Director - Experiential Learning

Job Purpose -

Design and implement innovative, high-impact curricular and co-curricular experiential learning (EL) opportunities for students that foster a positive student experience and career development, while advancing learning outcomes for courses across various disciplines in the PGP suite of programs.

Job Outline -

EL, a critical component of the MBA curriculum at ISB, reflects a pedagogical approach that facilitates learning through the application of classroom learning and disciplinary theory to real-world business problems. These experiences, including live cases and other in-class experiential activities, project-based courses, study treks, or practicum-based learning, reflect meaningful opportunities for students to translate their ideas into practice, and bridge the gap between knowing and doing through a cycle of thinking, doing and reflecting.

The Director of the Office of EL is responsible for fostering partnerships with industry for a range of EL opportunities; developing processes that match student teams with the right EL opportunities; providing a range of administrative support to students and faculty through the learning cycle; establishing project management, review and feedback processes; effecting governance structures, processes and systems for the office of EL; and establishing synergies with other departments in the school. The effectiveness of the Office of EL will be measured primarily by the quality of student learning, faculty feedback, and client satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities and % Time Spent

Industry Outreach, Program Marketing and Support

• Foster and maintain relationships with industry partners (including program clients, industry associations etc.), alumni, and government agencies that lead to EL opportunities for students.
• Design and implement a marketing, communications, and outreach plan that builds and expands the pool of sponsoring organizations. Develop marketing collateral that spans website content, online postings, email communication, open houses, networking events, and brochures.
• Successfully represent the Office of EL in the classroom and community with a strong professional presence. Participate in and organize events, meetings and information sessions pertaining to EL.
• Communicate EL guidelines to sponsoring organizations, evaluate opportunities therein, work collaboratively to refine them, and document feedback to assist with continuous improvement of EL initiatives in the school - 50%

Student and Faculty Support

• Communicate with faculty coordinators across areas about current and forthcoming EL courses and initiatives. Forecast student demand for EL and ensure engagement opportunities meet such demand every year.
• Match and assist students with appropriate EL opportunities. Also potentially recruit interns and research analysts for participation in EL projects.
• Collaborate and liaise with course managers on the specific needs of individual courses, including meeting to discuss course objectives, required resources, and planning to support student needs and learning.
• Oversee support provided by courses managers to students through their experiential education journey (including explaining and ensuring adherence to EL program policies and procedures, responding to student enquiries, advising on choice of EL opportunities, eligibility, deliverables and timelines) and monitor student experiences to ensure they are productive; judge complex issues that need to be brought to the attention of the reporting Dean.
• Design, develop and implement assessment/ evaluation tools, including surveys, evaluation forms, and feedback forms. Analyze feedback collected from faculty and sponsoring organizations to evaluate effectiveness of EL programs and recommend improvements or changes.
• Research, create and maintain an adequate and updated resource base that can be leveraged by students across all EL project types. These include program information, FAQs, client interaction tip-sheets, submission templates, and types of project support.
• Work with course faculty to deliver rigorous and relevant educational/ classroom content not already covered in the PGP curricula or included in the standardized resource base that is necessary for the success of the EL project. Support faculty asks for guest speakers, panel discussions and other industry resources.
• Work with faculty and sponsoring organizations to assign grades for all students.
• Deal tactfully and resourcefully with complaints from students, clients and faculty - 30%

Program Leadership and Operations

• Develop a vision and direction for the Office of EL, including identifying clear result areas and performance indicators.
• Research and analyze trends in the labour market across occupations, sectors and firm types, and assess whether opportunities for EL in the school provide exposure to these trends. Also, research, maintain and update a list of experiential education models, including details such as program structures, curriculum alignment, and resource implications.
• Create and maintain database of partners, potential partners, and experiential education positions and opportunities. Maintain accurate records of information such as sponsoring organization details, course information, student records, and project outcomes.
• Collaborate with other business units in ISB, including Advancement and Alumni Relations, Career Advancement Services, and student clubs to provide and identify appropriate referrals, refer students to appropriate services and resources provided by these business units, and track their progress.
• Short-range corporate planning, including budgeting, compliance, and managing and monitoring expenditures.
• Recruit and retain high-performing employees to create a highly productive, motivated and agile team - 20%

Required Qualifications

Knowledge / Education/ Experience

• Master’s degree in management or higher education or related field from a school of international repute
• 10+ years of experience in professional consulting or comparable corporate experience dealing with strategy, general management issues, analytics and process improvement issues.
• Related experience such as creating, implementing and assessing experiential programs, or advising learners is a plus.

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• Demonstrated leadership effectiveness and ability to work collaboratively with diverse constituents and stakeholders, including students, faculty, alumni, industry and government executives, and the media.
• Understanding of significant business opportunities and challenges that confront modern organizations.
• Success in dealing with senior executives, clients, and a diverse set of stakeholders; success in business development and sales.
• Ability to interpret market trends and complex data analytics to drive informed decisions and communicate them to school leadership in a timely manner.
• Passion to make a positive difference in the lives of early career professionals; experience in training, mentoring and developing early career professionals is a plus.
• Keen attention to detail; excellent problem-solving skills and success in managing project teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, superior public speaking and presentation skills.

Job Interface/Relationships:

Internal

• Dean for Programmes
• Current Students
• Faculty
• Marketing and Communications
• Programme Delivery teams (ASA)
• Research Centres and Institutes
• Advancement and Alumni Relations
• Career Advisory Services (CAS)

External

• Alumni
• Companies and Industry Practitioners
• Government and Policy-makers
• Suppliers and other Vendors
• Undergrad Institutions
• /EB members