Director, External Relations

**ABOUT THE BC COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION (BCCIE)**

BCCIE occupies an essential leadership and protocol position in the International Education (IE) sector. On behalf of the province, it conceives, plans, coordinates, implements, and evaluates a wide range of activities, including senior executive and governmental activities, professional development opportunities, protocol functions, and both outgoing and incoming missions and delegations. Our stakeholders include, but are not limited to, senior leadership from across BC’s diverse education sector, colleagues from provincial and federal ministries, and elected officials.

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The Director, External Relations (DER) is a fulltime continuing position and reports to the Executive Director (ED), with considerable liaison with the Director, Operations and Communications (DOC). The DER is a key member of the senior management team. This position requires experience, initiative, excellent judgement, tact and diplomacy as well as a high level of quality and accuracy of work.

Primary areas of responsibility are oversight over and impetus for strategic partnership development and maintenance, both domestically and internationally, designing, directing and supporting the implementation of BCCIE’s market diversity initiatives, including BCCIE-led in-person and virtual missions, leading the implementation of BCCIEs’ ongoing capacity-building activities including JEDI initiatives for the BCCIE staff and sector, event planning and execution, supporting district and institutional relations, and liaising with BCCIE’s domestic international alliances, associations and partners.

The DER is responsible for supporting the formulation, oversight and management of a broad range of activities locally, nationally, and internationally for BCCIE, educational institutions and partners, including the following:

- Key member in strategic and operational planning (Please note BCCIE is currently going through a new strategic planning process).
- Professional Development events including sectoral capacity-building workshops and events
- Programs and services, as well as special one-time projects, focussed on the integrity of BC’s offerings, services and student support, inter-culturalization and indigenization, as well as the BCCIE Mentorship program
- Study abroad initiatives and special projects such as the BC Study Abroad Consortium and UMAP National Secretariat
- BCCIE domestic and international collaborations
- Partnership development, recruitment, and market support activities and other events/services for educational institutions
- Development or oversight of research projects or initiatives
- Market diversification initiatives for BCCIE and the sector
- Stakeholder engagement with institutions and districts and, in concert with ED, the Consular Corps
- All other strategic initiatives, activities, and special projects such as the Ministry of Education and Child Care’s scholarship program.

**RESPONSIBILITIES**

With self-guided initiative and with direction from the Executive Director, the DER undertakes the following:
**Strategic Partnership Development and Maintenance**
- Plans, develops and implements the organization’s partnership strategies and activities
- Works closely with the Associate Director, Communications on directing and drafting high-level messaging, promotions and key communications for dissemination through BCCIE communication channels
- Works closely with the Executive Director to maintain existing high-level strategic partnerships, (e.g., SEAMEO, UMAP, FICHET, CHED, CEAIE, VACC, SEP, AMPEI) and forge new partnerships and alliances consistent with BCCIE’s mandate and strategic direction
- Manages BCCIE MOU relationships and agreements, ensuring required follow-up and identifying new MOU partners for consideration
- Works closely with the Market Support team to maintain existing strategic partnerships and design and execute ongoing engagement activities
- Identifies and facilitates communication and recommends strategic partnership development for provincial ministries (PSEFS and ECC) resulting in bilateral communications leading towards formal cooperation, e.g., MOU, LOI, etc
- Develops productive working relationships with like-minded organizations involved in the internationalization process, both in-country and internationally, including but not limited to: CICan, UC, CAPS-I, Languages Canada, CBIE, GAC, EAIE, NAFSA, APAIE, CAIE, etc.
- Maintains positive and productive engagement with provincial counterparts in support of the IE sector, including entities such as: BC Colleges, BCAIU, RUCBC, IPSEA, FISA, BCCCA, NPSC, etc.

**Capacity Building and Event Management**
- Supports the Director, Operations and Communications and the events team with the planning and implementation of the BCCIE Annual Summer Conference (BCIEW) including organizing incoming international delegations
- Oversees the annual strategic planning for capacity-building events and