Academic Program Manager

🎓 We're Hiring: Academic Program Manager📍 Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote) 🕒 Employment Type: Full-Time 💼 Experience Level: Mid-Level to Senior 🌐 Work Arrangement: Fully RemoteAbout UsWe are an education-focused organization committed to delivering high-quality academic programs through strong curriculum design, academic governance, student success, faculty collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.Our distributed teams collaborate across Academic Affairs, Faculty, Student Services, Admissions, Quality Assurance, Accreditation, Learning & Development, Technology, Finance, Marketing, Industry Partners, Regulators, and Executive Leadership to ensure academic programs meet institutional objectives and evolving learner and industry needs.The RoleWe are seeking an experienced Academic Program Manager to lead the planning, development, delivery, evaluation, and continuous improvement of academic programs.The ideal candidate will combine strong academic and operational expertise with program management, curriculum development, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, student experience, and data-driven decision-making capabilities.The role will be responsible for coordinating academic programs from planning and curriculum development through delivery, assessment, review, accreditation, and continuous improvement.Key ResponsibilitiesDevelop and implement academic program strategies aligned with institutional objectives, academic standards, student needs, and industry requirements.Manage the full lifecycle of academic programs from initial concept and curriculum development through implementation, evaluation, review, and renewal.Coordinate curriculum development and ensure programs maintain appropriate academic rigor, relevance, structure, and learning outcomes.Work closely with academic leaders, faculty members, subject-matter experts, instructional designers, and external stakeholders to develop and enhance curricula.Ensure academic programs are aligned with applicable educational regulations, accreditation standards, qualification frameworks, and institutional policies.Coordinate program approvals, academic reviews, accreditation activities, and regulatory submissions where applicable.Develop and maintain program specifications, course structures, learning outcomes, assessment strategies, academic calendars, and program documentation.Monitor academic delivery and ensure courses are delivered consistently in accordance with approved curricula and academic standards.Coordinate faculty planning, course assignments, teaching schedules, academic resources, and program delivery requirements.Work with Faculty and HR teams to identify staffing requirements and support faculty recruitment, onboarding, development, and performance management.Monitor student enrollment, progression, retention, completion, academic performance, and overall program outcomes.Analyze student performance and identify academic, operational, or engagement issues requiring intervention.Work with Student Services and academic teams to improve student support, engagement, retention, and success.Develop and implement academic-program improvement plans based on student feedback, faculty feedback, assessment results, market trends, and performance data.Establish academic program KPIs and performance dashboards covering enrollment, retention, progression, completion, student satisfaction, academic quality, and graduate outcomes.Conduct regular program reviews and benchmarking against comparable programs and leading educational institutions.Research emerging academic disciplines, teaching methodologies, technologies, industry trends, and workforce requirements.Identify opportunities for new programs, specializations, certificates, executive education, online programs, blended learning, and other educational offerings.Conduct market and competitor research to assess demand for existing and proposed academic programs.Develop business cases for new academic programs in collaboration with Finance, Strategy, Marketing, and Executive Leadership.Support program budgeting, resource planning, financial forecasting, and cost management.Collaborate with Marketing and Admissions teams on program positioning, recruitment strategies, communications, and enrollment targets.Ensure program information presented to prospective students is accurate, transparent, and aligned with approved academic structures.Coordinate academic partnerships with universities, professional organizations, industry partners, research institutions, and external education providers.Manage external academic partners, consultants, accreditation bodies, subject-matter experts, and service providers where applicable.Support international academic partnerships, articulation agreements, exchange programs, dual-degree initiatives, and collaborative programs where relevant.Establish quality-assurance processes covering curriculum design, teaching delivery, assessment, student feedback, academic integrity, and program outcomes.Monitor assessment quality, moderation processes, grading consistency, academic integrity, and examination requirements.Support academic-integrity initiatives and ensure appropriate processes are in place for plagiarism, misconduct, assessment irregularities, and related matters.Coordinate academic committees, program boards, curriculum committees, review meetings, and stakeholder consultations.Prepare agendas, reports, performance analyses, meeting materials, action plans, and executive recommendations.Maintain comprehensive academic-program records including curricula, approvals, accreditation documentation, course specifications, faculty records, student outcomes, review reports, and improvement plans.Ensure academic systems, learning-management platforms, student-information systems, and digital learning tools effectively support program delivery.Evaluate emerging educational technologies, artificial intelligence, digital learning platforms, simulation tools, and innovative teaching approaches.Promote inclusive, accessible, student-centered, and technology-enabled learning experiences.Establish and monitor continuous-improvement initiatives to strengthen academic quality, student outcomes, operational efficiency, and program competitiveness.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Performance will be measured through a combination of academic, operational, student, quality, and commercial KPIs, including:Student enrollmentEnrollment growthStudent retentionStudent progressionGraduation/completion rateStudent satisfactionAcademic achievementGraduate outcomesFaculty performanceCourse evaluation resultsCurriculum review completionAccreditation performanceAcademic complianceProgram profitabilityProgram operating costNew-program developmentProgram-launch performanceStudent engagementAcademic-integrity performanceQuality-improvement implementationIndustry-partnership developmentCandidate ProfileThe successful candidate should have strong experience in academic program management, higher education, curriculum development, academic administration, educational operations, or a related discipline.Experience within universities, colleges, professional education, vocational institutions, online education, executive education, or other structured learning environments would be advantageous.The candidate should have strong academic and operational capabilities combined with excellent stakeholder-management, analytical, organizational, and communication skills.Experience working with UAE education regulators, accreditation bodies, qualification frameworks, or GCC higher-education environments is highly desirable.What You'll BringProven experience in academic program management, higher education, curriculum development, or academic administration.Strong understanding of academic governance and program-management principles.Experience developing, reviewing, and improving curricula and academic programs.Knowledge of academic quality assurance and accreditation requirements.Experience working with faculty, academic leaders, students, and external stakeholders.Strong understanding of student lifecycle management and academic performance.Experience developing academic reports, program reviews, business cases, and performance dashboards.Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities.Experience with learning-management systems and student-information systems.Familiarity with online, blended, and technology-enabled learning is advantageous.Strong project-management and stakeholder-management skills.Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and organizational capabilities.Ability to manage multiple academic programs, deadlines, stakeholders, and priorities.Strong understanding of education-sector trends and evolving workforce requirements.Highly organized, collaborative, student-focused, and results-oriented.Ability to work independently and effectively within a fully remote environment.Relevant degree in Education, Academic Administration, Business, Management, or a related discipline.Master's degree or higher is strongly preferred.Experience with accreditation, quality assurance, or academic-regulatory processes is advantageous.Experience working within the UAE or wider GCC education sector is highly desirable.