Head of Student Services

Job Overview

Khalifa University is seeking a Head of Student Services to provide strategic leadership for student life, wellbeing, internship, and alumni services. The role supports holistic student and cadet development across academic, military, and personal dimensions. It sets standards, coordinates service delivery with academic partners, monitors performance, and ensures consistent support for student needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction and operational plans for student services in line with institutional priorities and the academic operating model.
• Lead student life, wellbeing, internship, alumni, extracurricular, counselling, and special-needs service programmes.
• Coordinate service delivery and responsibilities with academic partners, internal teams, and the managing partner office.
• Define service standards, procedures, reporting schedules, and clear roles for staff involved in student support.
• Monitor student experience indicators, internship placements, incidents, and service performance, resolving escalations when needed.
• Ensure consistent policies, controls, and records while tracking completion and accuracy of actions across partners.
• Coach staff, balance workloads, review performance, identify training needs, and promote collaboration and improvement.

Requirements and Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Education, Psychology, Business Administration, or a related field is required; a master’s degree is preferred.
• A minimum of twelve years of experience is required.
• Candidates should understand higher-education quality assurance, academic and research environments, and current student-service practices.
• Experience leading service teams, supporting student wellbeing, managing internships, or coordinating multi-stakeholder programmes is valuable.
• Strong leadership, escalation management, reporting, communication, and relationship-building skills are essential.

Key Skills

• Strategic service planning, student support, and cross-functional coordination.
• Performance monitoring, case escalation, policy implementation, and reporting.
• Team leadership, coaching, stakeholder management, and service improvement.

Work Approach

The successful candidate is expected to work professionally with colleagues and stakeholders, maintain reliable records, communicate progress clearly, and follow applicable university policies. Careful planning, responsible handling of information, attention to quality, and a willingness to improve processes will help support consistent outcomes in this role.

Employment Details

• Company: Khalifa University
• Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Employment Type: Full Time
• Functional Area: Higher Education, Student Services, Student Wellbeing, Management