The UBC Sauder School of Business is hiring a Senior Director, Partnerships for its Professional Growth unit. This role is fundamental to the unit's strategic vision, creating new opportunities by identifying and developing strategic business relationships. You will drive revenue growth while expanding the portfolio of clients and partners and ensuring academic excellence and client satisfaction.
What You'll Do
- Set the overall vision for the customized development programs portfolio and develop long-term strategies to grow its reach and profitability.
- Lead financial planning and oversight for the portfolio to ensure long-term fiscal health and alignment with strategic priorities.
- Establish annual strategic goals and KPI targets, implement, monitor, and report on KPIs.
- Research and assess new markets, identify market trends, industry needs, and new opportunities.
- Develop strategies for client relationship management and create innovative partnerships to find new revenue sources.
- Lead the development of complex strategic initiatives with significant long-term impact on the Professional Growth portfolio.
- Negotiate contracts and agreements.
- Develop and manage custom program budgets, pricing models, and resource allocations.
- Provide leadership in developing new client proposals and RFP submissions.
- Provide direction to the Director, Business Development in creating new partnerships and acquiring new clients.
- Drive the commercial performance of customized client projects.
- Identify programming strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and develop key academic and entrepreneurial planning strategies.
- Collaborate with Academic Directors and faculty to develop a comprehensive world-class curriculum for partnership and personalized solution programs.
- Design programs collaboratively with Academic Directors, faculty, and clients.
- Develop domestic and international programs targeted towards top market sectors.
- Lead the development and implementation of programming plans and the academic calendar.
- Plan and implement educational policies for all custom programs and operations.
- Drive innovation in delivery models, learner engagement, instructional design, and client impact.
- Develop strategies to gather and act on feedback from clients and faculty.
- Analyze client needs pre- and post-program delivery and propose further solutions.
- Collaborate with operations and administrative teams to maintain successful program delivery.
- Demonstrate strong, effective, and highly visible leadership to the Professional Growth unit.
- Drive a culture of client centricity, continuous improvement, and constructive feedback.
- Represent the unit at conferences, industry meetings, and client engagements.
What We're Looking For
- Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
- Minimum of nine years of related experience in a senior management position, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Nice to Have
- Master’s degree in business, education or related areas.
- Proven sales and business development track record in private sector, higher education or consultancy environment.
- Demonstrated experience in partnership development and strategic planning.
- Experience in stakeholder management and ability to call on all levels of an organization.
- Excellent presentation skills.
- Proven supervisory and leadership skills, ideally in a business development capacity.
- Proven ability to lead large teams and manage multiple educational program streams.
- Strong entrepreneurial mindset and ability to grow revenue in a complex, competitive environment.
- Superior communication, relationship management, and negotiation skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity and navigate university systems and governance.
- Experience in financial planning, budget oversight, and ROI-driven decision-making.
- Deep understanding of national and international professional education trends.
- Experience with instructional design, executive consulting and facilitation skills.
- Proven and significant program design, development and management track record in a learning or consultancy environment.
- Marketing background and strong understanding of a professional education environment.
- Ability to travel frequently as required.
Team & Environment
You will be a key member of the senior leadership in the Professional Growth unit, reporting to the Executive Director, Professional Growth. You will manage a team including the Director, Business Development, and Account Managers, and support other leaders in managing staff, contractors, and consultants.
Benefits & Compensation
- Compensation range: $9,859.25 - $15,380.75 CAD monthly.
Work Mode
This position works in Vancouver in a local-city work mode.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
