Interim Director, Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education

About us 

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 & 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 & 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 & 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.

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, and clear communication at all levels. This is an opportunity for a seasoned leader to shape a programme with global impact and help establish a model of transnational education that is equitable, innovative & strategically vital to King’s and its African partners.

We are looking for someone who can:

• Manage sensitive and complex stakeholder relationships, including  senior internal leaders, international partners and multilateral organisations
• Demonstrate exceptional external engagement skills, including diplomacy, negotiation, & 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
• If you are an agile, strategic leader with a passion for equitable partnership and a track record of navigating complexity at the highest levels, we would welcome your application.

This is a full-time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an initial fixed-term contract for 3 months, with the possibility of extension up to 12 months.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: 

Essential criteria 

• Demonstrable agility in managing complex, multi‑country programmes amid evolving environments, competing stakeholder interests, and shifting priorities
• Evidence of strong senior, academic, external & sensitive stakeholder management, including experience in diplomacy, and negotiation at senior levels, familiarity with contracts, licensing, & partnership agreements
• Track record of building trusted relationships using decolonised &  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 & impact, including in high‑stakes external contexts
• Experience managing philanthropic programmes with seven+ figure budgets

Desirable criteria

• Experience in TNE, edtech or increasing access to higher & further education
• Experience with UK–Africa higher education partnerships & regulatory environments

Downloading a copy of our Job Description 

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge & experience required can be found in the Job Description document.

Interviews are due to be held in mid-July.

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