Partnerships Manager/ Senior Manager (UAE Nationals)

The Partnerships Senior Manager is responsible for managing the intake, coordination, and lifecycle of all partnerships within the Business Development function. The role acts as the central coordination and communication hub for all partnership-related activities, ensuring that opportunities are properly structured, aligned, and progressed through the defined governance process.

The position supports the Business Development Director by ensuring efficient flow of opportunities, maintaining stakeholder alignment, and enabling integration across Partnerships, Marketing, Events, and Sales to drive measurable outcomes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Partnership Intake & Validation
• Receive and manage all partnership-related requests from internal stakeholders.
• Ensure completeness, clarity, and alignment of submitted opportunities before escalation.
• Act as the single point of intake and coordination for all partnership communications.
• Partnership Coordination & Structuring
• Coordinate the development and structuring of partnership opportunities following Business Development direction.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders (Sales, Marketing, Events, Academic units) to align requirements.
• Ensure smooth progression of partnerships through approval and execution stages.
• External Relationship Management
• Build and maintain strong relationships with institutional, corporate, and strategic partners.
• Support engagement with partners to facilitate opportunities aligned with university priorities.
• Ensure consistent and professional communication with all external stakeholders.
• Partnership Lifecycle Management
• Maintain and manage all partnership records (MoUs, agreements, documentation).
• Monitor partnership performance, utilization, and outcomes.
• Support periodic evaluation and reporting on partnership effectiveness.
• Cross-Functional Integration
• Work closely with:
• Marketing → to support promotion and visibility of partnerships
• Events → to coordinate partnership-related events and engagements
• Sales → to enable monetization and commercial opportunities
• Ensure partnerships are effectively integrated into the end-to-end Business Development flow.
• Governance & Compliance
• Ensure all partnerships follow the defined Business Development governance process.
• Support preparation of documentation required for:

-Enterprise Council

-Chancellor approval

-Ensure compliance with institutional policies and procedures.

• Reporting & Data Management
• Maintain a centralized database of partnerships, contacts, and outcomes.
• Provide regular updates and reports on partnership pipeline and performance.
• Track opportunities generated through partnerships and their progression.
• Additional Responsibilities
• Support strategic Business Development initiatives as directed.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Business Development Director

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 6 years of relevant experience in Higher Education or international administrative or management role, preferably with international and partnership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in public relations, Communications, International Business or any related field from an accredited university.

Knowledge of intercultural relations and global perspectives; respectful, with cultural and social awareness and sensitivity.

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Ability to effectively communicate information and ideas in written and verbal format and build and maintain relationships.

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Ability to accomplish both domestic and international business missions that require extensive travelling as needed.

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Good knowledge of issues relating to international partnerships and projects.

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Experience of working closely with senior management, ideally in an HE environment.

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Ability to convey complex issues concisely and clearly and draft high-quality reports including when under pressure.

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Excellent organizational and events management skills able to plan and organize highly complex events reliably and successfully.

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Ability to identify, access, debrief and store information and data effectively to deliver information requirements.

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Ability to produce high quality communications and marketing documents.

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Excellent written and oral communication skills including report writing, briefing materials and presentations for a range of audiences.