Job Description

Roles & Responsibilities

Position: Director of Office of Strategy, Institutional Performance & Emerging Technology Classification: Director Level Reports To: President

The Office of Strategy, Institutional Performance & Emerging Technology operates as a direct extension of the President's Office, serving as the institutional coordination and performance intelligence function that supports the execution of AIU's strategic priorities. Rather than functioning as a traditional planning department, the Office ensures that institutional strategy is translated into measurable outcomes through performance management, executive reporting, and strategic technology evaluation. The Office owns three interconnected responsibilities that together strengthen AIU's institutional effectiveness:

Strategy & Institutional Performance: Leading the RISE Strategy execution cycle, institutional KPI monitoring, quarterly performance reporting, Board reporting, annual strategy review, and continuous improvement of AIU's institutional performance management framework using the Balanced Scorecard methodology.

Emergent Technology Intelligence: Scouting, evaluating, and piloting emerging technologies relevant to AIU's academic and administrative operations functioning as an innovation incubator that identifies what is ready for institutional adoption before the CIO integrates it at scale.

Strategic Project Alignment: Coordinating with the University's existing PMO and Special Projects structure to monitor the strategic alignment and progress of major institutional initiatives, ensuring the President receives timely updates on projects that materially affect strategic objectives.

The Director, Office of Strategy, Institutional Performance & Emerging Technology carries three complementary mandates that reinforce one another. Institutional strategy provides direction, performance management measures progress, and emerging technology enables innovation that supports AIU's long-term strategic priorities. The Director ensures these three functions operate in alignment to support informed executive decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

1. RISE Strategy Execution and Balanced Scorecard Management

• Own the AIU RISE Strategy execution cycle translating Board-approved strategic objectives into annual operating plans, quarterly milestones, and individual VP and Dean accountability commitments
• Design, maintain, and continuously improve AIU's Balanced Scorecard the institutional performance management framework that cascades RISE Strategy KPIs from institutional level through school, department, and individual levels ensuring that every function can see how its work connects to the strategy
• Conduct quarterly strategy performance reviews with each VP reviewing KPI progress, identifying risks to delivery, proposing course corrections, and escalating material issues to the President with recommended responses
• Prepare the Annual Strategic Progress Report the principal annual document presented to the Board of Trustees each November synthesizing Balanced Scorecard data, institutional KPI achievements, variance explanations, and the following year's adjusted priorities into a clear, evidence-based narrative for Board review
• Manage the annual strategic planning calendar coordinating the February environmental scan, April-May VP planning submissions, June-July budget-strategy alignment, September Board approval, and November Board progress review ensuring that planning is a continuous cycle rather than an annual event
• Maintain the RISE Strategy risk register identifying strategic risks, assessing likelihood and impact, tracking mitigation actions, and reporting to the President and Board Audit & Risk Committee quarterly
• Coordinate with the Institutional Research Office to ensure that all Balanced Scorecard data is sourced from verified institutional systems no KPI reported to the Board may be based on unverified or manually assembled data.

2. Emergent Technology Intelligence and Innovation Piloting

• Lead AIU's horizon scanning function systematically monitoring emerging technologies relevant to higher education (generative AI, adaptive learning systems, learning analytics, spatial computing, research tools) and producing quarterly Technology Intelligence Briefings for the President and Senior Leadership Team
• Design and manage AIU's innovation piloting programme a structured process for testing emerging technologies in controlled institutional environments before recommending them for full adoption. Pilots are time-bounded, evidence-evaluated, and documented for institutional learning regardless of outcome
• Coordinate with the CIO to ensure that emergent technology intelligence flows effectively between the scouting function (this Office) and the operational integration function (CIO/Digital Transformation Office) the Director scouts and pilots; the CIO scales and operates

Desired Candidate Profile

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

Doctoral degree required in Strategy, Higher Education Management, Business Administration (MBA), Public Administration, Project Management, or a closely related field. Candidates with strong GCC higher education strategic planning experience are strongly considered.

Experience

• Minimum eight (8) years of progressive experience in higher education, with at least four (4) years in a strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, or senior project management leadership role at a GCC university.
• Demonstrated experience managing a university's strategic planning cycle from environmental scanning through KPI development, annual review, Board reporting, and plan revision in a GCC institutional context.
• Proven experience implementing or managing a Balanced Scorecard or equivalent institutional performance management framework candidates must be able to describe a specific implementation, not just familiarity with the concept.
• Experience working with institutional project portfolios and executive reporting, including monitoring strategic initiatives, interpreting project status information, and advising senior leadership on institutional priorities and risks
• Direct experience working with or reporting to a university President or equivalent executive candidates must be comfortable advising at C-suite level, preparing Board-level documents, and maintaining professional discretion in a senior advisory role.
• Experience with WASC or comparable institutional accreditation project management understanding how accreditation timelines translate into institutional project portfolios is a material advantage.

Technical and Analytical Knowledge

• Proficiency with strategic planning and Balanced Scorecard frameworks candidates must demonstrate working knowledge of the BSC four-perspective model (financial, stakeholder, internal processes, learning & growth) and its application in a higher education context.
• Strong data analytics and visualization capability the Director must produce Balanced Scorecard dashboards and strategic performance reports that Board members with no higher education background can read and act on.
• Project management methodology proficiency (Prince2, PMP, or equivalent). Working knowledge of project management methodologies sufficient to interpret project reporting, assess strategic risks, and support executive oversight of institutional initiatives. PMP certification is considered an advantage.
• Technology literacy sufficient to evaluate emerging technologies at a strategic level the Director does not need to be a technologist, but must be literate enough to assess a vendor demonstration, understand integration implications, and ask the right questions of the CIO.
• Familiarity with Kuwait's higher education regulatory environment PUC requirements, institutional governance obligations, and the competitive landscape of Kuwait's private university sector.

Skills, Competencies and Personal Attributes

• The political intelligence to hold VPs and Deans accountable for RISE Strategy delivery without making accountability feel like surveillance the Director must be seen as a partner in execution, not an auditor of failure
• Exceptional executive communication the ability to translate complex institutional performance data into a three-paragraph President's briefing, a ten-slide Board presentation, or a one-page project status update all with the same rigour and none of the same length
• Strategic patience combined with operational awareness the ability to maintain a five-year strategic perspective while monitoring the progress, risks, and institutional impact of major strategic initiatives.
• Cultural intelligence appropriate to AIU's multicultural GCC environment working effectively with Kuwaiti faculty, international administrators, owner Board members, PUC representatives, and WSCUC accreditation staff requires different registers and relationship norms.
• Professional discretion at the highest level the Director has access to the most sensitive institutional information: financial projections, personnel decisions, accreditation risks, and Board deliberations. This access is a privilege that requires absolute confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. The formal credential is considered an advantage for interpreting project reporting and supporting executive oversight of institutional initiatives.
• Experience with a university s WASC accreditation project portfolio, including sequencing of eligibility, self-study, SAV1, and SAV2 milestones as institutional activities with named owners and defined escalation paths.
• Prior experience in a Chief of Staff or Strategy Director role in a GCC university. Candidates who have served as principal strategic advisors to a university President in the Gulf will have strong familiarity with institutional dynamics, stakeholder relationships, and cultural context.
• Published research or professional contribution to strategic planning or institutional effectiveness in GCC higher education, demonstrating thought leadership rather than solely operational experience.
• Arabic language proficiency is an advantage for engagement with Kuwaiti Board members, MOHE officials, and Arabic-speaking stakeholders.