of intensity and ownership

Location: Location is flexible, with a preference for the New York City region. The role will require frequent travel to engage with grantees, academic institutions, and partners across the U.S. as well as regular trips to New York if working from another city.

Compensation: Competitive compensation commensurate with a senior leadership role at a major private foundation.

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