The Roles

Reporting Into: Vice-President, Global

Line Management: 3 FTE, Commercial Leads

Job Purpose:

The Director of Transnational Education is a senior strategic post responsible for the leadership and development of Transnational Education (TNE) activities across the institution. Working closely with the Vice-President, Global and other senior stakeholders, this role will lead the TNE team to accomplish the ambitions of growing our international footprint, through overseas branch campuses, joint institutes, franchise arrangements and similar.

The Director of TNE will work in partnership with the Associate Vice-President, International to ensure capacity for academic engagement in new initiatives, linking professional services with academic colleagues and external bodies to ensure successful delivery. The role will have a key role in ensuring organisational buy-in to significant strategic projects through comprehensive engagement across the institution.

Externally, the role will also work with regulatory bodies, international education organisations and partners, and governments in developing and delivering a programme of mutually beneficial projects. It is expected that the post-holder will spend significant periods overseas to participate in high-level delegations and undertake due diligence in-country.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Development and Leadership: Work with the Vice-President, Global, and in partnership with the Associate Vice-President, International, to lead a coherent TNE programme across the University including mobilisation and co-ordination of senior stakeholders, using expert knowledge of TNE to:

• Provide expert advice on opportunities for the University to grow its international footprint.
• Inform and advise the Executive Board and University Council on the latest global developments in TNE and the opportunities that arise for the University.
• Lead assessment of strategic, reputational and academic ‘fit’ with the University.
• Support the assessment of faculty-originated TNE projects against market intelligence indicators and institutional capacity constraints.

Delivery: Through effective collaborative planning, lead the assessment of necessary resources required across the University to deliver major TNE projects, and lead smooth transition of major TNE projects and activities into business as usual, including:

Develop high level business plans for delivery of TNE initiatives.

Support development of the operating model for each TNE opportunity.

Put in place medium to long-term plans for each opportunity, implementing suitable governance arrangements, identifying key milestones and ensuring accountability.

• In partnership with the Associate Vice-President, International, lead the institutional implementation team to ensure successful launches.
• Manage the transition of activities into business as usual and the annual planning round.
• Support the regular review of established activities, ensuring that opportunities for development and links with all overseas TNE activities are effective.

Management: Recruit a small TNE delivery team, providing professional and strategic leadership to the team to ensure that effective recruitment, induction, support, development and training procedures are in place to enable staff to fulfil their potential and meet best practice in their professional areas, including:

• Own and carry out appraisals and annual reviews of relevant staff and other line-managed staff, ensuring that all staff understand their contribution to the team, to the Global portfolio and to Vision 2041, so that they are able to develop their skills and improve their performance.
• Ensure that staff are aware of, and comply with, relevant legislation, and to take responsibility for understanding and implementing the University’s policies and procedures.

Compliance and Risk: To ensure compliance with quality assurance frameworks and manage risk to the University through leading due diligence activities, including:

• Commission research activities where appropriate to determine risk profile.
• Undertake in-country activities to assess local frameworks.
• Liaise and ensure compliance with national quality assurance frameworks and organisations in overseas jurisdictions.

Global Portfolio: Participate fully in, and lead elements of, broader activities in the Global portfolio as required. Be a member of key University committees relevant to functional responsibilities.

• Participate in national networks for the purpose of benchmarking the University’s practice, disseminating the University’s reputation as an exemplar of best practice and to provide a University of Surrey voice in debates about the development of national policy and guidelines.
• Any other duties as allocated by the Vice-President, Global, following consultation with the post-holder.

Planning and Organising: This post will lead the implementation of the University’s TNE framework, developing a common, consistent and transparent approach to assessing and prioritising TNE opportunities against the goals set out in Vision 2041, including:

• Assess projects against the TNE framework to determine suitability and institutional ‘fit’.
• Steward projects through the internal approvals process, ensuring academic engagement and sponsorship.
• Prepare business cases for submission to Partnerships and Reputation Committee, Executive Board and Council

Problem Solving and Decision Making: Under the general direction of the VP Global the Director of TNE will establish the plan, determine the priorities & prescribe the process needed to achieve the TNE strategy

• Problem solving in situations with some nebulous, intangible, or unstructured aspects

Continuous Improvement

• Accountable for ensuring the continuous improvement of their area of responsibility
• Maintain a continuous review of quality and of external benchmarks to promote best possible service

Accountability

• To drive the planning, development, and implementation of a TNE strategy.

Dimensions of the Role

• Ensure financial plans are developed and that services operate effectively within budget.
• Responsible for managing a multi-million pound budget.
• Responsible for providing leadership and management to a multi-disciplinary group of staff, over multiple areas of responsibility.
• Explore ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness and promote improvements in value for money.

Qualifications and Professional Memberships

Professionally qualified with a relevant degree/postgraduate qualification, plus broad demonstrable management experience in similar or related roles

Or:

Substantial vocational and relevant management experience demonstrating management ability in an appropriate professional or specialist area, and success in similar or related roles, supported by evidence of significant appropriate specialist knowledge.

Technical Competencies

• Substantial international experience, through proactive involvement in transnational education, international research, and/or other relevant and substantive international exposure.
  • Proven success in developing and implementing effective international plans and TNE initiatives or similar.
  • An understanding the changing nature of regulatory requirements and an appreciation of the impact on the University’s strategies and operations; a commitment to ensuring that the University is well-positioned to respond to external changes proactively and effectively, both in terms of compliance and benefit to the institution.
  • Demonstrable experience of data and analysis, forecasting trends and future developments and creating targets in respect of TNE delivery or similar
  • Demonstrable experience of preparing and managing budgets and of operating within these limits.

Job Purpose

Leading the marketing (including brand marketing and recruitment marketing), communications, events, public affairs, creative services and digital teams, the Director of Marketing and Communications brings these functions together to support delivery of the University’s strategy.

With a team of around 70 professionals, this role is responsible for delivering marketing and communications to a wide variety of audiences across numerous channels. It incorporates student recruitment marketing, brand marketing, creative services, website management, digital development and data performance, internal communication with staff and students, social media, media relations, public engagement, community and civic relations, public affairs, and the delivery of major University events including graduations and applicant and open days.

Recruiting students in a challenging environment for the sector is central to the role and critical to the University. The role holder will be expected to work with colleagues to develop an effective recruitment marketing strategy that will attract significant numbers of quality candidates to make Surrey their first-choice. This role sits alongside, and works very closely with, the Director of International Recruitment and Director of UK Recruitment and Admissions.

Priorities for the role also include promoting the University’s reputation for sector-leading student experience and its global standing as a centre for research excellence; nurturing a sense of community on campus for our students, staff and local residents through campaigns and experiences; and building our voice in policy development and relationships with political stakeholders.

The Director of Marketing and Communications reports to the Vice-President, Global, who is a member of the University’s Executive Board.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the planning, development and implementation of a marketing and communications strategy that supports delivery of the University’s strategy and priorities
• Lead, manage and develop a dynamic team, as a centre of marketing and communication excellence. Manage a budget of approx. £5 million and a team of approx. 70 professionals
• Develop, implement and lead effective approaches to global marketing, in a way which delivers meaningful outcomes in terms of enhanced student recruitment
• Provide strategic communications guidance and leadership to the Executive Board and wider University
• Develop and manage the University’s brand to increase association, coherence and profile, and reflect the organisation’s purpose and values
• Build and protect the University’s reputation in the media, social media and in public discourse, including crisis management
• Lead the development of critical online engagement platforms, including websites and social media channels
• Demonstrate effectiveness of marketing and communication activities and strive for improvement through routine evaluation and data analysis
• Build and maintain a wide stakeholder base within and outside of the University in support of marketing and communication marketing objectives
• Participate in the overall leadership and development of the University through membership of the Global Division’s Senior Leadership Team

Person Specification

• Significant experience as an effective leader of marketing and communication teams in high-profile, dynamic and complex organisations. Demonstrate values-led and supportive leadership skills
• Demonstrable experience of leading effective marketing campaigns to achieve targets. Leading student recruitment marketing campaigns is an advantage
• Extensive experience of leading engaging communication campaigns and experiences for internal and external audiences
• Significant experience of stakeholder engagement management (internally and externally) through trusting relationships in support of an organisation’s objectives
• Successful track record in media relations, including crisis management
• Excellent speaking, writing and editing skills in English
• A thorough understanding of the higher education landscape and its challenges