Chief Administrative Officer

Accountable to: Vice-Chancellor

Salary Grade: Administrative 

Overall Purpose 

The Chief Administrative Officer will head the administration and will act as Secretary to the University Council in line with the traditional British model. Candidates must have a strong track record and successful experience at a senior level in a University. He/she will report to the Vice-Chancellor and be responsible to the Vice-Chancellor for his/her administrative and management responsibilities. He/she will be required to manage and lead the work of those senior members of staff who have responsibility for Marketing & Corporate Relations, Learning Resources, IT, Finance, Campus Management, and Human Resources. He/she will be expected to provide quality advice and guidance on matters of administration. The CAO will be expected to maintain relevant professional contacts outside The British University in Dubai (BUiD) so as to develop a professional awareness and expertise as well as representing BUiD externally (individually and through membership of relevant bodies) when needed. 

Job Description

As Secretary to the University Council the CAO will be responsible for: 

• Fulfilling the role of secretary to the relevant committees of BUiD as per BUiD policies and regulation
• Advising senior officers/section heads of the University in decision making and governance processes 
• Ensuring implementation of the University Council’s policies and decisions on legal and constitutional matters 
• Ensuring that BUiD is aware of and complies with new legislation as this comes into effect, either directly or by ensuring that the appropriate officer or body takes responsibility for implementation 
• Ensuring that BUiD complies with Government Standards for Licensure and Programme Accreditation and the requirements of BUiD’s UK partner universities 
• Supporting the implementation of the vision of BUiD and its associate United Kingdom universities as outlined in the Concordat 
• Leading and supporting BUiD’s efforts to interact with local and global business 
• Fulfilling statutory requirements, for example in regard to health and safety legislation 
• Acting as the central professional point of contact and providing support for the senior specialist academics /planning administrators with particular focus on leading the communication and marketing strategy of BUiD 
• Fulfilling such ‘ex officio’ responsibilities as are placed on the CAO by BUiD’s procedures such as those relating to discipline, complaints and appeals
• Overseeing arrangements for visitors to BUiD when appropriate 

As a leader in professional development and line management the CAO will: 

• Promote and support responsive consumer-orientated support services. This should be based on a proactive approach to the provision of effective and efficient services derived from an analysis of BUiD’s needs, both corporate and individual, and of the ways in which these are developing. The emphasis will be on supporting change as well as maintaining efficient administrative systems. The CAO will facilitate positive direct working relationships between these senior managers and with heads of other services wherever necessary. 
• Maintain close and regular liaison with the other senior officers responsible for groups of major service providers so as to ensure effective co-ordination and planning of service delivery and change, and with particular reference to the re-engineering of business processes that cut across organisational boundaries. 
• Prepare plans and budgets for the services for which he/she is responsible. 
• Be a member of such committees as the University Council and Vice-Chancellor may decide. 
• Undertake such other ad-hoc reasonable responsibilities as the University Council and Vic chancellor may require. 

Essential Experience

• Strong administrative and management experience within British or similar Higher Education institution. 

Essential Abilities, Skills & Attributes:

Candidates must demonstrate evidence that he/she has gained the relevant skills and understanding, and must possess important personal qualities, including: 

• An ability to articulate a compelling vision for an administrative ethos and turn strategy into reality
• Empathy for a shared sense of the mission and ethos of the University, and the ability to win the hearts and minds of all stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills, in particular a high level of proficiency in writing reports, committee papers and minutes 
• Experience of building partnerships internally and externally, and specifically with universities
• Strategic awareness and understanding of Higher Education, nationally and internationally 
• Experience of leadership and management in a complex, diverse and successful organisation, with a style of management that is open and transparent
• An ability to play a strong corporate role in the leadership of the University and when appropriate deputise for the Vice-Chancellor 
• A sound understanding of different modes of delivery and experience of managing change brought about by the introduction of new programmes 
• Commitment to staff development and the organisational values and behaviours that underpin the way senior managers operate 
• Personal and professional standing and reputation that will ensure he/she is able to motivate staff, develop the confidence of stakeholders and represent the University to the outside world 
• Understanding of and commitment to the concept of advanced scholarship 
• Strong academic credentials and reputation 
• Evidence of successful interdisciplinary working and strong interpersonal skills 

Desirable attributes

• Spoken and written Arabic language skills

Education

• Graduate or equivalent (Essential)
• Postgraduate or equivalent (Desirable)
• Professional qualification 

About the British University in Dubai (BUiD)

The University has been formed out of a genuine collaboration between Dubai and United Kingdom institutions to provide the best of British education in Dubai. BUiD has been established to make a substantial and unique contribution to the United Arab. Our UK associates, the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow have been chosen because of their research standing and high standards. The University’s vision is to continue to be recognised as Dubai’s premier resource and focus for the reflective pursuit, inclusive accessibility, effective transfer, and liberal application of scientific, academic and professional knowledge. BUiD is a non-profit organisation with a mission to provide world class scholarship, education and research that make a distinctive British contribution to supporting the aspirations of the Dubai Government to become a hub for education and research in the region.

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