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