At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic team to expand access to quality education across Africa.
- Company: Join the Afe Babalola Centre, a values-driven programme at King’s College.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, opportunity for extension, and impactful work in education.
- Other info: Embrace a collaborative culture focused on diversity and inclusion.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in transnational education and build global partnerships.
- Qualifications: Experience in diplomacy, stakeholder management, and leading distributed teams.
The predicted salary is between 75000 - 100000 £ per year.
The Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education (ABC) is an ambitious, values‑driven programme designed to expand access to high quality education and deepen equitable partnerships across Africa and beyond. As the Centre moves from start‑up into a period of further piloting, consolidation and scale, we are seeking an Interim Director who can provide steady, strategic leadership and safeguard the momentum of this unique endeavour.
About the Role
This is not a “business as usual” role. The Centre’s work is built on sensitive, high‑trust relationships with funders, senior institutional partners, government stakeholders and multilateral bodies. The successful candidate will bring exceptional diplomatic judgement, the ability to navigate complex political and organisational landscapes, and the creativity to adapt established processes to a distinctive operating environment. They will steward the Centre’s profile, lead a widely distributed team of academic and professional colleagues, and maintain the pace of delivery against an ambitious strategy and philanthropic gift implementation plan.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage sensitive and complex stakeholder relationships, including senior internal leaders, international partners and multilateral organisations
- Demonstrate exceptional external engagement skills, including diplomacy, negotiation, and experience with contracts and licensing
- Maintain the scope, pace and integrity of the Centre’s operationalisation and gift implementation plans
- Lead and influence a widely distributed team across King’s and partner institutions
- Act as guardian of the Centre’s profile, overseeing communications, engagement and community development
- Manage risk pragmatically as the Centre transitions from start‑up to scaled delivery
About You
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
- Demonstrable agility in managing complex, multi‑country programmes amid evolving environments, competing stakeholder interests and shifting priorities
- Evidence of strong senior, academic, external and sensitive stakeholder management, including experience in diplomacy, negotiation at senior levels, familiarity with contracts, licensing and partnership agreements
- Track record of building trusted relationships using decolonised and equitable approaches
- Ability to operate autonomously and make decisions with solid judgement regarding escalation
- Experience managing and influencing distributed teams, navigating complexity, and coordinating delivery across multiple institutions
- Agile, collaborative approach to leadership and creative problem‑solving
- Exceptional ability to communicate coherently with precision and impact, including in high‑stakes external contexts
- Experience managing philanthropic programmes with seven‑plus figure budgets
- Experience in TNE, edtech or increasing access to higher and further education
- Experience with UK‑Africa higher education partnerships and regulatory environments
Equality and Diversity Statement
At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and, in addition, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension. We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including controversial ones, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination. When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.
Interim Director, Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education in London employer: King’s College London
At the Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education, we pride ourselves on being a values-driven organisation that champions high-quality education and equitable partnerships across Africa and beyond. Our collaborative work culture fosters innovation and creativity, providing employees with unique opportunities for professional growth and development in a dynamic environment. Join us in making a meaningful impact while enjoying the benefits of a supportive team dedicated to advancing educational access and excellence.
