Company
Northbridge University is a leading post-secondary institution with over 50 years of experience serving a highly diverse student population across Florida, Puerto Rico, Oregon, and online throughout the U.S. Offering programs in English and Spanish, Northbridge provides academic pathways from certificates to doctoral degrees in high-demand fields including Nursing & Allied Health, Skilled Trades, Aviation, Business, Technology, Psychology, Education, Criminal Justice.
With approximately 27,000 students across 31 campuses, including 19 in Puerto Rico, nine in Florida, and three in Oregon, Northbridge delivers education through hands-on, hybrid, and online learning. Its programs are intentionally aligned with areas of significant workforce demand, including healthcare, skilled trades, business and technology, graduate education, and aviation.
Northbridge’s mission is to develop individuals from all backgrounds into enterprising professionals who contribute to their communities. This mission comes to life in a student-first culture, a personalized and supportive student experience, and a sustained focus on the outcomes that matter most to students and employers.
The Opportunity
Reporting to the CEO, the President of Healthcare will lead Northbridge University’s $160M+ healthcare education business and play a central role in the organization’s next phase of growth. With full P&L responsibility, the President will drive enrollment and operating performance, expand the healthcare portfolio and geographic footprint, strengthen student outcomes, and position the business for significant organic and acquisitive growth.
This is also a significant transformation mandate. Northbridge is evolving from a geographically organized model to one built around distinct programmatic verticals. The President will define the vision and operating model for Healthcare—effectively building a business within the broader Northbridge enterprise—and lead the work required to establish it as a focused, high-performing business.
Northbridge is already investing in its next phase of expansion, including a new campus in South Florida and a planned campus in Fort Worth, Texas. The President will build on that momentum, identifying additional opportunities for new campuses, markets, programs, and acquisitions while continuing to improve student outcomes and the overall quality of the healthcare portfolio.
Responsibilities
- Own the Healthcare P&L. Lead the financial and operating performance of a $160M+ business, establishing clear priorities, performance expectations, and accountability across the organization.
- Define and execute the Healthcare strategy. Translate Northbridge’s decision to create a distinct healthcare vertical into a compelling vision, business strategy, and operating model that can drive sustained growth and enterprise
- Lead the organizational transformation. Partner with other vertical leaders and executive leadership to transition from a geographically organized model to distinct verticals, thoughtfully realigning campuses, teams, resources, and shared services.
- Accelerate enrollment growth. Drive enrollment performance across the healthcare portfolio, strengthening execution and accountability while maintaining high standards for student outcomes and
- Expand the healthcare footprint. Identify and execute opportunities for growth through new campuses and geographic expansion, with a focus on the continental U.S.
- Grow and evolve the program portfolio. Partner with academic leadership to strengthen existing offerings, modernize curriculum, launch new programs, and create pathways that allow students to advance through higher levels of healthcare
- Advance the M&A strategy. Evaluate healthcare education acquisition opportunities and lead the successful integration and growth of acquired Represent Northbridge credibly with prospective acquisition partners and management teams.
- Elevate the student and employee experience. Ensure growth is matched by strong student outcomes and an environment that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional faculty and staff.
- Lead through Build trust across the organization, communicate a compelling case for the new structure, and bring faculty, staff, and leaders along through a substantial organizational transformation.
- Partner across the Work closely with the CEO, CFO, Chief Academic Officer, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, other vertical leaders, and shared-service teams to ensure the Healthcare vertical has the resources and support it needs to succeed.
- Protect quality and integrity. Pursue ambitious growth while maintaining rigorous standards for compliance, academic quality, student outcomes, and institutional
Ideal Candidate
You are an accomplished business operator and people leader who has successfully grown a complex, multi-site organization. You combine commercial instincts and financial discipline with a strong student focus and a deep understanding of how people, culture, and execution drive results. You are comfortable with ambiguity, energized by change, and confident operating with the autonomy and accountability that come with leading a substantial P&L.
- Experienced GM/P&L You have carried full P&L accountability and can demonstrate strong financial and operating performance in a complex organization.
- Proven multi-site leader. You have led across multiple campuses or locations and understand the leadership, operating rhythms, and accountability required to deliver consistent results across a distributed
- Track record of measurable growth. Your career includes clear examples of expanding revenue, enrollment, market presence, or business performance—not simply managing an established
- Higher education expertise. You understand the economics, regulatory environment, and operating complexities of higher For-profit experience is strongly preferred, as is a background weighted toward operations and enrollment rather than purely academic leadership.
- Healthcare education exposure. You bring direct familiarity with healthcare education, ideally including nursing and/or allied health programs, and understand the regulatory environment in which these programs
- Transformation experience. You have led through meaningful organizational change—building new structures, integrating teams, clarifying accountability, or reshaping how a business operates—and can point to successful execution you drove.
- Strong people leadership. You have built and motivated high-performing teams and are known for setting clear expectations, developing leaders, and creating accountability for
- Collaborative with backbone. You build strong relationships and work effectively across functions while having the confidence to advocate for your business, challenge assumptions, and defend your point of view when
- High ownership and You are self-directed, responsive, and comfortable making decisions without waiting for continual direction or approval.
- M&A fluency. You have enough acquisition and integration experience to understand what makes an acquired business successful after the deal closes; direct deal leadership is valuable but not
- Bilingual advantage. Given the concentration of operations in Puerto Rico and the delivery of programs in both English and Spanish, Spanish-language fluency is a meaningful advantage, though not a requirement.
- Uncompromising integrity. You are ambitious about growth without sacrificing regulatory discipline, academic quality, student outcomes, or institutional
Location & Travel
Florida or Puerto Rico would be ideal given Northbridge’s significant concentration of healthcare operations in those markets. Candidates located elsewhere on the East Coast, in Texas, or in the Midwest may also be considered, with the expectation of meaningful travel to Florida and Puerto Rico and to other locations as the healthcare business expands.
Learn More
The Knowledge Leaders search process is thorough and may include: a written assessment, multiple interviews (recorded and in person), background and social media checks, employment and education verifications, a drug screen, and professional reference checking. After all, our mission is to transform education by recruiting the best world leaders.
Submit your resume to Peggy Williams at Knowledge Leaders.
Knowledge Leaders, LLC provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and candidates for employment. Knowledge Leaders, LLC prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
