Director of Global Excellence and Benchmarking

Position: Director of Global Excellence and Benchmarking  

Classification: Senior Administrative and Academic Leadership- Director Level
Reports To: President

About The American International University

American International University (AIU) is a private institution in Kuwait, founded in 2019, offering undergraduate programs based on the American model of higher education. AIU provides degrees in Engineering, Architecture and Design, Business Administration, Arts and Sciences, and Education, with English as the language of instruction. The University is committed to fostering intellectual, cultural, and personal growth, preparing graduates for leadership roles in a global society.

AIU is executing its RISE Strategy 2026–2030, a five-year institutional transformation encompassing research development, international institutional accreditation, student success, and community engagement. A central strategic objective is establishing AIU's presence in international university rankings and benchmarking its performance against regional and global peers. The Director of Global Excellence and Benchmarking leads this agenda.

For more information, visit: www.aiu.edu.kw

Department Profile

The Office of Global Excellence and Benchmarking is a newly established function reporting directly to the President. It serves as AIU's strategic intelligence unit, transforming institutional data into rankings entries, competitive intelligence into positioning decisions, and benchmarking evidence into actionable improvement plans. The Office works in close partnership with the Institutional Research (IR) Office, the Accreditation & Institutional Effectiveness Office, the AVP Research & Innovation, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

This office is AIU's external face to the global higher education community, responsible for ensuring that AIU's institutional quality is visible, accurately measured, and credibly communicated to every ranking body, benchmark framework, and peer institution that matters to AIU's reputation and competitive position.

Scope of Work:

The Director of Global Excellence and Benchmarking is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing AIU's comprehensive strategy for international university rankings and institutional benchmarking. This is a hands-on, data-intensive, externally-facing role that requires deep technical knowledge of ranking methodologies, the analytical rigor to translate raw institutional data into ranking submissions, and the strategic vision to identify where AIU can achieve measurable improvement across ranking indicators.

The role encompasses three interconnected domains:

1. Rankings Strategy & Submission: Lead all data submissions to QS, THE, Webometrics, UI GreenMetric, and other ranking bodies, with full technical mastery of each agency's methodology, data definitions, and submission portals.
2. Institutional Benchmarking: Systematically benchmark AIU's performance against Kuwait and regional peer institutions, and global aspirational peers, producing actionable competitive intelligence for the President.
3. Reputation & Visibility: Build AIU's academic reputation through strategic visibility, Scopus profile management, Webometrics optimisation, academic survey response coordination, and employer survey engagement for ranking systems reputation scores.

Key Responsibilities:

Rankings Strategy and Data Submission

• Develop and maintain AIU's annual Rankings Action Plan, a structured, data-driven roadmap for improving position across all active and target ranking systems, updated each October for Board review
• Manage all data submissions to QS World University Rankings, QS Stars, Times Higher Education (THE) World and Impact Rankings, Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, and UI GreenMetric, ensuring submissions are complete, accurate, and filed before agency deadlines
• Maintain detailed, up-to-date knowledge of the methodology, data definitions, indicators, and weighting of every active ranking system in AIU's portfolio; monitor changes to methodology and adjust data strategy accordingly
• Build and maintain the AIU Rankings Data Repository, the single authoritative source of record for all data submitted to external ranking agencies, maintained in a format that enables year-on-year comparison and audit
• Coordinate with the Institutional Research Office, Registrar, Library, HR, and VP Academic Affairs to collect, verify, and validate all data elements required for ranking submissions
• Ensure that all data submitted to ranking agencies is accurate, reproducible, and consistent with data published on AIU's public website, no figure may be submitted to a ranking body that cannot be independently verified

Institutional Benchmarking and Competitive Intelligence

• Design and implement an annual benchmarking programme comparing AIU's performance against defined peer groups across Kuwait, the GCC, and internationally, covering student outcomes, faculty productivity, research output, employability, and student-to-faculty ratios
• Produce the Annual Benchmarking Report for the President, a structured, visual, decision-ready analysis showing AIU's relative position, trajectory, and priority improvement areas
• Monitor peer institution rankings, accreditation status, programme offerings, and strategic developments, providing the President with quarterly competitive intelligence briefs
• Identify the specific ranking indicators where AIU has the highest potential for near-term improvement and develop targeted action plans in coordination with the relevant VP or Dean
• Represent AIU's position accurately in all external comparisons and marketing materials, ensuring no benchmarking claim is made without verified, methodologically sound data

Academic Reputation and Visibility

• Lead AIU's response to the QS and THE academic reputation surveys, coordinating with the President, VPAA, and Deans to identify and engage Kuwaiti, GCC, and international academics who are familiar with AIU's work
• Lead AIU's response to the QS employer reputation survey, working with VP Engagement & External Relations and Career Services to engage Kuwait and GCC employers who hire AIU graduates
• Manage and continuously improve AIU's Webometrics profile, overseeing institutional web presence, digital publication of research outputs, and online visibility of faculty and research activity
• Work with the AVP Research & Innovation to ensure all AIU research publications are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science under the correct institutional affiliation, preventing data loss that would otherwise cost AIU citation metrics
• Manage AIU's institutional profiles on all ranking agency platforms, QS Top Universities, THE World University Rankings, Scopus Institutions, Google Scholar, keeping information current and complete
  

Strategy Alignment and Internal Reporting

• Serve as the primary point of contact between AIU and all ranking agencies, maintaining professional relationships with QS, THE, and Webometrics account managers
• Present the Annual Rankings Progress Report to the Board of Trustees alongside the RISE Strategy KPI review, demonstrating measurable movement on ranking indicators
• Advise the President, VPAA, and Deans on the ranking implications of institutional decisions, including faculty hiring, research investment, program development, and student recruitment strategy
• Coordinate with the Accreditation Liaison Officer to ensure that ranking data submissions are consistent with WSCUC self-study data, no gap or contradiction between accreditation and ranking evidence
• Contribute to the Annual Institutional Effectiveness Report the rankings and benchmarking.
• Train and brief faculty, administrators, and Deans on ranking methodologies, what each indicator measures, and what faculty behavior, particularly in research and publication directly affects AIU's ranking position

Reporting Departments (If Applicable)

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

• Terminal degree (PhD or equivalent doctorate) from an accredited institution, preferably in higher education management, educational measurement, data science, institutional research, information science, or a related field
• Master's degree holders with exceptional and directly relevant ranking agency experience may be considered at the discretion of the President

Experience

• Minimum five (5) years of progressive experience in higher education, with a demonstrable track record in institutional research, rankings management, or data analytics in a university context
• Directly demonstrated experience submitting data to at least two of the following ranking agencies: QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education Rankings, Webometrics, or UI GreenMetric, applications must specify which agencies and provide verifiable submission history
• Experience in competitive benchmarking and peer analysis in an academic or strategic planning context
• Experience working with senior academic leadership, President, Provost, or equivalent, and presenting data-driven findings to Board-level audiences

Technical Knowledge

• Deep, current knowledge of QS, THE, Webometrics, and UI GreenMetric ranking methodologies, including indicator definitions, data sources, weighting systems, and common submission errors
• Proficiency with bibliometric and citation databases: Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, ability to extract, verify, and analyse institutional publication and citation data
• Strong data analytics capability, experience with Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent tools; ability to build ranking dashboards and data visualisations for executive audiences
• Familiarity with Student Information Systems (SIS), LMS data extraction, and IPEDS-equivalent international data standards
• Knowledge of WSCUC or equivalent regional accreditation standards and the relationship between accreditation evidence and ranking indicators is a significant advantage

Skills and Competencies

• Exceptional data integrity standards, this role requires someone who treats accuracy as non-negotiable: no figure submitted to a ranking body may be inaccurate, and no publicly stated benchmark may be unverified
• Excellent written and oral communication in English, ability to translate complex methodological data into clear, compelling narratives for Board members with no prior knowledge of ranking systems
• Strong project management capability, ability to manage multiple concurrent ranking submission timelines, each with fixed external deadlines
• Cultural awareness and professional sophistication appropriate to representing AIU to international ranking agencies and academic communities
• Arabic language proficiency is an advantage but is not required

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in a GCC university in a rankings, institutional research, or strategic planning role, familiarity with Kuwait's higher education regulatory context is a significant advantage
• Experience with QS Stars institutional rating system, which AIU is targeting in the near term
• Experience developing an institutional rankings strategy from a baseline position, candidates who have built a rankings programme at a new or young institution are particularly sought
• Published research or professional presentations on university rankings methodology, higher education data quality, or institutional benchmarking
• Familiarity with Kuwait Vision 2035 and its implications for higher education quality and international competitiveness

How to Apply

Interested candidates should visit the Job Opportunities section on the AIU website and submit a complete application comprising:

• A current curriculum vitae (CV)
• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) explaining: (a) your experience submitting data to specific ranking agencies, name the agencies and describe your role; (b) a specific example of a benchmarking or ranking improvement you contributed to; and (c) why this role at AIU at this stage of its development is the right next step in your career
• Contact details for three professional referees at least one of whom supervised your ranking or institutional research work

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The University reserves the right to close the search at any time. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Submit application via: https://aiu.edu.kw/careers/jobs

The successful candidate is expected to commence employment at the earliest convenience, and no later than September 2026.

AIU is an equal opportunity employer committed to academic excellence, professional integrity,

and the advancement of Kuwait as a regional center of knowledge and innovation.