How to Apply

Submit your resume and a brief cover letter to: grouphrconsultant@spectrumcapitalgrp.com

Application Deadline: April 10, 2026

The UCC Group is embarking on a bold transformation journey and is seeking a high-impact, execution-driven leader to establish and lead its Project Innovation & Management Office (PIMO). This is not a traditional PMO role. This is a transformation leadership position responsible for turning strategy into measurable results across:

• AI-enabled education and operations
• International partnerships and student recruitment
• Academic innovation and quality
• Institutional efficiency and scalability

The Head of PIMO is responsible not only for the disciplined execution of strategic initiatives, but also for originating, shaping, and driving high-impact opportunities that increase revenue, improve efficiency, and enhance institutional competitiveness.

The Opportunity

The incumbent will build and lead a central execution engine that ensures our most critical initiatives are:

• Properly evaluated
• Strategically aligned
• Efficiently delivered
• Measurably impactful

Working directly with executive leadership, the incumbent will bring structure, speed, and accountability to the institution’s transformation agenda.

Core Responsibilities

1. End-to-End Strategic Delivery

Lead the full lifecycle of initiatives:

• Intake & screening
• Feasibility & due diligence
• Business case and budget validation
• Pilot design and execution
• Scale-up and institutionalization

Ensure initiatives deliver measurable outcomes and strategic value

2. Revenue Generation & Opportunity Origination

Proactively identify, develop, and champion new revenue-generating initiatives, including:

• International partnerships, pathway programs, and articulation agreements
• Corporate training, executive education, and industry collaborations
• Digital products, platforms, and alternative income streams

Translate emerging opportunities into structured concept notes and business cases for evaluation and approval

Maintain a pipeline of high-potential revenue initiatives aligned with institutional strategy

3. Portfolio Management & Prioritization

Manage a dynamic portfolio of initiatives across:

• AI and digital transformation
• Internationalization and partnerships
• Academic and operational improvement

Align priorities with institutional strategy and resource capacity

Recommend start/stop/continue decisions

4. Stage-Gate Governance & Execution Discipline

Implement and enforce a structured stage-gate framework:

• Intake & triage (48–72 hrs)
• Concept development
• Feasibility & due diligence
• Pilot approval and execution
• Scale approval
• Benefits realization

Drive timely decision-making and accountability at each stage

5. Cost Optimization & Operational Efficiency

Lead the identification and execution of cost reduction and efficiency initiatives, including:

• Process redesign and automation (including AI-enabled efficiencies)
• Vendor and contract optimization
• Resource utilization improvements across academic and administrative functions

Quantify and validate cost savings opportunities and ensure realization of benefits

6. Innovation Pipeline Development

Establish and manage a structured Innovation Pipeline, including:

• Idea sourcing from leadership, faculty, staff, and external partners
• Rapid screening and prioritization of opportunities
• Clear pathways from idea → concept → pilot → scale

Introduce mechanisms such as:

• Innovation calls / challenges
• Cross-functional ideation workshops
• Strategic opportunity scans (local, regional, global trends)

7. Market & Opportunity Intelligence

Continuously monitor:

• Higher education trends (local, regional, global)
• Competitor offerings and positioning
• Emerging technologies (especially AI in education and operations)

Translate insights into actionable proposals and strategic initiatives

8. Business Case Development & Investment Prioritization

Lead the development of robust, data-driven business cases for new initiatives:

• Revenue projections
• Cost structures
• ROI and payback analysis
• Risk assessment

Advise executive leadership on:

• Investment prioritization
• Strategic trade-offs
• Portfolio balance (growth vs efficiency)

9. Rapid Experimentation & Pilot Design

Drive a culture of “test and learn” by:

• Designing and executing pilots for new ideas
• Defining clear success metrics and decision thresholds
• Accelerating time-to-decision on new initiatives

10. Culture of Innovation & Accountability

Embed a culture where:

• Innovation is expected, not optional
• Ideas are evaluated based on value and feasibility
• Execution and results are rigorously tracked

Act as a thought partner to executive leadership, bringing forward new ideas—not just executing assigned ones

11. Governance & Executive Engagement

• Serve as secretariat to the Portfolio Steering Committee
• Provide high-quality dashboards, insights, and recommendations
• Ensure strong cross-functional collaboration across Finance, HR, ICT, and academic teams

12. Delivery Excellence & Project Controls

Establish strong delivery systems:

• Agile/sprint cadence
• Risk, issue, and dependency management (RAID)
• Vendor and contract oversight
• Quality assurance and compliance

Drive a culture of execution discipline and continuous improvement

13. Benefits Realization & Performance Tracking

Define and track key success metrics, including:

• Enrollment growth and conversion rates
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Retention and student success
• Operational efficiency and cost savings
• Partner value and ROI

Ensure initiatives translate into sustained institutional impact

14. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary PIMO team
• Oversee initial launch team (4–6 staff), with scale-up over time
• Drive capability in project delivery, analytics, AI adoption, and change management

Key Requirements

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Engineering, or related field
• 15. Minimum 8–12 years’ experience in project/program management, strategy execution, or transformation leadership

Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives

Strong understanding of:

• Project governance frameworks (PMO/PgMO)
• Business case development and financial modeling
• Digital/AI transformation (preferred)
• Change management and organizational adoption

Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive execution in fast-paced environments

How to Apply

Submit your resume and a brief cover letter to: grouphrconsultant@spectrumcapitalgrp.com