Economist

The employer is looking for an:

International Development, Partnerships and Administration Specialist (reported profession)

Tasks:

• develop and implement a three-year international growth and partnership strategy for ISSwitzerland, consistent with the academic mission, enrollment objectives, and campus development plans.
• create an international development pathway for the K.I.N.D. framework and the school's future-ready programs, evaluating partnership, licensing, collaboration, training, or other scalable models
• identify, qualify, and develop strategic partnerships with international schools, universities, educational groups, companies, family offices, relocation companies, chambers of commerce, embassies, foundations, and community organizations
• build and manage a structured business development pipeline in Switzerland and selected international markets, from prospect research and initial contact to negotiation, agreement, and relationship management
• develop corporate and institutional referral channels that generate qualified inquiries from families, enrollments, sponsorship opportunities, program partnerships, and long-term strategic relationships
• support international admissions growth through market entry plans, referral networks, external presentations, school visits, information events, and relationship-based recruitment initiatives
• represent ISSwitzerland in meetings, conferences, educational events, fairs, corporate visits, and partnership discussions in Switzerland and abroad
• prepare business cases, budgets, forecasts, partnership proposals, market analyses, pricing recommendations, and implementation plans for new initiatives
• coordinate strategic projects between admissions, marketing, operations, finance, and the academic area, so that external commitments are converted into concretely deliverable programs and services
• develop selected partnerships in the areas of future-ready and sustainability with businesses, universities, and specialist organizations, linking real-world expertise to the school community
• maintain accurate CRM data, opportunity stages, next actions, conversions, and management reporting; use data to improve the growth strategy
• collaborate closely with the CEO, the Principal, and the leadership team and undertake other development and administrative projects consistent with the level and scope of the role

Requirements:

• university degree in international management, business administration, commerce, economics, marketing, international relations, or another field directly relevant to the role
• substantial professional experience (normally 5+ years) in business development, international operations, strategic partnerships, commercial management, entrepreneurship, admissions/enrollment growth, or a comparable specialist function
• demonstrable experience in building a business, entering a new market, developing a partnership portfolio, or leading a major growth initiative from conception to implementation
• significant responsibility for budgets, business planning, relationships with suppliers/partners, projects, and/or people management
• solid international professional exposure and the ability to operate effectively across different cultures, organizations, and stakeholder groups
• fluent professional mastery of English, Italian, and Serbian, including the ability to negotiate, present, develop partnerships, and draft professional and commercial material in all three languages. These languages are operationally required for international development activities in Switzerland, Italy, Serbia, and the Western Balkans
• strong analytical, organizational, written, interpersonal, and presentation skills
• availability to travel in Switzerland and abroad as necessary

Employment details:

• work location Lugano
• employment 100%
• employment start from 01.10.2026, permanent
• salary to be agreed upon