Vice Provost Research Innovation & Entrepreneurship

About Riyadh University of Arts

Riyadh University of Arts (RUA) is an institution focused on cross-cultural arts education and creative innovation in the Middle East. RUA aims to foster ideas that inspire progress and transform society through industry and academic collaboration, while rethinking creative education and providing an environment for global ideas. The university's vision is to be a beacon of knowledge, integrating culture and arts, and empowering students. Its mission is to cultivate an innovative educational environment in culture and arts, delivering programs that enrich both Saudi and global communities. RUA aspires to be a leading cultural university in the MENA region, ranked among the top 50 worldwide for cultural education, and a global hub for cultural education and knowledge exchange.

Role Summary

The Vice Provost Research Innovation & Entrepreneurship leads the university’s research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and research excellence agenda. This full-time role, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, involves setting strategic priorities, directing central research services, and allocating resources to research centers, postgraduate research, and innovation programs. The Vice Provost drives research governance, ethics, data stewardship, publication support, and performance management, while guiding commercialization, knowledge exchange, and external partnerships to convert research into measurable academic, societal, cultural, and commercial impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the design and implementation of the Research, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship department’s strategic plan, objectives, and goals, ensuring alignment with RUA's strategy.
• Direct and approve the department’s operational plans and monitor progress towards objectives.
• Manage the department’s budgeting cycle and ensure operations are conducted within budget.
• Oversee the design and implementation of policies, processes, and procedures for the department, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and mentorship to the team, fostering a performance-driven culture.
• Guide the annual research, innovation, and entrepreneurship strategy, setting thematic research priorities and targets.
• Drive a diversified funding pipeline and approve the allocation of research funds.
• Lead institutional research excellence support, including proposal development, grants administration, and funder reporting.
• Direct research information, repository, publication, and open-access workflows.
• Govern research centers and guide the postgraduate research lifecycle, including recruitment, supervision, and ethics.
• Lead innovation and entrepreneurship programs that translate research into market-ready products and ventures.
• Establish and maintain research policies, procedures, and controls, directing ethics and compliance processes.
• Maintain dashboards and reports covering grant income, publications, patents, and commercialization metrics.
• Represent the function with internal and external stakeholders to strengthen collaboration.

Qualifications and Experience

• Education: Master's degree in research management, higher education leadership, business administration, innovation management, or a related discipline. A Doctorate is an advantage.
• Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in research administration, innovation management, or higher education leadership, with at least 4 years in a managerial position.
• Skills: Demonstrated success in building research strategy, securing competitive funding, and managing complex research or innovation portfolios. Strong knowledge of research governance, ethics, intellectual property, partnership management, and commercialization pathways.
• Certifications: Professional certifications in research administration, project management, innovation, or knowledge transfer are an advantage.

Stakeholder Engagement

This role involves significant interaction with various internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders include the Provost, School and College leaderships, Partnerships, Procurement, Faculty Affairs, Digital & Technology (D&T), Legal & GRC functions, and Vice Deans of Research & Innovation. External stakeholders include National Research Funding Bodies and Grant Councils, Industry Partners and Commercial Collaborators, Government Ministries, Regulators, and Policy Bodies, Publishers, Journals, and Scholarly Networks, and Philanthropic Foundations and Donors.

About Riyadh University of Arts

RUA serves as a platform for discovery, a space where talent is nurtured, and a gateway for Saudi art and culture to the world. As the first of its kind in the MENA region, RUA is a center of creativity, knowledge, and innovation, contributing to shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s cultural ecosystem and creative economy, driving the growth of Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030.