Associate Director - HE & University Partnerships - UK

Amber; Remote; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A global student housing platform is seeking an Associate Director to lead the expansion of university partnerships across the UK. This hands-on role involves engaging with higher education institutions, managing partnerships from inception to activation, and ensuring partner satisfaction. The ideal candidate will have 4-7 years of experience in the higher education sector and a strong network in the UK/IE educational landscape. Competitive compensation and performance incentives are included.

Benefits

Competitive compensation

Performance incentives

High visibility and ownership in growth market

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of experience in the higher education sector.
• Active working network across UK/IE higher education.
• Proven ability to run partnership workstreams end-to-end.

Responsibilities

• Implement UK partnerships strategy and expansion.
• Build and nurture working relationships across institutions.
• Manage partnership conversations from first contact to activation.

Skills

Experience in the HE/University sector

Strong communication skills

Ability to build relationships quickly

Problem-solving mindset

Job description

Associate Director – HE & University Partnerships (UK)

United Kingdom (remote) |Amber |Partnerships Team

Amber is a global student housing platform operating across 250+ cities with 2M+ beds. We partner with universities and education organisations to enhance the student living experience through technology and meaningful, long-term relationships.

About the Role

We’re hiring an experienced HE partnerships professional to expand and strengthen our university and higher education relationships across the UK/Ireland and work together with the Director of HE partnerships to implement strategy. This role is hands‑on: you will be out meeting institutions, opening new conversations, progressing partnership discussions, and ensuring existing partners receive value. The focus is implementation, delivery, and relationship development. You’ll work directly with institutional teams, understand their needs, coordinate internally, and make sure partnerships move forward smoothly.

This is a high‑impact, visible role shaping Amber’s presence across the UK/IE higher education ecosystem.

What You’ll Do

• Implement UK/IE partnerships strategy & expansion
• Grow our network of HE partners through active engagement and consistent outreach
• Build and nurture working relationships across admissions, accommodation, global engagement, and student services
• Manage partnership conversations from first contact through agreement and activation
• Ensure smooth onboarding and steady adoption by coordinating with internal teams
• Maintain ongoing touchpoints with partner institutions, solving issues and identifying opportunities
• Represent Amber at senior HE events, forums & conferences
• Provide insights to influence strategic planning & product priorities

What You’ll BringEssential:

• 4–7 years experience in the HE/University sector, either working at a management level directly inside universities/institutions (ideally accommodation/student services), or overseeing university relationships from an external organisation.
• An active working network across UK/IE higher education and the ability to build new relationships quickly
• Proven ability to run partnership workstreams end‑to‑end: preparation, meetings, follow‑ups, coordination
• Strong communicator able to navigate multi‑stakeholder university environments
• Comfortable travelling to partners and maintaining a consistent schedule of engagement

Preferred:

• Experience in student housing and student services
• Experience of supporting adoption or implementation of partnership programmes
• Ability to interpret data and use it to guide priorities and partner conversations
• Problem‑solving mindset

Why Join Amber?

• Help shape Amber’s position within the UK/IE HE community through practical, relationship‑led work
• Work with a fast‑moving team focused on delivering real value to institutions and students
• High High visibility and ownership within a key growth market
• Opportunity to help shape HE strategy and sector relationships
• Competitive compensation + performance incentives

Ready to join us? Send your application to: [e-mail]