Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation & Partnerships

Rome Business School - Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation & Partnerships

The Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation & Partnerships is responsible for leading and developing Rome Business School's academic quality assurance, accreditation, university partnership and university-project functions.

The role is expected to build a robust and scalable academic quality framework capable of supporting the continued growth of RBS, the development of Bachelor and Master programmes, new university partnerships, official or university-validated programmes, and national and international accreditation processes.

The position combines academic leadership, quality governance, external relationship management and project execution.

Key Responsibilities

• 1. Academic Quality Governance

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of the RBS Academic Quality Assurance framework.

• Establish clear academic standards, policies, procedures and quality-control mechanisms across programmes.

• Ensure systematic implementation of programme review and improvement processes.

• Oversee the institutional quality cycle, including programme reviews, academic quality reviews, teaching-quality monitoring and improvement plans.

• Ensure that academic decisions and quality actions are documented, traceable and consistently implemented.

• Promote a culture of evidence-based academic improvement across the School.

• 2. Accreditation

• Define and lead the School's academic accreditation strategy in coordination with the Dean and senior management.

• Manage existing accreditation requirements and new accreditation projects.

• Coordinate accreditation applications, documentation, evidence collection, self-assessment processes and external reviews.

• Monitor compliance with accreditation standards and ensure that agreed improvement actions are implemented.

• Maintain institutional readiness for accreditation audits and peer-review visits.

• 3. University Partnerships

• Lead the academic component of relationships with partner universities and higher-education institutions.

• Support the identification, assessment and development of new academic partnerships.

• Coordinate academic negotiations regarding programme validation, franchising, recognition, credit structures, academic regulations and quality requirements.

• Ensure that RBS programmes delivered in partnership with universities comply with the academic standards and requirements of the relevant partner institution.

• 4. University and Official Programme Projects

• Provide leadership for the development and management of university-related projects.

• Supervise the University Projects function and establish appropriate project-management and governance mechanisms.

• Support the development of Bachelor programmes and other university-linked academic initiatives.

• Ensure compliance with relevant academic and regulatory requirements.

• Coordinate internal stakeholders involved in programme approval, validation and implementation.

• 5. Academic Standards

• Establish and monitor standards related to curriculum quality, learning outcomes, assessment, academic depth and programme coherence.

• Work closely with Academic Affairs & Research and Academic Innovation to ensure that quality requirements are embedded both in programme design and programme delivery.

• Define quality expectations relating to faculty qualifications and academic performance in coordination with the Faculty Management function.

• 6. Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the Quality, Accreditation and University Projects team.

• Establish clear responsibilities, objectives and KPIs.

• Build the capabilities required for the future growth of the function.

• Promote effective collaboration across Academic Affairs, Academic Innovation, Research, Faculty Management and other School functions.

• 7. Reporting and Institutional Governance

• Provide regular reports to the Dean on academic quality, accreditation, university partnerships and strategic academic projects.

• Identify academic and regulatory risks and propose corrective actions.

• Participate in relevant academic governance bodies and senior management discussions.

• Represent Rome Business School, where appropriate, in meetings with universities, accreditation bodies and external academic stakeholders.

• Key Interfaces

• Dean

• Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Research

• Head of Academic Innovation

• Faculty Manager

• Research Manager

• Programme Coordination

• Partner Universities

• Accreditation Bodies

• Quality Assurance organisations

• Corporate and institutional stakeholders