Information for Applicants

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER

Contents

SectionPage

A: The Role 2

B:The Person Specification5

C:How to Apply7

D:The Organisation9

ETerms and Conditions of Service11

F:Benefits and Facilities12

VACANCY ID: 5903

[November 2009]

The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (number RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (number SC 038302)

SECTION A:THE ROLE

1.Role Details

Job title:International Operations Manager

Reports to:Professionally to the Director of Strategy, Planning & Resources, and functionally to the Associate Dean, International

Salary:£29,704 - £35,469

Grade:Grade 7, Academic Related Staff Scale

Duration of Post:Permanent

Time allocation:Full time

Location:Milton Keynes

2.Summary of Role

The Open University Business School has over 41,000 students across 78 countries, and a strong international research presence. The School aspires to be a truly global business school and is investing to extend its global footprint and international brand and reputation. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key in achieving the School’s global ambition and to lead and manage a range of strategic and cross-boundary projects, which are critical to the future success of the School.

The InternationalOperations Manager will work closely with the Associate Dean, International, the Dean of the Business School, and the Group Regional Manager, International, to support the School in shaping, developing, coordinating and implementing the School’s international activity working closely with various professional services areas of the University, including Open University Worldwide, Marketing, and Student Services.

3.Main Duties

  • Design and implement processes and systems to manage and communicate international activity throughout the School.
  • Work collaboratively with Open University Worldwide, Marketing & Sales, Communications to:
  • raise awareness of the School’s international activity
  • develop a communications strategy with the School’s existing international partners and contacts.
  • Design, establish,and then manage a decision-making process for international activity, including:
  • Clear criteria for the approval of new international partners
  • Approval process for new international partners, from both an academic and financial/business perspective
  • Review and contractual renegotiation processes for existing international partners
  • Student number planning and fees setting processes for existing international partners.
  • Maintain and enhance an events system to ensure the School has a strong and coordinated presence at all relevant international events, and transparency of visits to and from international partners and international visitors, with appropriate reporting and feedback mechanisms in place.
  • Design and embed procedures to ensure that the School’s workload planning processes take full account of international partnership requirements, including those managed through Open University Worldwide and Open University Validation Services.
  • Ensure that market intelligence and national/international policy and regulation briefings are provided to members of the School Executive Team and other senior staff in the School in advance of relevant meetings and events.
  • Act as contact and coordination point in the School for queries from the University, largely in relation to governance and reporting matters.
  • Play a supportingrole in the project team which will be established, in partnership with the University’s Student Services Division, to scope and design an infrastructure which will ensure high quality support to students and tutors as the School makes two of its major programmes available globally from 2010 and 2011.
  • Manage the School’s International Fellowships scheme.
  • Co-ordinate and support the academic team working on international activity.
  • Line manage the team secretaries for the International Operations team.
  • Any other duties as may be required by the Associate Dean, International or the Director of Planning & Resources.

4.The Team

The International Operations Manager will work most closely with the Associate Dean International who provides academic leadership in relation to the School’s existing international activity.

Based in the MichaelYoungBuilding on the University’s Walton Hall campus in Milton Keynes, the post holder will spend most of their time working in project teams associated with the School’s international strategy. The project teams will consist of staff from across the School, University, and existing international partners.

The post holder will especially need to work collaboratively with members of the School Executive Team (SET), across the portfolios of which, the projects will fall. The SET is chaired by the Dean, and consists of the following members: Director of Planning & Resources, Director of Business Development & External Affairs, Associate Dean International, Associate Dean Research & Enterprise, Associate Dean Curriculum & Learning Design, Associate Dean Teaching & Learning, Associate Dean Academic Staffing.

SECTION B:THE PERSON SPECIFICATION

Criteria / Essential / Desirable
Education and qualifications / i)First degree or equivalent academic qualification / i) Professional management qualification
ii) Project management qualification
Knowledge, work and other relevant work experience / ii)Experience of working internationally, in a commercial setting, or a public sector setting with a strong business orientation
iii)Experience of managing projects,
iv)Managerwith someexperience of managing change
v)Team member with a proven track record of collaboration and delivering as part of a high performing team
vi)Experience of pioneering business process improvements / iii)A good understanding of the international higher education environment and the opportunities and challenges this presents for the BusinessSchool
iv)Experience of using PRINCE2 or other project methodology
Skills & competencies / vii)Excellent communication, interpersonal and management skills at a high level
viii)Ability to network effectively and to negotiate effectively and build good working relationships within and across organisations, cultures and societies
ix)proven problem solving ability and the ability to think creatively in arriving at solutions
x)proven ability to present complicated information in a simple way for a range of audiences
xi)competence in the effective use of ICT as a planning, management and communication tool
Additional requirements/Special circumstances / xii)Understanding of and demonstrable sympathy with OU values
xiii)A willingness to undertake some international travel

SECTION C:HOW TO APPLY

Application procedure

a) / Complete the application form. The form has been designed to give the information needed at this initial stage and allows candidates to be considered in an even-handed way. A CV may also be provided, but it will not be accepted instead of the application form.
b) / Covering letter: please include a covering letter indicating how you believe your knowledge, experience and skills meet the person specification.
Decisions about short listing will be based solely on the information you provide on your application form and in your covering letter.
c) / Send the documents electronically to;
.

References

Threereferees should be nominated, at least one of whom should be from your current or most recent employer. Please provide full contact details in the Referee section of the application form, stating any reservations you may have about our approaching them.

Internal applicants only

When completing the ‘Referees’ section of the application form, please ensure you specify your Head of Unit as your ‘current employer’, as s/he is responsible for providing this reference or nominating an appropriate alternative referee.

Please be advised that the employing Unit is responsible for requesting references from your referees.

Application Information

Eligibility: / The post is open to internaland external applicants.
Closing date: / 12 noon on 18 December 2009
Pre-applications enquiries: / If you have any queries about the role and nature of the post prior to applying, please contact:
Carmel McMahon, Associate Dean, International telephone 01908 654130 or e-mail:
Short listing: / Short listing will be completed as soon as possible after the closing date.
Interviews: / Interviews will be held on 11 January at Walton Hall, but please note that occasionally there may be a need for second interview. Candidates may also be asked to complete a short exercise.
We try to plan interviews to be as relaxed as possible whilst covering the questions and issues which the panel will have agreed beforehand are appropriate to the post.
Please note that candidates resident outside the United Kingdom will be reimbursed only from their port of entry into the UK or they may be offered an interview through a telephone conference.
Disabled applicants: / The Open University welcomes applications from disabled people, and information about disability is requested solely in order to make appropriate arrangements for an interview if necessary. A map and access guide for the disabled indicating routes to buildings, lift access and reserved parking on campus is available on request.
Eligibility to work in the UK: / Successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their eligibility to work in the UK by producing verifiable documents. Details of what action must be taken will be sent to the successful candidate with the written offer of employment.
Qualifications: / The successful candidate will be required to produce evidence of qualifications on the first day of employment.
Recruitment procedures: / The appointment process reflects the University’s and the Business Schools’ commitment to Equal Opportunities and the need to ensure these principles are reflected in all aspects of the appointment procedure.

SECTION D:THE ORGANISATION

1.The OpenUniversityBusinessSchool

Mission Statement

The Open University Business School is open to people, places, methods, ideas and opportunities.

We are developing a truly global business school that makes the world a better place through promoting responsible values as well as value added.

We will deploy our world class learning approach to take business, management and legal education into the very heart of professional practice, enriched by a world wide network of partnerships, and underpinned by leading edge research and a deep understanding of how professionals learn and develop their practice.

Values

We are transforming management thinking

We have taken down the boundaries between the academic and working world with our pioneering and practice-based approach: what is taught one day can be put into action the next, what is learnt is embedded in practice. Our research and teaching truly challenge the way professionals and organisations work and learn around the world: we learn from professionals while professionals learn from us.

We are responsible, inclusive and accessible

We champion ethical standards, sustainable environmental development, and corporate social responsibility. We offer opportunities for everyone throughout the world to realise their full potential, whatever their educational or financial starting point: we have broken the link between exclusivity and excellence.

We are driven by quality

We pursue excellence in everything we do, in our internationally recognised research, teaching and delivery methods. It is this commitment to innovation and continuous improvement that keeps The Open University Business School at the forefront of global organisational, management and legal thinking: we are working with business for business.

About the School

The Open University Business School is a truly global business school. The School has a strong reputation as a high-quality and innovative provider of management education: an international BusinessSchool for the twenty first century. As one of Europe’s leading business schools and the major provider of business, management and law programmes delivered through part-time practice-based and e-learning, the School holds several prestigious accreditations:

  • Accreditation from the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International;
  • The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) quality kite mark from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD);
  • Accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) for its MBA programme.

Research within the School combines intellectual rigour and innovation with practical relevance. Its academics have substantial experience working jointly with business organisations and directing their findings to influence management practice. There is an active PhD programme. Since first entering the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 1996, The Open University Business School has increased its research capability significantly, with external awards from Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Design Council, European Union, the private sector and internal sources. The RAE 2008 results show that of the 33 staff submitted, 80% have been rated as 2* or higher (including a large percentage of 3* and some 4* rated staff).

The OU Business School has more than 43,000 students globally. 45% of students study in the UK, the rest studying across more than 70 other countries, through a network of successful European and international partnerships which give the School a truly global footprint. Such a diversity in its student population provides the School with a unique ability to capitalise on these existing international connections to help shape a new management paradigm fit for the global future by enhancing the mutual flow of ideas and research within a worldwide network of business school partners

Since its inception in 1983, more than 150,000 managers have studied an OU Business School course at Certificate, Diploma or MBA level; of those nearly 20,000 have successfully completed their MBA and joined one of the three largest alumni associations for MBA graduates outside the United States. The School also offers a range of programmes in undergraduate business and management, and is home to the Law Programme which in collaboration with the College of Law provides a suite of law courses leading to an Open University Qualifying Law Degree.

The School achieved first place in the 2005 Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) national student satisfaction survey, and has received a rating of excellent for teaching quality in the most recent HEFCE Teaching Quality Assessment. In the 2009 National Student Survey, the School was ranked 6th for Business and Management and 15th for Law.

For further information on the School, and on the University, please see the OUBS Website at

2.The Open University

The Open University transforms lives through education. It has become by far the largest university in the UK, now teaching well over 200,000 people every year. We have expanded our activities throughout Europe and our highly rated teaching materials are used by other institutions in many parts of the world. We are consistently achieving high rankings both in research and teaching quality assessments.

Teaching is through the provision of specially designed, high quality, materials encompassing traditional print texts, television, video, CD-ROM, internet and electronic conferencing together with first class personalised tuition, learning feedback and support. Students at The Open University are more impressed with the quality of their courses than those at any other university, according to the National Student Survey which ranked the OU first in the country.

As a world leader in blended learning and with extensive e-learning, the University is committed to extending its e-learning provision of learning materials. Building on its quality and innovations of teaching, the University has led four Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, including the Practice-Based Professional Learning CETL. This allows staff and those with whom they collaborate to ensure that excellent practice in student support, curriculum development and study methods are further developed and fully disseminated.

As in traditional universities, research plays a fundamental role in the work of The Open University, and all disciplines within the University are actively engaged in research. The Open University has climbed 23 places to 43rd in the UK’s 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. Business and Management showed that 40% of its research effort is regarded as internationally excellent or better, and Finance and Accounting 35%. Internationally renowned researchers include Mars expert Professor Colin Pillinger and Professor Doreen Massey, winner of the prestigious Vautrin Lud International Geography Prize.

The success of the Open University is due to our outstanding staff. There are around 13,000 staff (including 7,500 Associate Lecturers). Staff and potential staff are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, colour, ethnic or national origin, age, socio-economic background, disability, religious or political beliefs, family circumstances, sexual orientation or other irrelevant distinction.

We are also committed to the development of our staff to their full potential through lifelong learning, offering a range of formal and informal training and development activities to ensure that staff are able to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities and to help meet individual and University objectives. Our objective is that all staff undertake a minimum of 5 days development activity in each year.

SECTION E:BENEFITS AND FACILITIES

The following provides information about some staff benefits and facilities. Full details will be available on successful appointment.

Family friendly policies: / Staff are entitled to 52 weeks maternity/adoption leave. Statutory maternity/adoption pay will be paid for a maximum period of the first 39 weeks, made up to full pay for the first 18 weeks, subject to minimum service conditions. Staff have the right to return to work at any time within 52 weeks of the maternity leave start date, again subject to certain conditions.
Staff are entitled to a maximum of 10 days paid paternity leave in connection with their wife’s/partner’s confinement in any one leave year in addition to normal leave entitlement, again subject to certain conditions.
Childcare Vouchers: we have introduced a salary sacrifice scheme to enable staff to take advantage of tax and NI exemption on up to £243 of childcare vouchers per month. The scheme is managed by Busy Bees. Further information will be provided on appointment.
Pension schemes: / Staff have the option of contributing to a Final Salary pension scheme and the University contributes around 14% of salary. Full details will be sent with any offer of employment but any preliminary enquiries should be addressed to the Pensions Section, Human Resources Division 01908 652431 or 652957.
Annual Leave: / The annual leave entitlement is 30 days (for secretarial and clerical staff) or 33 days (for academic, academic-related and research staff) in the leave year 1 October to 30 September, in addition to all bank and other public holidays and an additional 3 days at Christmas when the University is closed. A staff member joining during the leave year will be entitled to leave in proportion to the period served.
Study leave: / Permanent central academic staff and those on contracts of 2 years or more are entitled study leave on full salary for research or other approved academic purposes for two months in each leave year. For regional academic staff the entitlement is to study leave on full salary for two months with each period of two years’ completed service.
Smoking policy: / Please note that smoking is not permitted in University buildings, bars and catering areas. Smoking is only permitted in designated outdoor areas.
Location: / Appointees are normally expected to live within a reasonable travelling distance of their place of work.
Grants for removal expenses: / The University will make a grant for expenses necessarily incurred for removals and disturbance, within certain rules and subject to a maximum payment. Full details will be sent with any offer of employment. The removal grant does not apply on appointments of less than two years’ duration.
Staff development: / We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs. The objective is that all staff should undertake at least five days’ development activity in each year – this may include attendance at formal courses or other learning e.g. use of self-study material. We invest substantial time and money in our staff development provisions and we waive fees for staff wishing to study our own courses.
Facilities: / Catering facilities at Walton Hall provide meals, snacks and drinks. Facilities in regional centres vary.
Open University Club (offering a number of club and society events, sports and social outlets).
A multi-faith prayer room is available at Walton Hall for individuals or small groups of staff to use in their own time, for quiet prayer. Regional/National Centres will accommodate individual requests for prayer facilities where possible, if the Centre is unable to provide a dedicated room.
Facilities located at the Walton Hall campus: / Occupational Health Department provides professional advice to individuals and managers on all work related health issues.
NatWest bank sub-branch.
Shop selling general provisions.
Local education facilities (posts based at Milton Keynes only): / Information on local schools can be obtained from the Learning and Development Directorate, Milton Keynes Borough Council on 01908 253489 or visit their website at:
Nurseries (posts based at Milton Keynes only): / The Mulberry Bear Day Nursery & Pre-School is a purpose-built nursery on the Walton Hall campus. It is an independent charity supported by The Open University and managed by parents. OU staff applications are given priority but there may be a waiting list in some age groups. For further information, please telephone Milton Keynes (01908) 653867, email or see their website at
There are a number of other private nurseries in the Milton Keynes area.

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