Position Details
Dubai Professional Services
Executive and Corporate Office
University of Birmingham, Dubai campus
Salary: Competitive
Grade: 7
No. of positions: 1
Full time
Duration: 3-year fixed contract (renewable at the University’s discretion)
Location: Dubai, UAE
Closing date: 22nd February 2026
University of Birmingham Dubai
Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we have now moved to our new state-of-the-art campus which opened in Sept 2021. These posts represent an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.
Professional Services Ethos
Our ethos as a Professional Services team has been developed in line with the principles of being a Birmingham Professional. In particular here in Dubai this means that all Professional Services colleagues seek to collaborate effectively to ensure the needs of the whole campus community and our stakeholders are met. It also means that we work constructively together to provide a flexible range of service and support that adapt to the changing needs of the Campus as we grow. There are specific focal points in the academic cycle when all Professional Services team members will be expected to contribute regardless of their primary role, for example Welcome or Graduation. In addition, the duties listed below are illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of this post which is likely to change over time in response to the needs of the Campus and as you develop your experience and skills. You will have the opportunity to develop and may also need to specialise your duties further, over time, in agreement with your manager.
In order to contribute to the success of the team and the University’s vision for the Dubai Campus the Professional Services team will be seeking to continue to recruit and develop colleagues who display:
a high level of intellectual aptitude.
strong agility and a portfolio of skills that can adapt to meet changing circumstances.
an innovative and creative mind-set; and
both an enterprising and entrepreneurial nature to support our growth and pursuit of excellence.
Role Summary
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the Executive Office Manager is responsible for managing high quality support to the leadership of the Dubai campus to assist in delivering the vision and mission set out by Council and the University Executive Board for the campus. The Executive Office team will support the provision of the strategic ambitions through the delivery of central corporate services functions. The Office works closely with the Dubai Provost, the COO other senior colleagues in Dubai and colleagues from the UK campus in order to ensure that governance, policy and processes required are effective in meeting the needs of both the Edgbaston and the Dubai campuses.
Main Duties
General
Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
Undertake continuous personal and professional development.
Executive Office
Manage the Executive Office functions for the ECO, providing administrative support to the corporate functions the office is responsible for.
Manage the staff in the Executive Office.
Manage the budget resources designated for the operation of the Executive Office.
Identify and manage projects independently, to improve services and support and undertake desk research and source data to contribute to wider campus projects as needed.
Undertake complex diary management and meeting planning, usually 6-12 months ahead, making decisions on the best use of time. Proactive inbox management, with confidence to make decisions on behalf of others where appropriate.
Dealing with a wide range of more complex, confidential and sensitive enquiries and correspondence independently.
Arranging complex overseas and UK travel, including booking flights, hotels, transfers, and organisation and planning of itineraries, ensuring best use of time and taking into account budgetary constraints.
Collate, analyse and interpret data. This may include identifying and resolving issues with the data.
Devise and manage the development and implementation of operational processes and systems for continuous improvement.
You may also be involved, as required, in the following.
monitoring budgets including processing payments, authorising expenditure, raising concerns where finances are not in line with the budget.
procuring goods and services through the University system.
updating and writing contents for the department’s communications eg intranet pages.
dealing with health and safety and facilities issues.
monitoring internal procedures/compliance and ensuring these are followed and disseminated as appropriate.
Governance
Proactive preparation and collation of lead governance and executive meeting-related papers, working collaboratively to determine what information might be required in advance of a meeting, articulating clear deadlines for submission and proactively chasing where necessary. This includes attending meetings to provide high-quality committee support, taking minutes and following up as appropriate.
HR-related duties
- You will be responsible for managing the HR and immigration administrator who addresses HR-related queries from staff, liaising as appropriate with HR Advisers in Edgbaston to ensure staff receive responses.
- You will be responsible for ensuring appropriate support for staff with visas and using the AXS portal.
- Responsible for overseeing the support for the recruitment of academic staff by acting as key liaison point between Schools and the Recruitment Team at Edgbaston, drawing together adverts and further particulars and ensuring recruitment is progressed promptly, including arranging selection activities as appropriate.
- Responsible for overseeing staff induction, devising activities and timetables for new staff.
- Responsible for overseeing the development of wellbeing activities for staff, liaising as appropriate with staff in Edgbaston.
- Overseeing staff expenses being processed and remitted to Edgbaston.
Event Management
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Understands the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity and inclusion issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
Understands and demonstrates experience of confidentiality and operating in an environment that manages information and data in line with legal and organisational policies.
Educated to degree level and has significant practical work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
Previous experience of offering specialist advice, eg on visa and immigration matters.
Previous staff management experience.
Ability to identify and implement improvements to services and monitor performance output.
Highly proficient IT skills, in particular the ability to handle complex electronic diaries and emails, the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and PowerPoint.
Proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively planning own (and sometimes others’ workloads) to manage time effectively, progress tasks concurrently and work to deadlines.
Previous event experience would be an advantage.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write for different audiences, and to required deadlines.
Excellent interpersonal skills: you must be able to inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues, including senior executives and provide excellent service at all times.
Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
Role context
Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You are likely to be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.
Core competencies/transferable skills
Working at this level you will be able to develop and successfully demonstrate the core competencies/transferable skills outlined in each of the areas shown below. As appropriate for the level, our Birmingham Professionals will take ownership for getting things done. You will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting your department and wider University.
Planning and organising
Plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate;
you will be required to manage, plan and organise the team and service and ensure that the service works with other areas in Dubai;
develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area;
manage a team of staff and review, develop and motivate them;
plan relevant training and development;
provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area;
oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements;
this role will require you to exercise personal initiative within and beyond the Executive Office, including when managing staff and budgets.
Problem solving and decision making
review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems;
deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities;
deal with sensitive people matters/issues;
provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision–making of others.
you will be expected to identify objectives and service improvement initiatives and develop approaches proactively, rather than just tackling problems as they arise. You will be responsible for managing a programme of continuous improvement.
Organisational understanding
understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University.
has an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others;
developing empathy with the academic endeavour.
Relationships and communication
influence decision makers and win support for proposals;
develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders;
co-ordinate activities across a number of areas;
you will be liaising with a wide range of internal colleagues and stakeholders, likely to be University-wide and with external stakeholders, many will be senior stakeholders, on behalf of the Dubai Provost and COO.
View our staff values and behaviours here
In return, you will receive a competitive package and play a key role in our ambitious University’s expansion as we enhance our international reputation and global footprint.
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.