BASKETBALL BUSINESS INSTITUTE™ Academy Director
Position Type: Executive Leadership
Employment Type: Full-Time
Annual Salary: $80,000
Location: Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Reports To: Executive Board Harris Sheard Foundation®
Anticipated Academy Launch: Fall 2027
BUILD THE INSTITUTE.
The Basketball Business Institute™ (BBI™) is seeking a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven Executive Academy Director to lead the development, launch, and day-to-day operation of an innovative post-graduate basketball and business education academy.
The Executive Director will serve as the senior administrative leader of BBI™ and will be responsible for turning the Institute's vision into a sustainable, high-performing organization.
This is not simply an administrative position.
We are seeking a builder, fundraiser, operator, and leader capable of developing an academy from the ground up while creating an exceptional environment for student-athletes to develop academically, athletically, personally, and professionally.
The Academy Director will have primary responsibility for fundraising, organizational operations, staffing, financial performance, partnerships, student-athlete services, and overall day-to-day academy administration.
ABOUT BBI™
The Basketball Business Institute™ is being developed as a post-graduate basketball and business education academy designed for student-athletes seeking an additional year of development before entering collegiate athletics. The academy will expand to a prep program offering enrollment to 9th-12th grade students beginning with the 2030 academic year.
BBI™ combines:
- Elite basketball training and competition
- College preparedness
- Academic support and high school credit recovery
- Basketball business education
- Character and leadership development
- College recruiting and exposure
- Housing and meals
- Student-athlete development
- Career and entrepreneurial education
Student-athletes will compete in a minimum of 24 games against prep schools, post-graduate programs, military teams, Job Corps programs, colleges, and other competitive institutions while receiving game statistics, film, recruiting support, and preparation for the pace and expectations of college basketball.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Academy Director is effectively the chief operating executive of Basketball Business Institute™.
Working in partnership with organizational leadership and the basketball staff, the Academy Director will oversee the business and administrative side of the academy while ensuring that BBI™ fulfills its mission and maintains high standards in academics, athletics, housing, student services, financial stewardship, and organizational conduct.
The successful candidate must be comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial environment where systems are being built, partnerships are being established, and organizational growth depends heavily on execution.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Fundraising & Revenue Development
Fundraising will be one of the Academy Director's most important responsibilities.
The Academy Director will:
- Develop and execute an annual fundraising strategy.
- Cultivate relationships with individual donors, corporations, foundations, and community partners.
- Identify grant opportunities and coordinate grant applications.
- Develop corporate sponsorship relationships.
- Build donor cultivation and stewardship programs.
- Assist with capital campaigns and major-gift initiatives.
- Develop fundraising events and community campaigns.
- Maintain relationships with existing donors and sponsors.
- Create measurable annual fundraising goals.
- Provide regular fundraising reports to organizational leadership.
- Identify earned-revenue opportunities that strengthen BBI's long-term sustainability.
The Academy Director must understand that financial sustainability is essential to the Institute's mission.
Academy Operations
The Academy Director will oversee the overall day-to-day administration of BBI™, including:
- Academy scheduling
- Facility operations
- Student-athlete services
- Housing coordination
- Meal programs
- Transportation
- Academic support
- Basketball operations coordination
- Travel logistics
- Insurance and risk management
- Equipment and uniforms
- Vendor relationships
- Technology
- Administrative systems
- Student records
- Operational policies and procedures
The Academy Director will ensure that every operational component of the student-athlete experience is properly coordinated.
Staffing & Leadership
The Academy Director will help build and manage the BBI™ team.
Responsibilities include:
- Recruiting and hiring qualified staff.
- Supervising administrative and operational personnel.
- Coordinating with basketball coaching staff.
- Establishing clear job expectations.
- Conducting staff meetings.
- Implementing performance-management systems.
- Developing staff training and professional development.
- Building a culture of accountability, professionalism, service, and continuous improvement.
The Academy Director must be capable of leading both employees and independent professionals while creating a unified organizational culture.
Financial Management
The Academy Director will work with organizational leadership to maintain responsible financial operations.
Responsibilities include:
- Developing and managing the annual operating budget.
- Monitoring revenue and expenses.
- Controlling operational costs.
- Reviewing purchasing and vendor agreements.
- Monitoring tuition and other academy revenue.
- Establishing financial performance metrics.
- Supporting financial reporting and forecasting.
- Identifying opportunities to increase revenue and reduce unnecessary expenses.
The Academy Director will be expected to understand the financial health of the academy at all times.
Student-Athlete Experience
The Academy Director will help ensure that BBI™ provides a structured, safe, professional, and development-focused environment.
Responsibilities include oversight of:
- Student onboarding
- Housing standards
- Meal services
- Transportation
- Academic expectations
- Student conduct
- Personal development
- Career development
- College preparation
- Community engagement
- Student-athlete welfare
The Academy Director will work closely with coaches, academic personnel, families, and organizational leadership to address student-athlete needs.
Partnerships & Community Relations
The Academy Director will serve as one of the primary public representatives of Basketball Business Institute™.
Responsibilities include developing relationships with:
- Colleges and universities
- High schools
- Prep and post-graduate academies
- Corporate partners
- Municipal governments
- Community organizations
- Foundations
- Donors
- Athletic organizations
- Educational organizations
- Media
- Potential sponsors
The Academy Director must be comfortable representing BBI™ in meetings, presentations, fundraising conversations, and public settings.
Institutional Development
Because BBI™ is a developing institution, the Academy Director will have a rare opportunity to help establish the systems upon which the academy will operate for years to come.
This includes:
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Organizational policies
- Staff structures
- Performance dashboards
- Student-service systems
- Operational calendars
- Financial controls
- Fundraising systems
- Partnership strategies
- Risk-management procedures
- Institutional reporting
- Quality-assurance processes
We are looking for someone who enjoys building organizations—not simply maintaining them.
QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred candidates should possess:
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Sports Management, Education, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, or a related discipline.
- Significant experience in organizational leadership, athletics, education, nonprofit management, business operations, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex operations.
- Experience supervising employees and building teams.
- Strong financial and budget-management skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication.
- Strong organizational and project-management abilities.
- Ability to establish relationships with community and corporate stakeholders.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Strong professional judgment and discretion.
HIGHLY PREFERRED EXPERIENCE
Competitive candidates may have experience in one or more of the following:
- Fundraising
- Major-gift development
- Corporate sponsorship
- Grant development
- Athletic administration
- Prep or post-graduate athletics
- College athletics
- Secondary or postsecondary education
- Nonprofit leadership
- Residential student programs
- Sports management
- Business development
- Entrepreneurship
- Youth development
A candidate does not need to have followed a traditional athletic-administration career path. We are particularly interested in accomplished operators and organizational builders who understand how to develop people, systems, partnerships, and revenue.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Our ideal Academy Director is someone who can walk into an empty room and see an institution.
You can raise money.
You can build relationships.
You can recruit talented people.
You understand budgets.
You know how to create systems.
You can communicate with a parent in the morning, meet with a corporate sponsor at lunch, address an operational problem in the afternoon, and represent the Institute at a community event that evening.
Most importantly, you understand that operating an academy requires balancing mission and business discipline.
COMPENSATION
Annual Salary: $65,000 to $80,000
The position is a full-time executive leadership role. Additional performance expectations and employment terms will be discussed with qualified candidates during the interview and offer process.
WHY BBI™?
Basketball Business Institute™ is being built to provide student-athletes with something different: additional time to develop without treating basketball development as separate from education, business, character, and preparation for life.
The Academy Director will have the opportunity to help build the institution from its formative stages and leave a lasting imprint on its culture, operations, partnerships, and future growth.
This is an opportunity for someone who doesn't simply want to work for an academy.
We are looking for someone who wants to help build one.
BUILD THE INSTITUTE.
Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
