Global Partnerships Manager

Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 with progression to £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 28 July 2026

The Role 

Newcastle University is a founding member of the Russell Group with a thriving international community of staff and students from over 140 countries. Our global vision is to excel by being an internationally networked and diverse community of students and staff who identify as global citizens, and who can respond to global challenges through the research we undertake and the skills and knowledge we create.

Newcastle Global leads the University’s international student recruitment and global engagement.  

We are seeking a highly organised and proactive Global Partnerships Manager to join Newcastle Global. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in developing and maintaining relationships with sponsors and global recruitment partners.

In this exciting role, you will identify and secure new opportunities with pathway providers, schools, sponsors, agents, universities, and other key stakeholders, helping to expand international student recruitment and strengthen Newcastle University's global presence. You will manage high-value partnerships, monitor performance against targets, negotiate agreements, and represent the University at events and meetings across the UK and internationally. 

We're looking for someone with experience in international education, partnership development, business development, or relationship management, combined with excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and analytical skills. A strong commercial mindset, cultural awareness, and willingness to travel internationally are essential. 

If you would like to discuss this vacancy, please contact Laura Mitford, Head of Global Partnership Development (laura.mitford@newcastle.ac.uk).

The role will be part-time (29.6hrs) and fixed until 31st December 2027.

Interviews will take place between 5th and 6th August 2026. 

Key Accountabilities

• Identify and secure new partnership opportunities with pathway providers, schools, agents, sponsors, and other education stakeholders
• Monitor partnership performance against KPIs, enrolment targets, and organisational objectives, maintaining excellent records and reporting insights through CRM and reporting systems
• Negotiate and manage partnership agreements to support long-term collaboration and performance
• Responsible for a range of functions related to partner engagement, taking leadership for an agreed set of priorities in support of the Global Strategy
• Develop and manage excellent and innovative operations to support partner engagement and relationship management
• Develop and maintain positive and effective relationships with:
  • Pathway providers, agents, high-schools, sponsors, and other global partners, with the aim of achieving strategic objectives, and
  • Staff in academic and professional service units involved in international recruitment and partnerships to provide effective service and co-ordination.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, and emerging opportunities within international education
• Represent Newcastle University in support of events and visits both in the UK and overseas, involving high-level representatives
• Where required, manage Newcastle Global staff, and lead and develop teams based outside of the UK to support partnership success
• Contribute to other relevant duties and activities identified by the Head of Global Partnership Development to optimise global partnership development, ensuring delivery against university objectives

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Strong understanding of the international education sector, including global student recruitment, global partnerships development and commercial relationship management principles
• Strong awareness and understanding of issues relating to international HE progression and success across the student lifecycle, for example admissions, student choice, decision making cycle of potential students, entry requirement and implications of external and internal policy drivers
• The ability to think strategically and experience of both planning and leading delivery against a range of priorities and targets
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including demonstrated ability to contribute fully as part of a team, relate to and influence people from diverse cultural backgrounds, produce high quality writing and presentations
• Demonstrated relationship management experience with a focus on customer service
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills, including experience of reporting, and the ability to support the development of highly effective operational procedures and policy
• A demonstrable aptitude for information management and data analysis / market research
• A good standard of numeracy, attention to detail, and the ability to work with and leverage digital systems and data
• Proficient in CRM systems, and Microsoft Office

Attributes and Behaviour

• A high level of initiative and adaptability, including flexibility regarding working hours and willingness to travel when required
• A high level of discretion, tact and diplomacy
• Commercially minded with a proactive and results driven approach
• Culturally aware with a global mindset
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently
• Strong, professional communicator and relationship builder
• Adaptable and resilient and able to manage performance against competing objectives in fast-paced environments

Qualifications

• A university degree and demonstrable relevant work experience in higher education, or an equivalent combination of relevant work experience and/or education/training in other sectors

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29552