General Manager & Dean, Joint Venture

About Swinburne And Its New Partnership with UP Education
Swinburne is entering a joint venture partnership with private education provider, UP Education (UP), to deliver its pathway programs (ELICOS, Foundation, Unilink diplomas and Pre-Masters) for international and domestic students at the Hawthorn, Melbourne campus.

At Swinburne, we aim to be an innovative and globally capable enterprise, known for our agility, our responsiveness to the changing world and our ability to deliver excellence. Swinburne has carefully selected UP as their partner, recognising UP’s focus on excellence, partnership, innovation and care.

About The Role
Reporting to the Joint Venture Board which consists of the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Vice-President, Students as well as UP’s CEO University Partnerships and Chief Financial Officer, the newly created role of General Manager & Dean, will lead the strategic and operational leadership and management of the University’s pathways operations.

Leading an experienced management team, the General Manager & Dean will implement the University’s regulation and policy framework to deliver Pathway programs in Melbourne, as well as managing, monitoring and reporting to the Joint Management Committee on academic, financial and administrative partnership performance.

Leading and developing a high performing and engaged culture is a key focus of this role. The General Manager & Dean will also work in partnership across a number of teams within the wider University as well as collaborating closely with UP, ensuring alignment with the University’s strategic vision.

About You
To be suitable you will be a strong commercial and people leader with proven tertiary sector experience. With extensive understanding of Australian international higher education and student engagement, you will be hands-on as you navigate this exciting growth opportunity with strong commercial acumen and an understanding of the quality and excellence expected of a University pathway provider. With excellent interpersonal, consultation and collaboration skills, you will have a proven ability to lead and partner with multiple stakeholders to bring people together around common goals.


Key Responsibilities:
• Lead and manage the JV, providing strategic leadership, guidance and advice with vision
• Provide high-level academic leadership and champion collaboration between Swinburne, UP and pathway joint venture staff to ensure excellence in standards in the delivery of Swinburne programs
• Provide strong people leadership, focused on the development of a highly performing and engaged culture
• Provide leadership for the ongoing development and implementation of a quality assurance framework encompassing all aspects of operations that ensures compliance with all educational quality standards
• Ensure that Swinburne academic regulations, policies, procedures and processes are appropriately applied.
• Lead the agenda and management of engagement with the new Board
• Ultimate responsibility for the presentation and evaluation of the organisation’s academic profile with the University and the broader community
• Development and enhancement of strategic relationships with significant stakeholders, with a particular focus on key relationships with government regulatory bodies, Swinburne campuses and other higher education institutions and colleges within UP Education
• Ensure the organisation operates within recognised principles, standards and protocols governing the education sector
• Identify and progress growth opportunities which align with both the organisation’s and UP’s strategic direction
• Contribute to government reviews of the education sector
• Oversee and ensure preparation for periodic audits of the organisation by external authorities
• Contribute as a collaborative, constructive and proactive member of the UP Education pathways leadership team
• Build strong and sustainable relationships with the University so as to enhance access to university study through the provision of outstanding, innovative, relevant and effective pathway programs that meet the needs of domestic and international students
• Build and maintain strong and effective internal and external relationships that promote the organisation’s national and international profile
• Ensure that safe and healthy work practices are followed and that University policies and procedures, relevant work standards and statutory obligations are complied with

About you
To be successful in this role you will need the following experience, skills and qualifications:

• The leadership of medium to large teams & delivery in a commercial environment
• Demonstrated high level academic or professional leadership experience
• Demonstrated experience in the development and implementation of strategies
• Well-developed people leadership skills with a strong track record of building an engaged and productive working culture
• High level experience in leading the agenda and presenting to Boards
• Strong interpersonal skill and ability to build effective relationship and partners with key stakeholders
• Enthusiasm, motivation and an ability to earn the respect of colleagues and employees
• Strategic finance, leadership and operational excellence focus
• Excellent written, interpersonal, presentation and communication skills
• Excellent relationship building skills; proven ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Demonstrated compliance and governance leadership
• Proven organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Understanding of the broader operational and cultural nature of a large tertiary organisation and its impact of government and regulatory policy
• A clear understanding of the broader national and international context of higher education and the business, government and industry context in which students/graduates will work
• Relevant post graduate qualification or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or relevant tertiary education

How to apply and further information
To view the position description or to start an application, please click on ‘Apply’.

For further enquires please contact Rowena King, Recruitment Manager at Swinburne by email raking@swin.edu.au

Should you require further support for an interview due to special needs or consideration, please contact our Diversity Consultant, Dr Walter Robles, on inclusion@swin.edu.au.

For support or queries related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment, please contact DeadlyCareers@swin.edu.au.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your application, please contact the Recruitment team on staffrecruitment@swin.edu.au

Applications close at 5.00pm on the 20th of September, 2019