Company: Global University Systems

Location: Toronto, ON

Expected salary:

Job date: Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:34:32 GMT

Job description: Global University Systems is an international education group that empowers students to transform their lives through education. We believe education drives careers, lives, and society forward, enabling a brighter future for all. Our network of 30 institutions offers the broadest range of industry-relevant skills through inclusive, accessible, and digital-first learning. We currently educate around 122,000 students on campuses worldwide and have 20M+ unique subscribers to our courses. Our global ecosystem powers accessible digital learning and academic achievement.Global University Systems (GUS) is seeking a commercially astute and innovation-led leader to drive the strategic development, profitable growth, and global expansion of its online education portfolio. This is a pivotal role responsible for scaling GUS’s online operations while ensuring sustainable, margin-conscious growth. The ideal candidate will bring a strong track record of building scalable, commercially successful online ventures, with experience across organic and inorganic value creation, digital innovation, and learner experience transformation.Key Responsibilities1. Strategic Development & Product Innovation

• Lead the development of scalable, market-aligned online learning products, ensuring alignment with both learner demand and institutional goals.
• Own and manage the global digital product roadmap, driving innovation from ideation to launch across diverse markets.
• Embed gamification, immersive content, and emerging technologies into the digital learning ecosystem to enhance engagement and attract new learner segments.
• Continuously evolve the online offering to reflect changing learner behaviours and digital content consumption trends.

2. Commercial Strategy & Profitable Growth

• Develop and execute go-to-market strategies for online programs, optimising student acquisition, retention, and monetisation models.
• Work closely with marketing and commercial teams to drive qualified traffic, conversion, and student lifetime value.
• Analyse and optimise pricing, bundling, and promotional strategies to maximise revenue and profit margins.
• Deliver profitable growth, with close attention to EBITDA performance and unit economics across product lines and institutions.

3. Platform Excellence & Student Experience

• Oversee the optimisation of the online learning platforms to support scalable delivery, high engagement, and strong retention metrics.
• Use analytics to improve the student journey, from onboarding through to course completion and progression.
• Ensure the technology stack supports personalisation, automation, and commercial flexibility at scale.

4. Performance Analytics & Insight-Led Optimisation

• Define and monitor KPIs; including profitability, funnel efficiency, and learner engagement.
• Build and maintain dashboards to track business performance and inform decision-making.
• Use data insights to iterate strategies and improve outcomes across the learner lifecycle.

5. Inorganic Growth & Strategic Partnerships

• Identify and assess inorganic growth levers—including M&A, strategic partnerships, and platform acquisitions—in partnership with the CIO and executive leadership.
• Support due diligence and integration planning to accelerate capability expansion and market entry.

6. Leadership & Cross-Institutional Alignment

• Coordinate with institutional online leaders to ensure consistent delivery of revenue-generating, high-quality programs.
• Partner with senior leadership to embed online education growth goals into institutional strategies and long-term planning.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience scaling profitable digital education businesses or online platforms.
• Commercially driven, with a deep understanding of margin management, pricing strategies, and digital business models in education.
• Strong knowledge of emerging digital engagement strategies, including gamification and user experience innovation.
• Experience in both organic and inorganic growth strategies, including partnerships or acquisitions.
• A strategic thinker with a data-informed, execution-focused approach to leadership.

Global University Systems (GUS) is an international education group focused on empowering students through accessible digital learning. With a network of 30 institutions, GUS serves around 122,000 students globally and boasts over 20 million course subscribers. The organization is seeking a leader to oversee the strategic development and growth of its online education portfolio.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Development & Product Innovation:

   • Create scalable online learning products aligned with market demand.
   • Manage a global digital product roadmap, driving innovation.
   • Incorporate gamification and emerging tech to enhance engagement.

2. Commercial Strategy & Profitable Growth:

   • Develop go-to-market strategies to maximize student acquisition and retention.
   • Collaborate with marketing for traffic and conversion optimization.
   • Focus on pricing and promotional strategies to enhance revenue.

3. Platform Excellence & Student Experience:

   • Optimize online learning platforms for engagement and retention.
   • Utilize analytics to improve the student journey and completion rates.

4. Performance Analytics & Insight-Led Optimization:

   • Define and monitor performance KPIs.
   • Build dashboards for tracking business performance and decision-making.

5. Inorganic Growth & Strategic Partnerships:

   • Identify growth opportunities like M&A and strategic partnerships.
   • Assist in due diligence for expansion and market entry.

6. Leadership & Cross-Institutional Alignment:

   • Coordinate with online leaders to deliver quality programs.
   • Align online education strategies with institutional goals.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Proven track record in scaling digital education businesses.
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of digital education models.
• Experience with growth strategies, both organic and inorganic.
• Strategic thinker with a data-driven leadership approach.