Head of Partnership Management

Job Roles and Key Responsibilities:

General Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and management of strategic partnerships that support the academic, cultural, and research mission of the higher education institution.
• Act as the primary liaison between the institution and external partners across the cultural, academic, governmental, and creative sectors.
• Promote collaborative initiatives that enhance the visibility, relevance, and impact of the educational institution within the creative and arts ecosystem.
• Develop a long list of partners while ensuring that all partnerships are aligned with institutional strategy, regulatory frameworks, and quality standards.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and mutual value creation across all units of the educational institution.

Strategic Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive partnership model that ensures alignment with financial and strategic goals.
• Lead the negotiation and structuring of partnership agreements, including academic collaborations, joint programming, research partnerships, and industry linkages.
• Position the educational institution as a key enabler and collaborator within the national and global creative and arts ecosystem.
• Drive initiatives that support student internships, faculty exchanges, and collaborative cultural productions.

Operational Responsibilities

• Manage partnerships engagements, including prospecting, vetting, onboarding, implementation, and review.
• Ensure compliance with higher education institution governance protocols, MoUs, and contractual obligations.
• Organize partnership activation events, workshops, and networking forums.
• Track and report on key outreach KPIs such as student engagement, lead conversion rates, and geographic reach.
• Coordinate outreach materials in collaboration with the communications and branding teams.

Ideal Experience, Capabilities and Skills:

Industry Experience

• 10–15 years of experience in partnership development, business development, or stakeholder engagement, preferably in cultural, creative, or academic institutions.
• Proven ability to build cross-sector partnerships in support of cultural and educational missions.
• Familiarity with the Saudi cultural landscape, Vision 2030 objectives, and regional cultural policy frameworks.
• Experience working with museums, art institutions, festivals, creative hubs, and government cultural entities.

Management Capabilities

• Strong strategic planning and stakeholder mapping skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex negotiations and develop partnership.
• Experience aligning partnership initiatives with academic programs and institutional priorities.
• Capable of managing teams, timelines, and multi-stakeholder projects.

Interpersonal & Leadership Skills

• Excellent relationship builder with cultural sensitivity and diplomatic acumen.
• Able to engage with a wide range of stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and the arts.
• Skilled communicator in both Arabic and English, with strong presentation and persuasion skills.
• Collaborative leader with a proactive, mission-driven approach.
• Creative thinker who can translate vision into impactful external engagements.