Senior Manager of Operations and University Relationships (New Zealand)

This position is with Kaaiser, one of the brands under Manifest Global, which also includes Cialfo, BridgeU and Explore.

About This Role

We are hiring a Senior Manager of Operations and University Relationships to own operations and grow University Partnerships.

This is a senior, high-impact role for someone who operates comfortably with university leadership, understands the commercial and strategic drivers of international recruitment, and can turn strong relationships into measurable, long-term value.

The role goes beyond relationship management. You will act as a strategic partner, commercial negotiator, and long-term relationship owner, ensuring partnerships are:

• High-performing today
• Strategically aligned for the future
• Commercially strong and defensible

Role Objective

• To build and scale the New Zealand vertical by:
  • Establishing a robust end-to-end operations system (Application → Visa → Enrolment)
  • Securing and managing direct university partnerships in New Zealand
• This role is a business-building mandate, not just operational oversight.

What Success Looks Like

• A fully functional NZ operations engine with high visa success rates
• Strong portfolio of direct university partnerships
• NZ established as a revenue-generating vertical for Kaaiser

Key Responsibilities

1. Operations Setup & Management (Application → Visa)

• Design and implement end-to-end processing workflows for NZ applications
• Establish SOPs, timelines (TATs), and quality benchmarks
• Oversee:
  • Application submissions
  • Offer follow-ups
  • Visa documentation and filing
• Ensure high visa success rate and compliance adherence
• Build and train a dedicated NZ processing team

2. University Partnerships & Business Development

• Identify and prioritise target universities and institutes in New Zealand
• Build relationships with:
  • International offices
  • Regional managers
• Negotiate and secure partnership agreements / MOUs
• Drive towards preferred / direct partner status
• Maintain ongoing engagement to increase application and enrolment volumes

3. Market Development (India → NZ)

• Define and execute India market strategy for New Zealand
• Enable B2B teams with:
  • NZ-specific product knowledge
  • Visa and admission insights
  • Support positioning of NZ as a viable and attractive destination

4. Conversion & Product Ownership

• Ensure clarity on:
  • Course offerings
  • Entry requirements
  • Visa regulations
• Improve:
  • Application quality
  • Offer conversion
  • Visa success rates

5. Stakeholder Management

• Act as single point of contact for NZ universities
• Collaborate with internal:
  • Sales teams
  • Operations teams
• Build a strong feedback loop between universities, agents, and internal teams

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Operations
  • Application → Offer conversion ratio
  • Offer → Visa → Enrolment conversion
  • Visa success rate (target: 90%+)
  • TAT adherence and processing efficiency
• Partnerships
  • Number of university contracts signed
  • Active partnerships generating applications/enrolments
• Business Growth
  • Number of NZ applications and enrolments
  • Agent activation for NZ
  • Revenue contribution from NZ vertical

Candidate Profile

• 8–10 years of experience in international education
• Managerial experience in Operations & University relations for NZ study destination
• Strong understanding of:
  • NZ admission processes
  • Visa frameworks
• Proven track record in:
  • University relationship management
  • Operations setup or scaling
  • Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills
  • Ability to build processes from scratch and scale them

Please note this role follows 5.5 days work week from the Delhi Office