About Us

UIC Global is a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and Shorelight. The mission of the program is to immerse first-year international students (graduate and undergraduate) in the academic and cultural life of the university, help them integrate into campus life, and provide the support that increases their academic successes and likelihood of obtaining their degrees at UIC.

 

Job Overview

The Senior Managing Director (SMD) develops and serves as the operational leader across programs for international students at one or more university partnership. The SMD drives enrollment goals and ensures a high-quality experience for all students in these specialized academic programs. As the most senior member of the partnership team, the SMD builds the partnerships and oversees day-to-day operations.  The SMD also provides strategic and ongoing leadership to the partnership team(s), sharing best practices, managing performance based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and ensuring account management among university leadership on each campus.  This leadership position is based at or near a Shorelight partner school, may include approximately 25% of travel to existing and prospective partnerships, and reports to the Executive Director, Regional Partner Operations

 

The SMD is a skilled relationship manager who successfully leads an innovative educational partnership venture(s). He/She/They are committed to quality and the specialized attention and guidance that international students require. The SMD displays an entrepreneurial spirit to continuously innovate methods to advance the partnership whilst leading and inspiring others to do the same, so demonstrated experience in building positive and productive relationships is critical.  The SMD is an excellent communicator with exceptional presentation and negotiation skills.  He/She/They are a strong strategic thinker with the dual capacity to see the big picture and attend to details. The SMD is a solid team player who can enthuse and galvanize colleagues around the institution’s mission, vision, and goals.

 

Essential Functions

Senior Campus Operations

• Provide leadership, manage performance, and ensure KPIs are exceeded and programs are running consistently in areas of student enrollment, satisfaction, student support, academic quality, staff engagement, P&L management and other metrics as determined by the partnership Steering Committees
• Identify, share, train and encourage best practices with Managing Directors (MD) and Directors of Enrollment Management (DEM) to enable each campus to exceed objectives
• Provide interim MD leadership at new partnerships and/or partnerships in a transition

 

Enrollment

• Serve as the strategic leader of the partnership(s), including understanding and driving enrollment and diversity goals, driving annual strategy, and partnering with university leadership
• Partner with marketing and student recruitment leadership to understand the competitive landscape and key market opportunities
• Lead all training on academic partnership programs and support regional recruitment activity through campus webinars, campaigns, and events

 

Student Experience

• Ensure that the program retains students and guides, prepares, and motivates them to degree completion
• Develop the strategy and programs required to deliver exemplary and differentiated customer service
• Ensure academic integrity and compliance
• Ensure systems and procedures are established and followed to maintain accurate records and reporting on all aspects of the program
• Ensure smooth delivery and support continued innovation in the area of marketplace services, as he/she/they guide teams in expanding service offerings to international students along each stage of their journey.
• Analyze data and reports on the progress of the program and achievement of objectives

 

Campus Fiscal Operations

• Assume overall P&L responsibility, including budget management
• Contribute to financial planning and analysis to support the strategic plan
• Lead new product development and optimization to support revenue growth and margin improvement

 

Relationship Management

• Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders including university leadership, Shorelight Partner Operations team, and global teams

• Foster external relationships and partnerships to enhance the profile and success of the program
• Represent the program internationally and domestically, including participation in marketing events
• Manage relationships with all key UIC Global and Shorelight stakeholders across acquisition, academics, student services, finance, and operations
• Serve as mentor for MDs in the region to offer guidance, support and training as needed

 

People Management

• Recruit, develop, and retain team members to ensure productivity and engagement
• Engage in talent management activities such as goal setting, performance evaluations, stay interviews, development planning, and ongoing feedback to develop team members and achieve organizational goals
• Provide coaching, counseling, and corrective action (when necessary) to team members
• Foster a culture that reflects Shorelight’s and UIC Global’s values

 

Security

• Comply with Shorelight Written Information Security Policy, and all other Shorelight Information Security Policies and Procedures
• Take responsibility for any Shorelight assets assigned to you
• Promptly report any security events, incidents or weaknesses to Shorelight Security

 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 7+ years’ experience in management with strong team motivational skills
• Demonstrated P&L responsibility
• Proven ability to recruit, lead, motivate, coach, develop, and retain top academic and/or administrative staff
• Record of leadership delivering strategic, financial, and operational objectives
• Understanding of student support services for international students
• Direct experience within higher education or related educational services
• Eligibility to work in and travel freely to and from the United States without sponsorship

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree
• Experience working within a joint venture and/or a highly matrixed organizational structure

 

Application Process

To apply for this position, please visit the Shorelight Careers page to submit an application with a resume and cover letter.

 

Background Check Required–Education, Criminal, Identity

 

UIC Global is an Equal Opportunity Employer.