Associate Dean for academic quality, accreditations and partnerships

The Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation & Partnerships is responsible for leading and developing Rome Business School's academic quality assurance, accreditation, university partnership and university-project functions.

The role is expected to build a robust and scalable academic quality framework capable of supporting the continued growth of RBS, the development of Bachelor and Master programmes, new university partnerships, official or university-validated programmes, and national and international accreditation processes.

The position combines academic leadership, quality governance, external relationship management and project execution.

Key Responsibilities

1. Academic Quality Governance

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of the RBS Academic Quality Assurance framework.
• Establish clear academic standards, policies, procedures and quality-control mechanisms across programmes.
• Ensure systematic implementation of programme review and improvement processes.
• Oversee the institutional quality cycle, including programme reviews, academic quality reviews, teaching-quality monitoring and improvement plans.
• Ensure that academic decisions and quality actions are documented, traceable and consistently implemented.
• Promote a culture of evidence-based academic improvement across the School.

2. Accreditation

• Define and lead the School's academic accreditation strategy in coordination with the Dean and senior management.
• Manage existing accreditation requirements and new accreditation projects.
• Coordinate accreditation applications, documentation, evidence collection, self-assessment processes and external reviews.
• Monitor compliance with accreditation standards and ensure that agreed improvement actions are implemented.
• Maintain institutional readiness for accreditation audits and peer-review visits.

3. University Partnerships

• Lead the academic component of relationships with partner universities and higher-education institutions.
• Support the identification, assessment and development of new academic partnerships.
• Coordinate academic negotiations regarding programme validation, franchising, recognition, credit structures, academic regulations and quality requirements.
• Ensure that RBS programmes delivered in partnership with universities comply with the academic standards and requirements of the relevant partner institution.

4. University and Official Programme Projects

• Provide leadership for the development and management of university-related projects.
• Supervise the University Projects function and establish appropriate project-management and governance mechanisms.
• Support the development of Bachelor programmes and other university-linked academic initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with relevant academic and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders involved in programme approval, validation and implementation.

5. Academic Standards

• Establish and monitor standards related to curriculum quality, learning outcomes, assessment, academic depth and programme coherence.
• Work closely with Academic Affairs & Research and Academic Innovation to ensure that quality requirements are embedded both in programme design and programme delivery.
• Define quality expectations relating to faculty qualifications and academic performance in coordination with the Faculty Management function.

6. Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the Quality, Accreditation and University Projects team.
• Establish clear responsibilities, objectives and KPIs.
• Build the capabilities required for the future growth of the function.
• Promote effective collaboration across Academic Affairs, Academic Innovation, Research, Faculty Management and other School functions.

7. Reporting and Institutional Governance

• Provide regular reports to the Dean on academic quality, accreditation, university partnerships and strategic academic projects.
• Identify academic and regulatory risks and propose corrective actions.
• Participate in relevant academic governance bodies and senior management discussions.
• Represent Rome Business School, where appropriate, in meetings with universities, accreditation bodies and external academic stakeholders.

Key Interfaces

• Dean
• Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Research
• Head of Academic Innovation
• Faculty Manager
• Research Manager
• Programme Coordination
• Partner Universities
• Accreditation Bodies
• Quality Assurance organisations
• Corporate and institutional stakeholders

Essential

• PhD or equivalent doctoral qualification.
• Strong academic background and understanding of higher-education environments.
• Significant experience in academic quality assurance, accreditation, university partnerships or academic governance.
• Proven experience managing complex academic projects.
• Strong understanding of programme validation, academic standards and quality processes.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and negotiation skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational and project-management capabilities.
• Excellent command of English.

Highly Desirable

• Experience in an international Business School or university.
• Experience with international accreditation systems.
• Experience with university validation, franchising or collaborative provision.
• Familiarity with European higher-education frameworks and quality-assurance systems.
• Knowledge of the Italian higher-education environment.
• Italian language skills.

Key Measures of Success

• Delivery of the academic quality roadmap.
• Progress against accreditation plans.
• Successful development and management of university partnerships.
• Achievement of university-project milestones.
• Timely closure of quality improvement actions.
• Improved documentation, governance and institutional academic readiness.
• Effective development of the Quality and University Projects team.