Secretary General

About the job

Founded in 1951, the Lausanne Popular University (UPL) will celebrate 75 years of knowledge transmission and sharing in 2026. Each year, no fewer than 400 courses across more than 15 themes are offered to nearly 2,700 participants. UPL places accessibility to knowledge and culture at the heart of its mission, without social, age, educational level, or economic distinction. It is committed to making culture and knowledge accessible and offering everyone the opportunity to fully develop their potential throughout life.

To ensure the deployment and coordination of its activities and support its development, the Lausanne Popular University (UPL) is seeking

a Secretary General (80-100%)

Missions and responsibilities

Directly reporting to the Executive Committee through its Chair, the Secretary General assumes operational responsibility for all UPL activities. They are in charge of implementing the decisions and directions of the Executive Committee. They guarantee the quality of services and ensure smooth internal functioning and coordination. They act as the contact person for external partners.

The tasks and responsibilities notably include:

• Assuming operational management of UPL: ensuring the deployment and monitoring of decisions and projects of the Executive Committee and development strategy; ensuring the steering and management system; acting as secretary for UPL bodies.
• Assuming hierarchical responsibility for the permanent team: leading the permanent team and managing human resources tasks.
• Ensuring the deployment of UPL services: overseeing the establishment of training offers, visits and excursions and their deployment, in connection with the Pedagogical Commission; deciding on course openings; producing the course catalogue; assuming hierarchical responsibility for trainers and managing the resulting administration.
• Ensuring financial and accounting management: preparing budgets; ensuring proper accounting and closing of accounts, in collaboration with the fiduciary company; ensuring documentation and archiving.
• Managing quality tasks: overseeing the quality management system; ensuring its implementation.
• Ensuring communication and promotion of UPL and its services: establishing and updating the communication strategy and plan; ensuring visibility and promotion of courses as well as organising promotional events for UPL activities; maintaining contact with the media; ensuring internal communication.
• Maintaining relations with external partners: managing relations with established partners; developing the partnership network.

Skills

• Proven aptitude for organisation, planning and management
• Sense of responsibility, priority management and handling complex situations
• Initiative, versatility, flexibility
• Ability to lead a team, leadership
• Ease in collaborative work
• Interpersonal skills, communication and institutional representation skills
• Excellent command of French (fluent speaking and writing), command of English and, if possible, German
• Excellent command of MS Office suite tools
• Proficiency in CMS, databases, social networks; Canva, InDesign a plus