Assistant Director – International Partnerships and Global Mobility - Internal only

Brighton; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Brighton is seeking an experienced leader to drive its international partnerships and global mobility agenda. This role shapes strategic partnerships, develops investment cases, and oversees performance across a diverse portfolio of collaborations with academic schools and external partners.

You will lead complex negotiations, manage financial governance and risk, and champion opportunities for sustainable growth and high-impact international experiences for students and staff.

Qualifications

• Experience developing international partnerships in higher education.
• Proven ability to shape business and investment cases.
• Strong track record in global mobility and transnational education.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across international partnerships and mobility.
• Guide development of partnership strategies and oversee portfolio performance.
• Lead negotiations and foster collaborations with academic and external partners.

Skills

International partnerships

Transnational education

Commercial proposals

Investment cases

Global mobility

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Strategic planning

Financial awareness

Job description

Assistant Director – International Partnerships and Global Mobility - Internal only

International

Location: Brighton - Moulsecoomb

ClosingDate: Thursday 22 October 2026

Reference: IN5023-26-229

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the University of Brighton's international partnerships and global mobility activity, building meaningful relationships and creating opportunities that support the University’s ambitions for internationalisation, sustainable growth and global engagement.

As Assistant Director – International Partnerships and Global Mobility, you will provide strategic leadership across the University’s international partnership portfolio and global mobility activity. You will guide the development of partnership and mobility strategies, nurture new opportunities for sustainable growth, and oversee portfolio performance, investment, governance and risk. Working collaboratively with Academic Schools, Professional Services, senior leaders and international partners, you will bring people together to deliver shared strategic, academic and financial outcomes.

A key part of the role will be building and strengthening strategic international partnerships and developing transnational education opportunities. You will work closely with colleagues and partners to shape business and investment cases, guide complex partnership discussions and build lasting relationships with designated strategic partners. You will also lead the University’s Global Mobility Strategy, creating opportunities for more students and staff to participate in international experiences and ensuring that activity is financially sustainable, academically appropriate and effectively governed.

About you:

You will bring:

• Experience of developing and sustaining international partnerships within higher education, building positive relationships and achieving shared objectives.
• Significant experience of transnational education, collaborative provision and developing partnership models that are both financially sustainable and academically valuable.
• Experience of shaping business cases, commercial proposals and investment cases, alongside the confidence to guide complex negotiations and reach mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Strong commercial and financial awareness, with the ability to explore opportunities, evaluate potential returns and balance ambition with responsible risk management.
• Experience of overseeing strategic partnership portfolios and supporting financial, recruitment and wider organisational objectives.
• Experience of global mobility, study abroad, student exchange or equivalent international mobility activity, with an understanding of how to create accessible and valuable international experiences.
• Strong strategic planning, analytical, communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build consensus and influence senior decision‑making.
• Experience of leading and supporting teams, managing resources and enabling colleagues to deliver organisational objectives, including through organisational change or service transformation.

This is an influential leadership opportunity at an exciting point in the University of Brighton’s international development. You will have the opportunity to shape our international partnerships, cultivate new global opportunities and lead our global mobility agenda, working alongside colleagues and partners across the world to create lasting value for our university community.

You will help bring people, ideas and institutions together, strengthening international relationships and creating opportunities for students and staff to learn, collaborate and thrive. Your contribution will support the University’s long‑term ambitions for sustainable growth, academic collaboration and global engagement.

The role involves regular overseas travel and flexibility to work across different time zones when required.

This is a full‑time, permanent position.

For questions about the role, please contact:

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive environment for all staff regardless of age, disability, family or caring responsibilities, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief (including non-belief), sex and sexual orientation. We embrace equality and diversity in our working, learning, research and teaching environment and are committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive community. We particularly encourage applicants from Minority Ethnic backgrounds because the University is under‑represented by Minority Ethnic staff.
For the vast majority of our roles we operate an agile working system, with time split between working on campus and at the employee's home. It is the University's expectation that home working will take place within the UK.

Further information about working for us, as well as the wide range of benefits we offer, can be found in the working with us section of our vacancies page.