Placements Executive/Officer

Middlesex University Dubai; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Middlesex University Dubai invites an experienced Professional to join as a Career Engagement Manager. You will serve as the primary liaison for academic departments, shaping annual employability plans, and reporting progress to programme teams while meeting regulatory and accreditation expectations.

The role focuses on building UAE and regional employer networks, creating opportunities from internships and graduate roles to live projects, and guiding students through targeted outreach.

Qualifications

• Required: Relevant post-secondary degree qualification.
• Desirable: Postgraduate qualification or recognised careers development.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the principal CCE contact for the assigned academic departments and build trusted relationships with academic leaders and programme teams.
• Agree an annual employability and industry-engagement plan for the portfolio, informed by student profile and programme outcomes.
• Attend relevant meetings and provide concise updates on opportunities, risks and actions.
• Develop sector-specific employer networks focused on UAE and regional employability opportunities.
• Steward employer relationships from initial contact through delivery, feedback and renewal.
• Translate employer requirements into eligibility criteria and targeted promotion plans for programmes and student groups.
• Provide career guidance and readiness support to students within the portfolio.
• Monitor sector trends and provide evidence-based insight on skills gaps and opportunities.
• Set portfolio targets for employer growth, opportunity volume and student engagement.

Skills

Relationship building

Influencing

Presentation skills

Written communication

Planning

Lead generation

UAE labour-market

Digital literacy

CRM systems

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Initiative

Inclusion and diversity

Education

Post-secondary degree

Postgraduate qualification

Tools

CRM

Career-management systems

Job description

Responsibilities and Accountability

A. Faculty partnership and portfolio planning

• Serve as the principal CCE contact for the assigned academic departments or programme clusters and build trusted working relationships with academic leaders, programme teams and relevant professional services.
• Agree an annual employability and industry-engagement plan for the portfolio, informed by student profile, programme outcomes, employability demand as well as to comply with KPIs for regulatory compliance, accreditation requirements and OBEF priorities.
• Attend relevant programme, faculty and planning meetings and provide concise updates on opportunities, engagement, risks, outcomes and required actions.
• Work with faculty to identify priority student groups, curriculum touchpoints and suitable formats for employer participation, including guest teaching, assessment briefs, live projects and sector panels.

B. Employer and industry development

• Build and maintain a sector-specific employer and alumni network aligned to the academic portfolio, with a focus on UAE and regional employability opportunities.
• Develop new opportunities including internships, work placements, graduate roles, flexible roles, projects, mentoring, job shadowing, site/field visits and employer-led learning.
• Understand employer workforce needs and advise on effective, inclusive and realistic engagement with students and graduates.
• Steward employer relationships from initial contact through delivery, feedback and renewal.
• Maintain accurate relationship and opportunity records through the Career Management System and other approved University systems.

C. Opportunity matching and student engagement

• Translate employer requirements into clear eligibility criteria and targeted promotion plans for relevant programmes and student groups.
• Provide career guidance and readiness support to students within the assigned academic portfolio, ensuring they are appropriately prepared before being referred to relevant employers and opportunities.
• Support targeted talent identification and matching within agreed fair-access and data-protection principles.
• Contribute to sector-specific briefings, workshops, employer events and application support where this adds value to opportunity conversion.

D. Environment scanning, market intelligence and curriculum insight

• Monitor sector trends, emerging occupations, recruitment cycles, skills requirements, professional credentials and barriers affecting assigned student groups.
• Provide faculty and CCE leadership with evidence-based insight on skills gaps, employer expectations and future opportunities.
• Support relevant academic leads on opportunities for industry co-development or co-delivery of courses and experiential learning, referring curriculum decisions to the relevant academic authority.

E. Outcomes, quality and continuous improvement

• Set and monitor portfolio targets for employer growth, opportunity volume and relevance, work-placement participation, job offers, student engagement and employer satisfaction.
• Collect timely employer and student feedback and ensure required evidence is captured in approved systems.
• Work with the relevant data teams to validate portfolio outcomes, interpret trends and implement improvement actions.
• Contribute to OBEF, accreditation, annual monitoring, Senate and management reporting as required.

F. General responsibilities

• Comply with University policies, professional standards, safeguarding requirements, information-security controls and applicable UAE legislation; maintain confidentiality and sound judgement when handling student, graduate, employer and institutional information.
• Promote equality, inclusion, accessibility and fair access to opportunities, and contribute to major CCE activities such as orientation, career fairs, employer events and cross-campus initiatives as reasonably required.
• Undertake other duties consistent with the scope and level of the role following discussion with the line manager.

Requirements

Education and Qualifications

• Required: Relevant post-secondary degree qualification
• Desirable: Postgraduate qualification or recognised careers development.

Previous experience

• Required: minimum 3 years professional experience in employer engagement, business development, partnerships, client relationship management or a sector-facing role.
• Desirable: 2-3 year experience university careers departments.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Excellent relationship-building, influencing, presentation and written communication skills.
• Strong planning, leads generation, follow-through, judgement and ability to work across organisational boundaries
• Advanced knowledge of graduate recruitment workflows and the UAE/regional labour-market context
• Strong digital literacy and ability to use CRM or career-management systems.
• High attention to detail, reliability and ability to manage competing operational priorities.
• Ability to balance user experience with governance and evidence requirements
• Ability to work as a good team member with commitment to achieving excellence
• Ability to take initiative, with minimum supervision
• Good understanding of the youth mentality, inclusion and cultural diversity issues

The intent of this job description is to provide representation of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. As a rapidly growing institution, Middlesex employees may be required to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.