Director of Academic Quality

Future Skills Academy; Auckland; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

AIC Auckland International Campus, a collaboration between Future Skills Academy and Otago Polytechnic, seeks a Director of Academic Quality to provide strategic leadership across quality, compliance, and curriculum development. This senior role shapes institutional foundations for growth.

Based at Auckland City Campus, the role leads learning and teaching innovation, accreditation activity, and instructional design, guiding a high-performing team in a complex, international education setting.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral qualification in education, quality management, or a related field.
• Proven experience developing and implementing institution-wide Quality Management Systems within tertiary institutions, with NZQA regulatory knowledge.
• Track record in programme development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
• Experience applying learning theory and pedagogical practice in higher education.
• Experience leading organisation-wide learning and teaching competency frameworks.
• Experience in instructional design, educational technology, and curriculum development at Level 7+.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across academic quality systems, compliance and assurance, programme development, learning and teaching, and instructional design.
• Lead design and continuous improvement of an institution-wide Quality Management System that exceeds compliance and embeds best practice.
• Ensure quality frameworks align with partnerships with Future Skills and Otago Polytechnic.
• Develop and sustain compliance and assurance capability to meet regulations and contractual obligations.
• Oversee programme development, review, and NZQA approval/accreditation activity.
• Lead learning and teaching development including Experiential Education Framework and AI-safe assessment.
• Provide strategic leadership of instructional design to ensure engaging, inclusive, accessible learning.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team including key leads.

Skills

Quality management systems

Programme development

Learning & teaching frameworks

Instructional design

Strategic leadership

NZQA regulatory knowledge

Staff leadership

Education

Master’s or Doctoral qualification in education or quality management

Job description

We are seeking a Director of Academic Quality to provide strategic leadership across the Academic Quality and Innovation functions.

About this role

This is a newly created senior leadership role, established to bring AIC's quality, compliance, programme development, learning and teaching, and instructional design functions together under one strategic lead.

Reporting to the Chief Executive (with a secondary line to the DCE – Academic Delivery & Research), this role offers a rare opportunity to shape the institutional foundations that will take AIC into its next phase of growth.

This position is a full-time permanent role based at our Auckland City Campus.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing strategic leadership across academic quality systems, compliance and assurance, programme development, learning and teaching, and instructional design
• Leading the design and continuous improvement of an institution-wide Quality Management System that exceeds compliance requirements and embeds best practice
• Ensuring quality frameworks align with AIC's partnerships with Future Skills and Otago Polytechnic
• Building and sustaining a robust compliance and assurance capability, giving the Chief Executive and ELT confidence that AIC meets its legislative, regulatory, and contractual obligations
• Providing strategic oversight of programme development, review, and NZQA approval/accreditation activity
• Leading AIC's learning and teaching development agenda, including the Experiential Education Framework, AI-safe assessment approach, and Learning and Teaching Competency Framework
• Providing strategic leadership of the instructional design function, ensuring learning experiences are pedagogically sound, engaging, inclusive, and accessible
• Leading and developing a high-performing team, including the Compliance & Assurance Lead, Learning & Teaching Lead, and Instructional Designer

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone with:

• A master’s or doctoral qualification in education, quality management, or a related field
• Proven experience developing and implementing institution-wide Quality Management Systems within tertiary institutions, with thorough working knowledge of NZQA regulatory requirements and compliance obligations
• A proven track record of successful programme development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels
• Experience applying learning theory and pedagogical practice, including experiential learning, at a higher or tertiary institution
• Demonstrated experience leading organisation-wide learning and teaching competency frameworks
• Experience in instructional design, educational technology, and curriculum development at Level 7 and above
• Practical knowledge of compliance and quality assurance processes and governance structures in the tertiary education environment
• Experience in complex, multi-stakeholder and international/multicultural education settings
• A strategic thinker and empowering leader who builds capability in others and drives change with clarity and confidence
• Understanding of and respect for Māori culture, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and their application in the tertiary education context

Auckland International Campus (AIC) is a high-profile international education partnership between Future Skills and Otago Polytechnic. At AIC, we shape not just minds, but futures and our people play an essential part in shaping a supportive, empowering, and inspiring learning environment.

At AIC, we live our values by ensuring that we teach the next generation the skills, tools, and capability required to thrive in a global workforce.

Applicants must have eligibility to work in New Zealand to be considered for this role.

This is an exciting opportunity to take the next step in your career. For further information on AIC, please visit www.op.ac.nz/auckland or email our People & Culture team at [e-mail].