Director of Partnerships

Boundless Learning is Growing!

Boundless Learning (BL) is growing globally and moving beyond its roots as an OPM partner to offer a variety of services to academic institutions, corporate learning and development units, and professional associations. 

While providing the critical infrastructure that enables the delivery of high-quality online learning experiences remains at the heart of what Boundless Learning does for its partners and their learners, today we offer services in 5 unique areas: Strategy and Advisory, Educational Solutions, Learner Lifecycle, Learning Content, and Digital Solutions.

The Portfolio Management and Growth team is at the heart of Boundless Learning’s growth plans, and is the key coordination point with other essential divisions across the organisation including Products and Services, Learning Design Solutions, Legal, Finance, Student Success, and Enrolment Services.  In the UK, the team works with both OPM and licencing partners, and with some of the most prestigious Russell Group universities.

If you’re excited by the idea of working for an organisation that provides the critical expertise, services and support to higher education institutions seeking to extend their reach both in the UK and globally, and by doing so, positively impact the lives of learners via a broad array of online academic programs and short courses, we want to hear from you!

The Director of Partnerships Role

The Portfolio Management and Growth team is primarily driven to support the success of our academic partners and is currently seeking a full-time, Director of Partnerships to support our UK team based at our central London offices at Paternoster Square – just a short walk from St. Paul’s Cathedral.  This role requires superior commercial acumen, the ability to think and act strategically at the intersection of operational excellence and driving expanded partnership opportunities, and ability to win the trust of the various teams at client institutions and within Boundless Learning more broadly. This role reports into the Senior Director of Portfolio Management and Growth who is also based at the London office.

The ideal candidate for the Director of Partnerships role will come from the public or private side of higher education and have deep expertise in the UK universities space.  An understanding of the regulatory environment, and sector specific organisations such as HESA, JISC and others is also important.  Above all, we need an experienced professional who has the resilience to manage a competing array of commercial and operational responsibilities, with our multiple HE partners in the UK, and an ability to work with a diverse set of teams internally at Boundless Learning.

Below is the essential information related to this role and the type of profile we’re seeking.  In a very general sense, we’re seeking dedicated professionals who are committed to the Boundless Learning mission and broader business objectives.  This is also a great opportunity for an individual who is passionate about education but that is looking for superior compensation to that typically provided by universities and colleges, and further education organisations.

Essential Responsibilities

The core responsibilities of this role include:

• A desire to participate in the growth of the work Boundless Learning does with universities, and increasingly corporate L&D units, and professional associates.
• The confidence to work in a senior customer-facing role where you will be expected to understand the regulatory and reporting context of, HE institutions in the UK, and contextualise that expertise into the day to day running of partnerships.
• Ability to support on operational and executional matters that require an attention to detail, strong interpersonal and relationship management skills, and a resiliency that enables you to see activities through to completion.
• Ability to work within the bounds of a fast-paced, multifaceted portfolio of partners, each with their own opportunities and challenges.
• Ability to work closely with both the Senior Director of Portfolio Management and Growth and the Partnership Manager on a wide range of issues, across our UK partnerships.
• The confidence to manage difficult conversations, especially because you maintain strong relationships with the broader team involved in the management of each partnership and have a strong handle on reporting and other key information related to each partnership.
• Be a key partner to the Enrolment, Student Success and Operations teams at Boundless Learning, especially with regards to reporting, invoicing, and supplier coordination.
• You are committed to regular in-office attendance at our London office, and to meeting with our partners across the UK when needed.

If you are invited to interview, the hiring manager will provide an overview of a typical working week as part of the initial conversations, and you will be able to ask more detailed questions about workflow and responsibilities as well.

Your Profile and Passions

• You’ve got a bachelor’s degree and preferably a master’s degree, in a related field of study, including education, management, or similar.
• You have worked in UK higher education, and ideally a Russell Group university that has an online programme offering.
• You have a demonstrated track record of professional success appropriate for your time in the labour market.
• You have demonstrated experience working in a fast-paced organisation that prioritised learner success and building longer-term relationships.
• Are comfortable working in a flat organisation where close collaboration is required across teams, departments, and divisions.
• You are comfortable working with KPIs and performance metrics, are commercially minded, and enjoy working at pace.
• You are highly organised and meticulous in your ability to see tasks through to completion and are comfortable leading meetings with client organisations.
• You are comfortable and enjoy customer facing roles where you can demonstrate and further develop your stakeholder engagement skills.
• You would be considered highly competitive for this role, but also promotable over time for other leadership roles at Boundless Learning.
• You have a demonstrated passion for higher education in the UK and globally.

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