Establishing and Managing an Overseas Office Andréa Edwards
Jun 25, 2015
Establishing and Managing an Overseas OfficeAndréa Edwards
UoB’s Pattern of Global Engagement
• 150 Source Countries for Recruitment
• 33% of faculty are international
• 20 TNE partnerships, including in-country delivery in Singapore, China/HK, India
• 4 Strategic Global TerritoriesChina, India, North America, Brazil
• 6 Regional Offices/Global Hubs
Main titleSecondary title
Body copy
Joinville, SC, BrazilJoint Office with UoN
Birmingham Global Hubs
Brussels, BelgiumShared Regional Office
New Delhi, IndiaConsultant-led
Shanghai, ChinaLaunch-pad service
Guangzhou Centre, ChinaRep Office leading to WFOE
Lagos, NigeriaAgent-hosted
Advantages of Global Hubs
• Facilitate academic engagement and enhance stakeholder relations in identified strategic regions
• Enhance market intelligence and gain competitive advantage
• Demonstrate commitment to a region
• Platform approach co-ordinates engagement with partners
• Demonstrable returns: assessment based on combination of researcher engagement, student mobility, student recruitment/market share, alumni engagement and fundraising, education collaboration and capacity building
Stage 1: Scoping & Project InitiationStage of Development Considerations
Identification of need and Business Case
Link to Strategy, purpose of engagement and in-country presence
Project Board Establishment International team, HR, Finance, Legal, planning, senior academic chair
Appointment of Project Lead Typically in International Office or secondment
Scoping Office models, market conditions, legal, financial and HR considerations, location
Liaison in-country and appointment of advisers
Lawyers, consultancy firm, HR organisation, Consulate & British Council liaison
Final Business Case sign off Executive Level
Stage 2: Set Up
Stage of Development Considerations
‘Registration’ Contractual requirements
Recruitment & induction of Staff Scope of office, Type of contract, direct or via third party, objectives, line management & communications
Office fit out & operational set up Branding, signage, systems
Soft Launch Internal
Official Launch External
Stage 3: Office Launch
• Opportunity for stakeholder engagement
• Hosted by senior figurehead
• Signature events: launch, alumni reception, roundtable, academic symposia
• Project team: Press Office, Alumni Relations, International Office, VC’s Office, Business Engagement, Research Office
Stage 4: On-going Management
• Clear line management and communications, reporting (to capture intelligence)
• Monitoring of KPIs and objectives, personal development
• Regional working group
• Management of expectations
• Annual review to Board – media monitoring, joint publication, grant capture, recruitment, fundraising
• Cultural awareness, trust and shared vision
Criteria for Success
1. Effective blended leadership – academic and administrative
2. Strong faculty engagement
3. Clear Business Plan with accountability, metrics
4. Flexible approach: based on local conditions, priorities for engagement, rather than fixed model
5. Recruitment of dedicated, outstanding individuals
Over to you!Questions for Consideration1. What’s worked for you?
2. What are the key challenges faced in :a. establishing an overseas office?b. managing an office?
3. What do you consider to be the advantages (and disadvantages) of the models of engagement?- Hosted office, consultancy, representative office, agent-based
4. How can success be measured?