Administrative Officer

1.           Job Advertisement

Applications are invited for an appointment as Head of Global Partnerships, Administrative Officer, 1 FTE at University of Galway.

This post is being offered as a specific purpose contract and will terminate by reason of the expiry of its specific purpose.  It is anticipated that the duration of this assignment will be circa 30 months. 

University of Galway seeks a Head of Global Partnerships to establish and lead a high performing international partnership team.

A university renowned for its teaching and research, with a prestigious history, we rank among the top 2% of universities in the world. Our campuses and research centres are located across the Western seaboard of Ireland in a region rich with culture and traditions.

We are on a journey to being a global university. We already attract student and staff talent from around the world, but we want to further increase our impact and reach. With a core focus on sustainability and diversity, our internationalisation vision is to prepare a new generation of global leaders for careers which will leave a mark on the local and global stage.

This post, Head of Global Partnerships, is a cornerstone of our approach to realising this vision. Working alongside the Director of Internationalisation, and working collaboratively with our Colleges and Professional Services, you will provide leadership and direction for the development, implementation and embedding of a global partnerships strategy.

We are seeking someone with a real passion for the internationalisation of Higher Education and significant experience in external stakeholder engagement, including the development and management of successful partnerships across recruitment, research and transnational education.

Global partnerships will be key to realising the University’s internationalisation vision, so this is an exciting time to join the team. This role offers a real opportunity for an ambitious and forward-thinking individual to make an impact across the organisation. Creativity and innovative thinking will be actively encouraged.

Salary: €78,536 - €100,182 (applicable to new entrants effective from January, 2011) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the University’s Remuneration policy.

This appointment will be made on the Administrative Officer pay scale in line with current Government pay policy.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on Thursday, 28th March 2024. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

Garda vetting may apply.

Appointments will be conditional on work authorisation validation. Further details are available at www.dbei.ie

For more information and Application Form please see Jobs - University of Galway Applications should be submitted online.

Please note that appointment to posts advertised will be dependent upon University approval, together with the terms of the Employment Control Framework for the higher education sector.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

2.     Role Relationships

Reporting directly to the ‘Director of Internationalisation’ the post holder will have specific daily contact with.

·       Global Partnerships team (in process of recruitment, post holder will have opportunity to influence the shaping of this team)

·       Heads of Global Mobility, Global Recruitment, Finance & Global Operations and their respective teams

·       Vice President International

·       Colleges: Global team, Vice Deans International, Heads of School, Programme Directors, Academic staff, College and School Administrators

·       Professional Units: Academic Services, Teaching and Learning Support, Library, Development Office, Careers Development Service, Planning and Institutional Research, Marketing & Communications, Alumni Office; Legal team

·       Research: Vice President Research and Innovation, Research Office, Research Institutes

·       External partners: Partner universities and prospective partner universities, Irish Universities Association, Enterprise Ireland, Irish Embassies, ENLIGHT (www.ENLIGHT-EU.ORG), National and International Governments, International Sponsorship and Scholarship awarding bodies, regional organisations such as Local Government, Enterprises and Charitable Organisations.

The post holder has general contact with:

·       Academics

·       Students

1.     Main Purpose of Job

We are seeking a Head of Global Partnerships to work collaboratively with the Director of Internationalisation, and our Colleges and Professional Services to develop and deliver the University’s international partnership strategies.

You will work closely with the Director of Internationalisation and the Heads of Global Mobility, Global Recruitment and Finance & Global Operations to establish and lead a high performing international partnership team. This will include the development of robust processes and systems to support the development, delivery and management of international strategic, education and research partnerships. You will ensure these are compliant with national and international regulatory frameworks, and aligned with institutional objectives.

You will act as the University’s expert voice on international partnerships and support our Colleges to help shape their individual partnership strategies, based on their respective needs. Using strong network links with external stakeholders and advisory bodies, you will collate and analyse data from a variety of sources to identify and evaluate opportunities open to the University. You will offer advice to internal stakeholders (including senior management) on their viability and prioritisation levels

Our internationalisation journey has been gaining momentum since 2015. The Vice President International established the Global Galway Project in 2020 and the University has invested significantly in resourcing its international vision and strategy. This has led to a step change in our internationalisation, structures and processes including a significant expansion of internationalisation staff in Galway and regional representatives across our global regions, as well as increasing investment across our Colleges in international support staff. The expanded International Office structure will be reviewed in 2025 with a view to approval of the longer term structure. The Head of Global Partnerships, as a specific purpose contract role, will be pivotal in building this sustainable, long term structure.

The ambition of our internationalisation vision means that by 2030 we aim to further transform the global experience of all our staff and students. Global Partnerships will be integral to delivering our international vision, to not only grow our education and research partnerships, but to also strengthen our global reputation through the establishment of strategic partnerships in key regions. You will be working alongside the Director of Internationalisation and senior role holders across the university to drive this forward. Through your work, you will embed a culture of partnership and collaboration across the University, to ensure it becomes a core part of our internationalisation activity.

2.     Main Duties and Responsibilities

·         Work with the Director of internationalisation, the Heads of Global Recruitment, Global Mobility and Finance & Global Operations, and in collaboration with senior stakeholders across our university, to develop and implement an international partnership strategy that contributes to the University’s vision and internationalisation goals.

·         To plan and project-manage the design and delivery of an international partnership service to Colleges. This will involve provision of strategic advice and support for the development, implementation and management of their partnership strategies and targets.

·         To work closely with the Vice President International, the Director of Internationalisation, Colleges and the Research Office to identify, build and maintain relationships with strategic international partners. This will include developing clear criteria and maintaining a suite of processes and support mechanisms to underpin strategic partnership arrangements.

·         To build relationships with key external stakeholders, including overseas institutions, national and international government departments, charitable and sponsor organisations, enterprises, agents, alumni and sector advocacy groups, to leverage partnership, funding and profile-raising opportunities.

·         To build and maintain excellent working relationships with key stakeholders across our university to shape, inform and influence partnership strategy and policy.

·         To work creatively with other professional services such as the Research Office and Marketing and Reputation teams, to develop a comprehensive approach to partnerships – across education, research and reputation. For example, to put in place systems, processes and ways of working that enable our educational partnerships to be leveraged and feed into our research and profile-raising agendas, and vice versa.

·         To contribute to the development of a governance framework for partnerships (policy, processes, due diligence and risk management) that will enable consistency in our approach and ensure the quality and standards across our international partnerships are compliant with national and international regulations.

·         To identify and deliver key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to partnerships, and review, analyse and benchmark performance to inform improvements and strategic direction.

·         To build and maintain partnership datasets, to underpin the University’s partnership development and operations. This will include regular reporting on progress with partnership initiatives, performance against KPIs and return on investment etc

·         To build intelligence – including the collation, analysis and interpretation of data – from a wide range of internal and external sources to identify and evaluate partnership opportunities for the University.

·         To lead on any incoming visits or outbound delegation planning, including the preparation of briefing materials

·         To create, lead and manage a high performing global partnership team in line with HR policy and according to the Unit’s priorities.

·         To support a culture of equality and respect, fostering teamwork that values cross-boundary working and sharing of resource, knowledge, skills and experience.

·         Other responsibilities as may reasonably be required by the Director of Internationalisation.

3.     Requirements for the role:

The successful candidate will demonstrate the Eligibility requirements below:

We are looking for someone with real passion for internationalisation and a spirit of innovation and creativity. You must be highly motivated and able to lead and inspire your team and those around you. You will be adept at networking, influencing and gaining the respect of internal and external stakeholders. You should have a good understanding of the international higher education environment and specific knowledge of international student challenges and expectations. The

role will be based in Galway and University employees are required to be resident in Ireland. The role will involve travelling overseas and working outside of normal hours. A high degree of flexibility is required to accommodate this.

Essential

·       A level 8 (undergraduate) degree, or equivalent.

·       A minimum of 5 years of experience in higher education, with a demonstrable understanding of partnership development and management at a level commensurate with this role.

·       Significant experience at a senior level in service design, development and delivery within a higher education setting.

·       Demonstrable skills in strategic and operational planning at a level commensurate with this role.

·       Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build effective and trust based relations.

·       Experience of building and maintaining positive relationships with senior colleagues and contacts, with a proven ability to influence at a senior level.

·       Experience of high-level networking to build creative and mutually beneficial relationships.

·       Proven communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.

·       Evidence of exceptional planning and project management skills.

·       Ability to analyse large amounts of data and distil into key messages .

·       Evidence of competency and effectiveness in negotiating and evaluating agreements, including agreeing financial arrangements where appropriate.

·       Demonstrable understanding of the relevant regulatory frameworks underpinning international partnership development, including quality assurance, due diligence and risk management.

·       Excellent people management skills and experience in supporting a high performing team.

·       Track record of continuing professional development and fostering the development of others.

·       Experience in - and willingness to - travel internationally for significant periods of time, sometimes at short notice, including over weekends and on occasion bank holidays.

Desirable

·       Evidence of managing teams through significant and sustainable change.

·       Experience of developing academic partnerships in China.

The above criteria will be utilised to shortlist and select candidates for interview.