Head of Partnership Development

Job Roles and Key Responsibilities:

General Responsibilities

• Oversee the execution, maintenance, and performance of all active partnerships within the university’s cultural, academic, and creative ecosystem.
• Serve as the main point of contact for existing partners, ensuring successful implementation of agreed initiatives.
• Ensure partnerships continue to deliver mutual value, align with institutional objectives, and adapt to evolving needs.
• Work collaboratively with internal departments to embed partnership activities across academic programs, research initiatives, and cultural projects.
• Uphold strong governance and accountability standards in all partnership operations.

Strategic Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a partnership management framework to track partner performance, satisfaction, and impact.
• Ensure strategic alignment of ongoing partnerships with the university’s academic, cultural, and innovation goals.
• Maintain strong relationships with key partners, providing them with regular updates, strategic briefings, and collaborative planning.
• Support leadership in strategic reviews of partnership performance and decision-making regarding renewals or terminations.

Operational Responsibilities

• Monitor the implementation of partnership activities, ensuring timely delivery of milestones and agreed outputs, and initiate discussions for renewals.
• Coordinate regular review meetings with partners and internal stakeholders to assess progress, resolve issues, and adjust work plans.
• Track and report on partnership KPIs including deliverable completion, engagement rates, satisfaction levels, and outcomes.
• Ensure proper documentation, archiving, and renewal of partnership agreements and MOUs.
• Collaborate with legal and compliance teams to monitor contractual obligations.
• Manage issue resolution, contract amendments, and partner feedback loops.
• Maintain a live partnership dashboard and database for operational oversight.

Ideal Experience, Capabilities and Skills:

Industry Experience

• 10+ years of experience in partnership/account management or stakeholder relations, ideally within higher education, cultural institutions, or creative industries.
• Strong familiarity with the Saudi cultural sector and the operational needs of cultural or academic partnerships.
• Experience in managing multi-party collaborations with government entities, nonprofits, academic institutions, or cultural bodies.

Management Capabilities

• Strong execution skills and attention to detail in managing complex partner relationships.
• Experience coordinating internal cross-functional teams to support partnership delivery.
• Capable of designing and monitoring performance metrics across a range of partnership types.

Interpersonal & Leadership Skills

• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Culturally sensitive, diplomatic, and responsive to partner needs.
• Capable of managing conflict, aligning expectations, and driving continuous improvement.
• Strong written and verbal communication in both Arabic and English.
• Collaborative leader who ensures accountability while fostering positive long-term relationships.