Executive Dean

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  • Full Time
  • New Cairo, Egypt

Executive Dean – New Cairo, Egypt 

Excelon Associates has been retained to conduct an executive search for an exceptional academic and institutional leader to serve as Executive Dean of an international university campus in Egypt. This is a CEO-level appointment with comprehensive responsibility for the performance, reputation, and long-term sustainability of the campus.

The Executive Dean will serve as the senior leader of the institution in-country, working alongside a Chief Operating Officer who manages day-to-day operations. This role carries full strategic and performance accountability across academic quality, student outcomes, revenue growth, external positioning, and institutional development.

This is a rare and significant leadership opportunity for a Professorial academic with genuine CEO-level instincts, someone equally at home shaping research culture and academic strategy as they are driving enrollment growth, managing budgets, and cultivating government and industry relationships.

Role Overview: 
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Vision

  • Provide strategic direction for the campus, ensuring alignment with the institution’s global priorities and Vision 2028
  • Lead long-term planning across academic development, research strategy, workforce planning, and portfolio growth
  • Foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, and continuous improvement
  • Serve as an active member of the University Executive Board
  • Collaborate with Executive Deans, Vice-Chancellors, and senior leaders to ensure integrated institutional delivery

Academic Portfolio, Teaching & Student Success

  • Lead curriculum development and build future-focused academic programs, with emphasis on postgraduate and MBA provision
  • Drive excellence in teaching quality, assessment, and learning support
  • Deliver measurable improvements in student satisfaction, progression, retention, and graduate employability
  • Champion academic integrity, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance

Research, Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange

  • Build and strengthen research culture, performance, and international reputation
  • Promote interdisciplinary research, income generation, and high-impact publications
  • Lead enterprise activity including consultancy, continuing professional development (CPD), commercial partnerships, and knowledge exchange

External Engagement & Partnerships

  • Build and maintain strategic relationships with government bodies, regulators, employers, industry associations, and academic networks in Egypt and the broader MENA region
  • Represent the campus nationally and internationally at senior levels
  • Engage regional and global stakeholders to enhance institutional visibility and influence policy

Operational & Financial Leadership

  • Hold end-to-end accountability for campus performance, including academic outcomes, financial targets, and growth objectives
  • Lead annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management
  • Ensure financial sustainability through enrollment growth, diversified income streams, research funding, and enterprise activity
  • Work through the COO structure for operational delivery while maintaining overall leadership accountability

People & Culture

  • Lead, inspire, and develop academic and professional services staff across the campus
  • Foster a high-performance culture grounded in accountability, wellbeing, and professional development
  • Champion equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and anti-racist commitments in all aspects of campus life
  • Embed EDI within curriculum, institutional practice, and staff culture

Candidate Profile and Requirements: 
Excelon Associates is seeking to identify a high-caliber Professorial academic leader who combines genuine scholarly standing with the strategic instincts and commercial awareness of a senior executive.

Academic Credibility & Institutional Standing, Non-Negotiable Candidates must hold a current Professorial appointment at the time of application.

  • PhD from a highly credible institution, including UK or US universities or leading Egyptian institutions (Cairo, Ain Shams, Alexandria)
  • A sustained track record of senior academic leadership at the level of Dean, Associate Dean, Head of School, or equivalent
  • No prescribed disciplinary requirement; however, a background in business, management, or a closely related field is strongly preferred — particularly where the candidate has experience developing or leading postgraduate and MBA programs
  • Must be capable of establishing immediate academic credibility for the campus upon appointment

CEO-Level Leadership & Performance Accountability, Non-Negotiable
This role requires full performance accountability, not solely academic leadership.

  • Demonstrable experience holding end-to-end responsibility for organizational, faculty, or campus-level performance
  • A clear track record of delivering against growth, financial, and academic quality objectives
  • The ability to lead across academic, operational, and external domains, working effectively through others including a COO structure
  • Strong commercial awareness and the ability to translate strategy into deliverable outcomes

External, Government & Institutional Engagement

  • Proven experience operating within national higher education and regulatory systems, ideally in Egypt or comparable environments
  • Established credibility with government bodies, regulators, and academic partners
  • Deep knowledge of the Egyptian and broader MENA higher education landscape
  • Ability to represent the institution effectively at the most senior external levels
  • Fluency in Arabic, both spoken and written

Delivery Capability in a Start-Up Environment
This is a campus in active development. The successful candidate must be comfortable building, shaping, and delivering simultaneously without a large existing staffing base.

  • Demonstrable experience working within a new, developing, or resource-constrained environment
  • Evidence of contributing to institutional growth, new program development, or organizational build-out
  • Ability to operate with pace, pragmatism, and sound judgment in an evolving institutional context

Cultural Alignment & Values, Non-Negotiable
Cultural alignment will be assessed with equal rigor as academic standing.

  • Commitment to the institution’s Vision 2028 and Global Campus strategy
  • A careers-first, inclusive, and impact-driven approach to education
  • Strong, evidenced commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), including delivering measurable improvements in student access and outcomes, leading inclusive academic and staff cultures, and embedding EDI within curriculum and institutional practice
  • The ability to operate within a collaborative, accountable, and delivery-focused leadership culture

Qualifications 
Required

  • Current Professorial appointment (non-negotiable)
  • Doctorate (PhD or Professional Doctorate) from a recognized institution of strong academic standing
  • Evidence of significant academic achievement, research profile, and/or professional recognition appropriate for senior academic leadership

Preferred

  • Senior or Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy or equivalent international recognition
  • Executive leadership or advanced management training
  • Background in business, management, or a closely related field with postgraduate and MBA program development experience

About Excelon Associates:
Excelon Associates is a retained executive search firm specializing in higher education leadership placement. We work exclusively with universities, colleges, and higher education institutions to identify and place senior academic and executive leaders across the UK, MENA region, and internationally.

We are committed to conducting searches with rigor, discretion, and an evidence-based approach to candidate assessment. We partner closely with our clients to ensure every placement reflects both institutional need and long-term strategic fit.

www.excelonassociates.com
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Excelon does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, marital or veteran status, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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