Head International (80 - 100 %)
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Olten
Key information
- Publication date:31 October 2025
- Workload:80 – 100%
- Contract type:Permanent position
- Place of work:Olten
Job summary
Join Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW as Head International, driving diversity.
Tasks
- Lead international activities and partnerships for the university.
- Coordinate research projects with foreign partners effectively.
- Analyze trends and advise on international strategy development.
Skills
- Master’s degree or equivalent, with experience in higher education.
- Strong communication and leadership skills required.
- Fluency in English and German is essential.
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Diversity at the University - we seek variety
Head International (80 - 100 %)
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, School of Business Management
Your tasks:
In this responsible position, you design and manage the university's international activities, promote exchange with partner institutions, and contribute to the strategic development of internationalization. In this versatile and strategically important role, you take responsibility for expanding and maintaining international partnerships as well as for further developing the international orientation of our university. Your key tasks include in particular:
- acquiring foreign university partners for student exchange and cooperation projects in the field of education and training and maintaining relationships with the responsible persons at partner universities
- ensuring coordination with research projects and partners abroad
- documenting the results of contract acquisition and network maintenance in the form of regular reports
- analyzing trends in the internationalization of tertiary educational institutions, identifying opportunities and risks, further developing the international strategy, and advising the university's decision-making bodies
- assessing cooperation requests from foreign universities and advising university management accordingly
- leading the staff of the International Students Exchange/International Office
- representing the university at conferences and sitting on the FHNW International Commission
- opportunity to teach in education and training
Your profile:
For this demanding leadership position, we are looking for a committed, internationally experienced personality with strong communication skills, leadership competence, and a solid understanding of the university and education landscape. Ideally, you bring the following qualifications and characteristics:
- completed university studies with a master's degree or equivalent education (additional training in International Relations and/or Educational Management desirable)
- comprehensive knowledge of Swiss and international higher education, intercultural communication, and international networks
- several years of professional experience in an expert organization and/or in the education sector
- excellent and negotiation-secure language skills in English and German (including presentation skills)
- proactive, integrative, and winning personality
- personal international network
The combination of teaching, research, and practice is our passion. Our University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW School of Business fosters and utilizes the enriching diversity of its staff. It is our ambition to learn day by day in a connected and dynamic world to train innovative and responsible leaders of tomorrow. In doing so, we live a appreciative, practice-oriented, and internationally influenced culture.
