Associate Director- Partner Success

About us

ACUMEN is committed to helping globally-ambitious university and education partners enter, explore, and expand in South Asia, South East Asia, and beyond. We offer a dedicated range of services to drive recruitment, student enrolment, develop strategic partnerships, and deliver bespoke consulting projects.

We act as an extension of your brand, by connecting you with the world’s best students, utilising strategic international education opportunities, understanding your ideal market through research and insights, and help mitigate any risks along the way. We operate in over 20 countries, with more than 250 industry practitioners with deep local knowledge and global expertise. We help navigate a competitive education landscape from end to end, while always prioritising your success.

We all need an edge in today’s competitive international education market. What worked for you in the past will not be enough to succeed today. Let us help you reach your international student recruitment goals, find the right partners, understand your ideal market with insights, and launch new global initiatives.

Our track record speaks for itself – one out of five Indian students studying in the UK is an Acumen student, as is one out of every four Nepalese students. We deliver excellence throughout Asia and beyond. We know what you need to thrive, not only today but in the future. With Acumen as your internationalisation partner, we help you navigate the entire journey from start to finish, we are there every step of the way.

Our Approach

Bringing innovation to the education market.

From our origins in India to our diverse, global education service across Asia and beyond, our approach has always been to give organisational leaders precisely what they need. Guidance and expertise through their internationalisation journey that they can trust.

Our end-to-end approach empowers universities, educational institutions, Government Departments, and organisations to take their first steps onto the global stage. We're here every step of the way to provide the recommendations and resources needed to achieve positive results.

Since our story began in 2008 under the SannamS4 Group umbrella, Acumen, the most- trusted name in the education sector, is focused on providing valuable market insight, guidance, and internationalization for our clients. Our unique understanding, people-first approach and student-focused insights have made us an invaluable partner for education institutions and organizations in every corner of the globe. We take the globalisation of education institutions and organizations to the next level, never losing sight of what is important. Our people and partners.

What are we seeking?

As Acumen continues to grow, we intend to evolve the delivery of our service to the education sector (largely focused on Higher Education clients). A relentless focus on customer service, efficiency, discipline, and planning of growth is going to be critical for the business achieving its ambitious plans. We seek talent who are excited by a growth story and enjoy problem solving in an ambiguous and dynamic environment.

Our partners and stakeholders

Acumen places tremendous value on its strategic partnerships and close affiliations with respected organizations which include a formal Strategic Partnership with the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA) U.S. Department of Commerce, the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) and close working relations with the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland. We work very closely with the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. and with the federal and state government(s) in India.

India Business Council (USIBC), American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM), British Business Group (BBG), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) amongst others. We will be seeking to develop further linkages with similar organizations based in Southeast Asia.

Responsibilities

• Deliver account KPIs for partners across the given territory set jointly with the clients / partners and review progress month on month.

• Deliver a high-level delivery service & customer experience and effectively support In-country representatives.

• Coordinate with ICRS, CX coordinators, AUPC, Territory teams and other stakeholders to provide best intel, solutions, and coordination for partner needs.

• Ensure the successful day to day delivery & operations of client accounts.

• Shadow client meetings when required and consult/manage customer expectations.

• Frequently review and consult on client marketing campaigns to ensure budgets are actively managed and used effectively.

• Work in partnership with your Territory Team to fulfil all client requirements

• Oversee billing/invoicing for client accounts working in partnership with Head Partner Success

• Identify ‘add-on’ sales opportunities and assist with contract renewals

• Maintain technical expertise of our products/services

• Maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the higher education industry

• Assist in any training for new hires where applicable

• Build a performance-driven culture and ensure transparent evaluation of team members’ performance against predefined specific objectives.

• Develop the destination knowledge and market understanding of team members to support increased performance outcomes.

• Provide inputs and take necessary actions to support the ongoing development and maintenance of service and client management performance standards.

• Determine when an issue needs to be escalated for resolution.

• Proactively provide timely feedback and advice to the line manager on the management of office and on issues arising from competitor activities, changing business environments, change in student visa policies etc.

• Investigate any delivery gaps, mitigate risks on compliances and develop proactive action plans to ensure delivery is as per KPIs.

• Support KPI development with ICRs and seek client alignment and approval on the same.

• Hold ICR/CX performance and career growth conversations every quarter or earlier on need basis. Help the teams grow, perform, and succeed with Acumen.

• Function as the voice of the customer within Acumen and provide internal feedback on how our services and delivery can better serve our customers and function as a voice of the ICR to provide feedback to the customers.

Minimum required qualifications and work experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, public relations, management, operations management, or a related field (or combination of education and experience)

• Preferred candidates will have worked for 10+ years in client facing / ICR role and will have at least 8 years in the international education industry, with a detailed understanding of the dynamics of international student recruitment across key source markets. Preference pf having experience of international research collaboration or partnership arrangements between international institutions/faculty.

• Experience of managing people, multi-channel recruitment and market development strategy in international education.

• Preferred candidates with a mix of client/partner servicing, delivery, and pre- sales experience

• Needs to poses strong team management and leadership skills.

How to apply

If you would like to be considered for this role at Acumen (Part of SannamS4), please send your CV with an introduction letter and salary requirements to: careers@sannams4.com