Senior Executive / Assistant Manager, Postgraduate Programme

Nanyang Technological University; Singapore; On-site; SGD 61,000 - 84,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Annual leave

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

NTU's School of Art, Design and Media seeks a Senior Executive/Assistant Manager to lead postgraduate program administration. You will oversee admissions, candidature lifecycle, and examinations while coordinating scholarships and events to foster a vibrant postgraduate community.

Role reports to the Manager (Graduate Programmes) and requires strong Excel analytics, stakeholder management, and bilingual (English) capabilities to support international partnerships and student services.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 4–5 years of progressive administrative experience in higher education.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel for data analysis and reporting.
• Strong organisational and project management skills with ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills for engagement with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills with cultural sensitivity.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment in ambiguous situations and maintain confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Manage comprehensive admissions processes including application evaluation, faculty matching, interview coordination, and policy interpretation.
• Oversee complete candidature lifecycle for active PhD and Master’s students, tracking milestones and resolving issues.
• Coordinate qualifying examinations and thesis oral examinations, managing examiner nominations and logistics.
• Administer active scholarships and financial matters including stipends, graduate assistantship monitoring, and tuition disputes.
• Plan and execute student engagement events and community-building initiatives to foster retention and completion.
• Drive operational excellence through data analytics, process improvements, and documentation to inform leadership decisions.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Project management

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Autonomy

Bilingual advantage (English & Chinese

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Job description

The School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) at NTU is dedicated to advancing research excellence and innovation in creative practice through our postgraduate research programs. We are committed to nurturing the next generation of scholar-practitioners and creative researchers while maintaining rigorous academic standards and fostering transformative scholarship. Our success is built on providing comprehensive support to research students throughout their candidature journey, from admission through graduation, ensuring they receive exceptional guidance in an environment that cultivates both scholarly rigor and creative innovation. Reporting to the Manager (Graduate Programmes), the Senior Executive/Assistant Manager plays a critical leadership role in advancing the quality and effectiveness of ADM's postgraduate research programs. This position is essential to sustaining research excellence through expert administration and strategic coordination across four key areas: Academic Operations, Candidature Management, Programme Marketing, and Event Management.

The key responsibilities of the role are as follows: Manage comprehensive admissions processes including application evaluation, faculty matching, scholarship interview coordination, appeals processing, and exercise independent judgment on complex admission cases requiring policy interpretation and exception handling Oversee complete candidature lifecycle for active PhD and Master's students, proactively identifying at-risk cases for early intervention, tracking milestone compliance, and resolving complex candidature issues including extensions, supervision disputes, and policy exceptions Coordinate qualifying examinations and thesis oral examinations, managing examiner nominations and appointments, international logistics, Board of Examiners processes, documentation preparation, and grade processing while ensuring examination integrity and academic standards Administer active scholarships and financial matters including stipend disbursements, annual renewals, graduate assistantship monitoring, research funding applications, tuition fee disputes, payment adjustments, and donor compliance requirements Plan and execute student engagement events and community-building initiatives including orientations, career development workshops, networking sessions, and research symposia to foster a vibrant postgraduate research community supporting retention and completion Drive operational excellence through data analytics, process improvement initiatives, quality assurance mechanisms, strategic planning contributions, and comprehensive documentation of policies, procedures, and institutional precedents to enhance service delivery and inform leadership decision-making.

Requirements: Bachelor's degree with at least 4-5 years of progressive administrative experience in higher education, preferably in postgraduate or research program administration Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel for data analysis and reporting Exceptional organisational and project management skills with demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex priorities across overlapping timelines and competing deadlines Superior written and verbal communication skills for professional engagement with diverse stakeholders including students, faculty, senior leadership, international partners, and external agencies Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills with cultural sensitivity and ability to navigate complex, sometimes conflicting, stakeholder expectations Meticulous attention to detail in documentation, compliance, data management, and quality assurance processes Proven adaptability and resilience in dynamic environments with ability to exercise sound judgment in ambiguous situations and manage unforeseen challenges effectively Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with ability to interpret policies, analyse data trends, and provide insights to inform decision-making Demonstrate independent judgment and problem-solving capabilities in handling complex cases requiring policy interpretation and exception management Strong commitment to maintaining confidentiality, integrity, and ethical standards in all professional dealings Ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision while collaborating effectively across teams and departments Experience in research program administration, candidature management, or graduate student services is highly advantageous Proactive, solutions-oriented approach with ability to identify issues early and implement preventive measures Bilingual capability (English and Mandarin Chinese) is advantageous for international partnership work and student support.

Join us in shaping the future of art and design education at one of Asia's most dynamic universities. This role offers opportunities for professional growth, a comprehensive benefits package including healthcare and annual leave, flexible work arrangements, and the chance to be part of a vibrant campus community dedicated to creative excellence. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Hiring Institution: NTU A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, established jointly with Imperial College London. NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). Ranked amongst the world’s top universities by QS, NTU has also been named the world’s top young university for the past seven years. The University’s main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) buildings, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district. Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg About NIE About RSIS About LKCMedicine About NTUItive