Princeton University
Executive Director, Keller Center
🇺🇸
Princeton, NJ
🕑
Full-Time
💰
$155K - $175K
💻
Other
🗓️
March 7th, 2026
Edtech.com's Summary
Princeton University is hiring an Executive Director for the Keller Center. The Executive Director leads strategic, administrative, and financial operations of the Center, driving initiatives to foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and design within the School of Engineering while managing outreach and external partnerships.
Highlights
- Provide strategic leadership alongside faculty director to develop and implement center-wide goals and initiatives.
- Lead administrative and operational management including team oversight, hiring, and performance reviews.
- Manage financial activities, budget setting, and stewardship of donor funds.
- Foster external partnerships, engage in fundraising, and enhance center visibility through communication and events.
- Design organizational strategies and policies to support the center's effective operation.
- Require a Master's or professional degree with 7+ years of relevant experience, preferably in entrepreneurship, design, or higher education.
- Strong skills in strategic planning, operational management, financial oversight, and interpersonal relationship building.
- Preferred experience in academic or entrepreneurial settings and leadership in large organizations.
- Salary range between $155,000 and $175,000 annually for this full-time director-level role.
- Position reports to the faculty director and Associate Dean for Administration within the School of Engineering.
Executive Director, Keller Center Full Description
Overview:
Situated in the School of Engineering at Princeton University, the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education empowers its constituents to create meaningful real-world impact through entrepreneurship, innovation, and design. Founded in 2005, the Center offers curricular and co-curricular programs to undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. As a trusted thought partner to the Center's faculty director, the Executive Director holds a distinctive and overarching perspective across the breadth and activities of the center. Working alongside the Director, the Executive Director leads strategic priorities to develop, articulate, and implement center-wide strategies to achieve the center's goals.
Leading administrative, operational, outreach, financial, and programmatic aspects of the center, the Executive Director provides leadership to all members of the Keller Center community, including faculty and staff, to establish a culture of engagement in teaching and learning centered in design, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The Executive Director designs organizational strategy to create, own, and enforce processes to drive coordination, communication, and excellence to support the smooth and effective operations of the center.
The Executive Director is a senior professional with a broad and deep understanding of strategic planning, finance, people leadership, and operational acumen, with an entrepreneurial, energetic, and optimistic approach. Reporting directly to the center's faculty director, with a secondary reporting relationship to the Associate Dean for Administration in the Dean's Office in the School of Engineering, the Executive Director represents the Keller Center both internally within the University and externally with strategic partners, advisors, donors, and other stakeholders.
Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership: In partnership with the faculty director, provides essential vision and leadership to develop, articulate, and implement center-wide strategy to further the goals of the center. Portfolio encompasses a comprehensive set of curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs of broad interest to students and faculty.
- Deeply engages in the development, creation, and evaluation of new strategic initiatives.
- Furthers the advancement of strategic priorities through planning and programmatic steps.
- Leads important strategic priorities, including investing in operational and programmatic excellence.
- Designs organizational strategy, develops internal policies, and leads efforts to acquire resources to establish the internal structure that ensures the center flourishes and reflects operational excellence.
- Deeply engages in the development, creation, and evaluation of new strategic initiatives.
- Furthers the advancement of strategic priorities through planning and programmatic steps.
- Leads important strategic priorities, including investing in operational and programmatic excellence.
- Designs organizational strategy, develops internal policies, and leads efforts to acquire resources to establish the internal structure that ensures the center flourishes and reflects operational excellence.
Administrative Leadership and Operational Management: Serves as the senior staff member in the organization and provides leadership to all members of the Keller Center community.
- Oversees center team members. Helps set goals and priorities for their respective areas. Manages the hiring, performance review, and merit increase process for staff members.
- Supports faculty recruitment for core Keller Center courses and provides input on faculty performance reviews.
- Ensures the smooth, effective, and compliant operations of the center, including the administrative, financial, technological, space and facility components.
- Responsible for the improvement of current processes and coordination of organizational procedures for increased efficiency and productivity.
- Represents the center on various internal committees and working groups.
- Oversees center team members. Helps set goals and priorities for their respective areas. Manages the hiring, performance review, and merit increase process for staff members.
- Supports faculty recruitment for core Keller Center courses and provides input on faculty performance reviews.
- Ensures the smooth, effective, and compliant operations of the center, including the administrative, financial, technological, space and facility components.
- Responsible for the improvement of current processes and coordination of organizational procedures for increased efficiency and productivity.
- Represents the center on various internal committees and working groups.
Outreach and External Engagement: Forges and cultivates enduring partnerships to further the goals of the center and elevate the center's visibility and prominence.
- Engages in development, fundraising, and stewardship activities on behalf of the center.
- Forges key relationships across internal and external entities to support center activities.
- Develops avenues to engage faculty and students with industry representatives, cultivates a strong sense of community, and fosters synergies.
- Helps define center identity and narrative to develop a communication plan to increase center visibility.
- Oversees and manages multi-constituent collaborations, events, and projects including external partners.
- Partners with the faculty director on the center's advisory council membership and annual meeting.
- Engages in development, fundraising, and stewardship activities on behalf of the center.
- Forges key relationships across internal and external entities to support center activities.
- Develops avenues to engage faculty and students with industry representatives, cultivates a strong sense of community, and fosters synergies.
- Helps define center identity and narrative to develop a communication plan to increase center visibility.
- Oversees and manages multi-constituent collaborations, events, and projects including external partners.
- Partners with the faculty director on the center's advisory council membership and annual meeting.
Outreach and External Engagement: Forges and cultivates enduring partnerships to further the goals of the center and elevate the center's visibility and prominence.
- Engages in development, fundraising, and stewardship activities on behalf of the center.
- Forges key relationships across internal and external entities to support center activities.
- Develops avenues to engage faculty and students with industry representatives, cultivates a strong sense of community, and fosters synergies.
- Helps define center identity and narrative to develop a communication plan to increase center visibility.
- Oversees and manages multi-constituent collaborations, events, and projects including external partners.
- Partners with the faculty director on the center's advisory council membership and annual meeting.
- Engages in development, fundraising, and stewardship activities on behalf of the center.
- Forges key relationships across internal and external entities to support center activities.
- Develops avenues to engage faculty and students with industry representatives, cultivates a strong sense of community, and fosters synergies.
- Helps define center identity and narrative to develop a communication plan to increase center visibility.
- Oversees and manages multi-constituent collaborations, events, and projects including external partners.
- Partners with the faculty director on the center's advisory council membership and annual meeting.
Financial Oversight:
- Sets and oversees the center's overall budget; ensures appropriate usage of funds and oversight of all financial activities.
- Ensures appropriate and timely stewardship of donor funds.
- Routinely reviews financial reports and provides financial analysis to support strong business and programmatic decisions to prioritize funding for maximum impact.
- Sets and oversees the center's overall budget; ensures appropriate usage of funds and oversight of all financial activities.
- Ensures appropriate and timely stewardship of donor funds.
- Routinely reviews financial reports and provides financial analysis to support strong business and programmatic decisions to prioritize funding for maximum impact.
Qualifications:
Required qualifications:
- Master's or professional degree and 7+ years of experience, ideally in entrepreneurship, design, or higher education
- Experience leading an organization toward a shared vision and building consensus among diverse stakeholders.
- Ability to design and formulate strategic vision, leadership, and implementation.
- Track record in operational management including responsibility for budget creation and oversight, personnel management, and policy adherence.
- Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and complex situations, problem solve while being innovative, and recommending courses of actions while balancing competing priorities.
- Strong commitment to transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
- Strong background in new program development, implementation, and analysis.
- Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to build strong relationships with multiple constituencies.
- An entrepreneurial, energetic, and optimistic approach to leadership along with a bedrock belief in the power of higher education to positively impact the world.
- Ability to design and formulate strategic vision, leadership, and implementation.
- Track record in operational management including responsibility for budget creation and oversight, personnel management, and policy adherence.
- Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and complex situations, problem solve while being innovative, and recommending courses of actions while balancing competing priorities.
- Strong commitment to transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
- Strong background in new program development, implementation, and analysis.
- Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to build strong relationships with multiple constituencies.
- An entrepreneurial, energetic, and optimistic approach to leadership along with a bedrock belief in the power of higher education to positively impact the world.
Preferred qualifications:
- Prior experience in an academic/higher education setting.
- Prior experience in a design and/or entrepreneurial setting.
- Leadership in a large, complex organization.
- Prior experience in a design and/or entrepreneurial setting.
- Leadership in a large, complex organization.
Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.
If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.
The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.
Standard Weekly Hours: 36.25 Eligible for Overtime: No Benefits Eligible: Yes Probationary Period: 180 days Essential Services Personnel (see policy for detail): No Physical Capacity Exam Required: No Valid Driver’s License Required: No Experience Level: Director : #LI-JE1 Salary Range: $155,000 to $175,000
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