Deputy Executive Director

About Breakthrough Central Texas

Breakthrough is the leading college access and success nonprofit in Central Texas. For more than 20 years, we have partnered with thousands of middle and high school students who aspire to be the first in their family to graduate with a degree or certificate. We make a radical, long-term commitment to students, to and through college, unlocking the power of education and a lifetime of opportunity. We support the whole student with personalized services, work closely with community partners, campuses, and employers, and advocate for our students with lawmakers. Breakthrough students attend 60+ public schools and persist at nearly 100 colleges and universities. The result is that 60% of Breakthrough students graduate from college, compared to 15% of low-income students in our region. Our work has resulted in more than 550 college graduates, with more than 3,700 on their way, positively impacting families for generations and our region’s ability to provide education opportunities for all young people.

Why Work at Breakthrough Central Texas
By working for Breakthrough Central Texas, you will help hundreds of students achieve their dreams of success and receive the high-quality education they deserve. Breakthrough is an organization committed to its students and recognizes that our greatest resource to support them is our dedicated and talented staff. If you believe all young people deserve the opportunity to achieve postsecondary success and you desire to work at an organization committed to its employees and building the strongest team culture anywhere, then join us!

About the role

Breakthrough Central Texas seeks a strategic, systems-oriented leader to serve as Deputy Executive Director (DED), responsible for organization-wide leadership of Breakthrough’s program strategy, execution, and outcomes. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the DED manages four Chief Program Officers: the Chief Middle School Programs Officer, Chief High School Programs Officer, Chief College Access Officer, and Chief College and Career Success Officer. Collectively, this team oversees Breakthrough’s Program Team of more than 80 staff and AmeriCorps members serving approximately 3,700 students from middle school through postsecondary completion.

This is a pivotal moment for Breakthrough as we continue to scale our impact, strengthen outcomes across the full student experience, and deepen partnerships across Central Texas. As a critical leader in shaping Breakthrough’s next chapter, the Deputy Executive Director will ensure that Breakthrough’s full continuum of services operates as a cohesive, high-performing system that delivers strong, measurable outcomes for students. This role will translate organizational strategy into aligned programmatic execution, build the leadership capacity of senior program leaders, and ensure that systems, structures, and partnerships are in place to support scale, quality, and sustainability. The DED will operate at the intersection of strategy, people leadership, and performance management—driving clarity, alignment, and results across multiple teams, functions, and external partnerships. Specific responsibilities include:

Program-Wide Strategy and Alignment

• Partner with the Executive Director to define and execute Breakthrough’s programmatic strategy across the full student continuum—from middle school through college and career success  
• Ensure alignment across program models, teams, and student pathways so that services are cohesive, complementary, and responsive to student needs
• Translate strategic priorities into clear operating plans, performance metrics, and cross-team systems that enable effective execution

Leadership of Program Team Performance

• Supervise and coach four Chief Program Officers, supporting them to lead high-performing teams and deliver strong student outcomes
• Lead through layers by establishing clarity in roles, expectations, and accountability across the Program Team
• Build leadership capacity at the senior level, ensuring Chiefs effectively develop their own teams and sustain strong team culture

Student Outcomes, Data, and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and oversee program-wide systems for tracking student outcomes, program performance, and organizational impact
• Ensure that data, evaluation, and learning cycles inform decision-making, program refinement, and resource allocation
• Set clear goals for short-term and long-term measures tied