King's College London
Interim Director, Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education
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About The Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education (ABC)
The Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education (ABC) is an ambitious, values-driven programme designed to:
- Expand access to high-quality education
- Deepen equitable partnerships across Africa and beyond
As the Centre transitions from start-up to further piloting, consolidation and scale, it is seeking an Interim Director to provide steady, strategic leadership and safeguard ongoing progress.
About the Role
This is not a standard role. The Centre’s success relies on maintaining high-trust relationships with multiple stakeholders, including:
- Funders
- Senior institutional partners
- Government stakeholders
- Multilateral organisations
The successful candidate will bring:
- Exceptional diplomatic judgement
- An ability to navigate complex political and organisational landscapes
- Creativity to adapt processes for a unique operating environment
Working closely with the VP (International, Engagement & Service) and Centre Manager, the Interim Director will ensure:
- Continuity of leadership across all workstreams
- Robust risk management
- Clear, consistent communication at all levels
This is an opportunity for a seasoned leader to:
- Shape a transformative global programme with high impact
- Establish a model for equitable, innovative transnational education
- Support King’s in effectively collaborating with its African partners
Key responsibilities include:
- Managing sensitive and complex stakeholder relationships, including:
- Senior internal leaders
- International partners
- Multilateral organisations
- Demonstrating exceptional external engagement skills, including:
- Diplomacy and negotiation
- Experience with contracts and licensing
- Maintaining the scope, pace and integrity of:
- Operational plans
- Gift implementation strategies
- Leading and influencing a distributed team across:
- King’s College London
- Partner institutions
- Acting as guardian of the Centre’s profile, overseeing:
- Communications
- Engagement
- Community development
- Managing transitional risks during scaling
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Key Accountabilities
- Primary contact for strategic and operational matters related to Centre initiatives
- Key decision-maker, working autonomously where appropriate but with notable escalation accountability
- Overall responsibility for the execution of the Centre’s vision in alignment with King’s global engagement strategy
- Own leadership of fundraising initiatives, particularly in relation to the philanthropic endowment strategy
Candidate Profile
Summary of the Opportunity
The ideal candidate is an agile, strategic leader with:
- A passion for equitable partnership models
- Strong expertise in navigating high-level complexity
- A track record of achieving ambitious outcomes in dynamic environments
For those interested, the position offers:
- The opportunity to shape the future of an influential programme
- Contribution to a transformative education initiative with global relevance
- Collaboration across diverse stakeholders within an autonomous, high-visibility role
Essential Criteria
Applicants must have:
- Experience managing complex, multi-country programmes in evolving contexts, characterised by:
- Competing stakeholder interests
- Dynamic priorities
- Outstanding senior leadership skills demonstrated through:
- Stakeholder management at the highest levels (internal/external)
- Diplomacy, negotiation and contract/licensing expertise
- Familiarity with partnership agreements
- Proven success in equitable, decolonised approaches to partnership-building
- Ability to operate independently, combined with sound judgement on when to escalate issues
- Expertise in managing distributed teams while:
- Navigating complexity
- Coordinating developments across multi-institutional environments
- An agile and collaborative leadership style rooted in:
- Creative problem-solving
- Effective alignment of project outcomes with broader strategy
- Exceptional ability to:
- Communicate coherently, precisely and impactfully (especially in high-stakes scenarios)
- Engage externally at senior levels
- Experience handling philanthropic programmes with budgets seven+ figures
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Desirable Criteria
In addition, applicants will strengthen their candidacy by showing:
- Relevant experience in:
- Transnational Education (TNE)
- EdTech (specifically applications aimed at higher/further education)
- Increasing educational access
- Knowledge of:
- UK–Africa higher education partnerships
- Regulatory challenges in transnational educational licensing
Further Information
This is a full-time (35 hours per week) position with a fixed-term contract, initially for 3 months. Extension up to 12 months is probable.
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit:
- A CV
- A supporting statement detailing alignment with the essential criteria
- In strong application fields, the desirable criteria may define the shortlist – include supporting evidence where possible
Key Ethos & Expectations
- Equity, diversity and inclusion at King’s are core values
- Candidates must uphold free speech, academic freedom and dignity
- Applications can incorporate AI tools for research/reference aid, but written responses must reflect individual experience and insight
Timeline
- Applications will close early if a qualified applicant pool is achieved
- Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 23:59 on the specified closing date
- Interviews are planned for mid-July
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