Industry: International Education / Study Abroad Services
Employment Type: Full-time, Contract
Location: Singapore (with regional oversight)
Reports to: Managing Director and Managing Partner
Role Overview
The Senior Director, Business Operations is responsible for overseeing and optimising the day-to-day operations of the organisation. Reporting directly to the Senior Management, the Senior Director, Business Operations will translate strategic objectives into effective operational execution, ensuring excellence in student recruitment, student services, regulatory compliance, partner management, and organisational performance across multiple markets. This role is critical in scaling operations, enhancing service quality, and supporting sustainable regional and international growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic & Operational Leadership
- Work closely with the Managing Director and Managing Partner to implement the organisation's strategic vision and growth plans.
- Translate corporate strategy into operational roadmaps, policies and execution plans.
- Lead and oversee all operational functions, ensuring alignment with institutional objectives.
2. Business Operations Management
- Oversee end-to-end operations including student recruitment, counselling, admissions processing, placement, and pre-departure support.
- Establish, standardise and continuously improve operational policies, SOPs and workflows across all offices and markets.
- Ensure service delivery is consistent, efficient and student-centric.
3. Performance & Quality Management
- Define operational KPIs and service benchmarks across teams and regions.
- Monitor productivity, conversion rates, student satisfaction and service outcomes.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and service excellence.
4. Compliance, Risk & Governance
- Ensure compliance with relevant education, visa, data protection and consumer protection regulations across operating jurisdictions.
- Oversee internal controls, documentation standards and audit readiness.
- Identify operational risks and implement mitigation strategies to safeguard business continuity and reputation.
5. Financial & Resource Oversight
- Partner with the Finance team on operational budgeting, forecasting and cost optimisation.
- Ensure effective resource allocation to support growth while maintaining profitability.
- Monitor operational expenditure against performance targets.
6. Human Capital & Organisational Development
- Lead and develop operations, admissions, student services and support teams.
- Oversee recruitment, onboarding, training and performance management of operational staff.
- Foster a high-performance, accountable and service-driven organisational culture.
7. Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement
- Oversee operational relationships with overseas universities, colleges, schools and institutional partners.
- Support negotiations and management of partnership agreements from an operational perspective.
- Coordinate cross-functional collaboration with marketing, academic partners and external vendors.
8. Systems, Technology & Process Optimisation
- Lead operational technology initiatives, including CRM systems, student application platforms and workflow automation.
- Ensure effective use of data and systems to support decision-making and operational transparency.
- Drive digital transformation initiatives to support scalability and efficiency.
9. Reporting & Executive Support
- Prepare regular operational reports, dashboards and performance updates for the Senior Management.
- Provide data-driven insights to support executive decision-making and long-term planning.
Key Requirements
Qualifications & Experience
- Master's degree in Business Administration, Management, Education or a related field.
- Minimum 8-12 years of progressive management experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership or senior director-equivalent role.
- Prior experience in international education, study abroad agencies, education services, or professional services organisations is highly preferred.
- Proven track record in managing multi-department operations and scaling organisations across regions.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong strategic thinking with hands-on operational execution capability.
- Deep understanding of operational management, process optimisation and performance metrics.
- Excellent leadership, people management and cross-functional coordination skills.
- High level of commercial acumen and financial literacy.
- Strong stakeholder management and negotiation abilities.
- Bilingual proficiency in both Mandarin and English, with the ability to communicate effectively with regional and international stakeholders.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
