Director, Strategic Engagement

The Organisation

Commonwealth of Learning (COL) helps governments and institutions expand the scale, efficiency and quality of learning by using new approaches, appropriate technologies and open and distance learning (ODL) methodologies.

COL promotes learning for sustainable development. It is financed by voluntary contributions from Commonwealth Member States.

COL was established in 1987 by Commonwealth Heads of Government to create and widen access to opportunities for learning, making use of the potential offered by distance education and by the application of communication technologies to education.

Memorandum of Understanding on the Commonwealth of Learning).

Hosted by the Government of Canada with headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia, COL is the only intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with the promotion and development of distance education and open learning.

It is governed by a distinguished Board of Governors whose membership is drawn from around the Commonwealth and brings leadership and expertise in a wide range of areas.

COL’s greatest impact is in supporting efforts that lead to improved lives and livelihoods, especially of marginalised people, through increased, equitable and inclusive access to quality learning opportunities - believing, in effect, that learning must lead to economic growth, social inclusion and environmental conservation.

COL values and maintains an organisational culture that is respectful, ethical and fair.

Purpose of the Position

This role brings together key areas of strategy, strategic stakeholder engagement and communications into an integrated whole that supports the overall strategic aims of COL.

Working towards a stakeholder-centric approach that embeds external engagement across the organisation, this role will understand and shape the relationship between stakeholder strategy and corporate strategy, playing a lead role in advancing both through building influential, positive and mutually beneficial relationships with external stakeholders.

Reporting to the President & Chief Executive Officer, the Director, Strategic Engagement (DSE) has oversight of the organisation's overall strategic planning, the strategic and tactical engagement of stakeholders that are key to COL's mission and vision and embodies the voice of COL through strategic communications both internal and external to the organisation.

In collaboration with the President and Chief Executive Officer, the DSE leads the development and implementation of the strategic framework that delivers COL's strategic plan and orchestrates the engagement of external stakeholders, partners and Member States.

The DSE plays a crucial role in the development of opportunities for COL to demonstrate its global leadership in promoting learning for sustainable development, effectively collaborating with cross-functional team members to identify opportunities for connections and engagement of key partners.

To support the delivery of organisational strategy and messaging to key stakeholders, the DSE oversees the development and delivery of COL's communication strategy.

Key Responsibilities Leadership

The DSE is a member of the Executive Team and collaborates with the President, Vice President (VP), and Director, Management Services (DMS) in the planning and implementation of core initiatives in support of the mission and strategic direction of COL.

Strategic Planning

Working with the Executive Team, engage in horizon scanning to identify emerging opportunities, risks, or changing needs / demands that impact COL's set objectives with the object of fostering COL's responsiveness and agility.

Contribute to the management of strategic reviews, planning processes, organisational progress reporting, and impact analysis.

In collaboration with the Director, Management Services, support effective business planning processes and resource allocation in the annual budget process.

Support the development of COL's Organisational Performance Measurement and Management framework, working closely with the DMS to ensure that the organisational performance framework integrates well with the staff Performance Management framework.

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

The DSE is a strong advocate for open, distance and online learning and maintains ongoing liaisons with international peers as well as stakeholders and partners, including organisations and institutions.

Committed to the ideals of COL, notably to the role of education as the key to individual and national development and the capacity of technology to enhance that role, lead the development of the overarching stakeholder engagement strategy.

Working in concert with the President, the DSE plays a vital role in developing and building relationships with Member States, establishing the necessary contacts, networks, and protocols to maintain regular and effective links.

Maintain contact with officials in Member States to enhance their awareness of COL's capacity to assist them in achieving national education and training goals.

Support the President in the diversification of funding by identifying and mobilising investment sources and partners to offer appropriate intellectual, fiscal, and organisational resources to foster support of COL's programme.

In collaboration with the Executive Team, develop and implement stakeholder engagement plans in accordance with the overarching strategy.

Work collaboratively with programme and project teams to leverage and co-ordinate stakeholder engagement as an integral element of ongoing work.

Communications

Sustain and expand COL's reputation as a high-performing and trusted organisation.

Develop and manage the communications strategy to support the delivery of organisational strategy and messaging to key stakeholders.

Develop and implement a digital and social media strategy, ensuring communication mediums remain current and relevant to the audience.

Develop and direct strategy for all communications mediums and materials to consistently articulate key messages, strategy and mission to internal and external stakeholders.

Quality assure communication messages in all channels to maximise reach for diverse stakeholders across the Commonwealth.

Nurture a lively communications culture and tailor communications for impact to align with priorities of funders.

Direct the use of strategic and compelling storytelling built on evidence-based messaging to advocate for learning for sustainable development.

Build and maintain a state-of-the-art website with timely information and resources with an enhanced focus on accessibility.

Be responsible for the development and production of reports and other materials according to schedule.

The Candidate

Experience and Professional Qualifications

Experience and professional qualifications required for the role :

Master’s and postgraduate qualification in a related field (e.g. communications, business) preferred. Post-secondary degree in communications, marketing, strategy or related discipline or equivalent combination of experience required.

A minimum of 8-10 years of progressive leadership experience in strategic planning, communications, stakeholder engagement, or a related role.

Prior experience in a director-level position is highly desirable as well as experience in intergovernmental and international relations.

Knowledge of the role of the education sector and educational technologies in development. International experience in developing countries an asset.

Demonstrated leadership skills, including the ability to motivate and inspire cross functional teams.

Proven ability to think strategically, develop a vision, and translate it into actionable plans.

Proven experience in successfully leading the design and implementation of strategic plans.

To join COL, you must be a citizen of a Commonwealth country.

Skills and Competencies

Core competencies support COL's mission, vision and values. COL strives to model a high performing culture supported by leaders with the following competencies :

1. Envision

This role requires the competency of strategic thinking. It requires the ability to create and communicate a clear vision and develop strategies to achieve that vision.

This requires proficiency in the analysis of the external environment including trends, competitors, and education / learning sector developments to make informed decisions that drive the organisation forward.

2. Engage

This role requires the ability to fully engage employees. Our leaders both inspire a high sense of trust and demonstrate their trust in employees.

Organisational processes evidence such trust through the delegation of authority and shared knowledge and data. You lead by example and set standards for professional behaviour, earning the trust and respect of others through consistent honesty, integrity and professionalism in all interactions.

As a leader you foster : a sense of team; the importance of collaboration both within and across teams; and highly interactive internal communication.

You influence others to be excited and committed to furthering the organisation's objectives.

3. Empower

As a leader, you understand your role in supporting staff to succeed. Empowerment aims to equip employees with the autonomy to perform their roles more efficiently and make decisions that align with organisational goals.

You are predisposed to respecting and relying on the expertise of your staff and colleagues. With a focus on innovation, you inspire creativity and create a safe environment for employees to stretch beyond past practice and seek opportunities to test their ideas.

Your error tolerance combined with a strong emphasis on risk management, fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

4. Enable

As a leader, you aim to support organisational success through the success of your employees by providing staff with the resources, skills and confidence they need to succeed in performing their jobs.

You enable co-workers to grow and succeed through feedback, instruction and encouragement. You ensure others grasp the purpose and benefits of the programme, strategy, goal or objective, tailoring messages to specific audiences to develop interest and endorsement.

You build constructive working relationships characterised by a high level of acceptance, cooperation and mutual respect helping to create a work environment that embraces and appreciates diversity.

5. Execute

Our leaders effectively translate strategy into tangible results. This requires :

• a laser focus on organisational goals and objectives;
• the ability to manage both short-term and long-term outcomes;
• client-centric thinking;
• the ability to lead through change;
• the agility to respond to changing expectations, external environment, uncertainty and / or unpredictable variables; and
• recognition of the contribution of performance measurement and management to organisational success.

Personal Characteristics

A forward-thinking mindset with the ability to anticipate future opportunities and challenges and translate vision to executable strategic plans.

Strong collaborative and interpersonal skills with a proven ability to work effectively in a team-based environment.

Open and transparent; consultative, collaborative, respectful and inclusive; an effective communicator.

Shows intercultural competency; can connect and engage with diverse individuals and groups.

Entrepreneurial, resourceful; questions processes; challenges the status quo.

Generates improvements and fosters positive outcomes; shows and encourages creativity in solving problems and mobilising resources.

Shows fairness and integrity; inspires trust.

High emotional intelligence.

A strategic and data-driven decision-maker.

Excellent verbal and written communicator, comfortable preparing proposals, presentations, and public speaking; acquainted with and adept at drafting communications in the diplomatic environment.

Sound judgement and decision-making skills combined with the capability to identify key strategic issues, objectives, opportunities, and risks : ability to exercise professional judgement, discretion, and diplomacy while representing COL's interests.

Compensation

This role offers a salary range of $150,000 to $192,000 plus benefits, based on experience and qualifications.

Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.

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