HigherEd Consulting | Coaching | University Partnerships

Ciara Hamagishi

Hi there!

Let me tell you a little about myself - I am a coach who loves creating partnerships, building programs and connecting people. 

I have been leading initiatives and new ventures on the commercial side of education for almost a decade. My roles have primarily targeted the North American and European markets, with a focus on Canada. Currently, I am a freelance consultant building higher education partnerships and early-stage Edtech strategies. 

My career has granted me in-depth business expertise in the following:

- Tech Bootcamp (Digital Marketing, UX/UI Design/ Web/App Development, VR/AR)

- Industry <> Partnerships (PPP - Public-Private Partnerships) with Higher Education

- Post Secondary Partnerships, Continuing Education (Lifelong Learning) <> Tech Bootcamps 

- International & Domestic University Admissions/Recruitment/Marketing

- Global TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Training and Instructor Recruitment

- Campus (University) Recruitment for Big4 Consulting

- Professional Designation, Focus on Recent Graduates/Career Changer Pathways

Feel free to connect or message me if you are interested in speaking more about either. 

I'd love to hear from you!

Partnerships Manager, Education

Coach & Consultant

Launching Fall 2020!

Zsofi Health Ltd (“Zsofi”) is a functional wellness testing and education platform created by women for women. Zsofi’s mission is to empower women with personalized data and education to transform their wellness journey. 

We started Zsofi because we know how frustrating it is to be eating healthy and exercising but still struggle with our weight, acne, and PMS. We’ve spent too much time and money trying to figure out why we feel “off” despite doing everything right. 

Many women have things going on impacting their health and happiness that they just can’t figure out. 

Acne, weight gain, PMS, infertility, and fatigue are common experiences but they’re also common signs of hormonal imbalance. By making hormone testing available and adding customized lifestyle tips on how to improve those imbalances, Zsofi empowers women to heal themselves.

Consultant

•  Created a new business unit to pivot the company. This process started from initial concept and I lead the development to successful partnership execution in less than a year.

•  Developed a go-to-market strategy to position RED as a global industry leader and help expand our footprint for three regions: NALA (North and Latin America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific).

•  Lead outreach, discussions and negotiations for complex partnerships of 5+ years and $5M+ in value.

•  Managed a small, senior team of the global lead(s) and their market-entry strategy for each respective region.

•  Advised and participated in overall company strategy as a member of the executive leadership team.

•  Collaborated with multiple internal stakeholders including the C-suite, department leads (marketing, project management, systems).

VP, Global Partnerships

•  Lead a team of seven domestic and international admission officers in Vancouver and Toronto to achieve 110% of our national target.

National Admissions Manager

• Managed all commercial activities for the Vancouver Campus broadly including admissions/sales, event planning/execution, digital marketing strategy. 

• Partnered to create the initial career services program and established hiring connections. Hosted the hiring events and facilitated introductions as well as coaching for students.

• Lead a three-person team of admission and marketing coordinators.

• Initiated new revenue generating projects including a university relations strategy, campus and alumni ambassador programs as well as strategic relationships with government and corporate partners.



Sales & Marketing Manager

Founded in 1942, HRMA (now CPRH) is the largest HR association that offers professional learning and networking opportunities including workshops, symposia, events, and an annual conference and tradeshow. 

As the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services, HRMA has more than 5,500 members encompassing CEOs, VPs, directors of HR, HR generalists, HR advisors, consultants, educators, students, and small-business owners. 

In my role I:

• Managed all member facing services of the HRMA including: events, post-secondary relations, digital communication, learning and development roundtables. 

• Oversaw the budget, event planning and marketing initiatives related to member relations.

Member Relations Manager

Deloitte is one of the "Big Four" accounting organizations and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals.

In this role I:

• Worked as a part of the Talent Acquisition team to organize the new grad, co-op, and summer student recruitment for four service across three offices in BC. 

• Executed CPA Fall Recruit as well as individual campus hires which involves: event planning, candidate stewardship, internal client relationship management, interviews and the offer process.

• Coordinated the Deloitte Summer Student Program including the onboarding training, social events and activities, performance management as well as the final hiring recommendation process. 

• Managed the budget for campus events, the summer program and overall recruitment spends at key universities.

• Trained staff and partners on Deloitte campus recruitment strategy and initiatives.
 
• Represented Deloitte as a firm ambassador in-person as well as virtually through corporate social media accounts - @D_CiaraHa


Campus Recruitment Specialist

Devoted to the preparation of world citizens through global education, Fairleigh Dickinson University is New Jersey’s largest private university and features more than 100 liberal arts and professional degree programs, two international campuses, dozens of partnerships with internationally renowned institutions, and special programs and status within the United Nations. 

In this role I:

•  Managed all aspects of international and domestic student recruitment for the North American market. 

•  Developed  and maintained the student pathway program with American community colleges.

• Organized the design and creation of marketing collateral such as the university brochure, trade show display and handouts by working with the graphic designer, printer and academic departments.

•  Managed staffing and execution of all domestic on-campus events such as the open house, familiarization tours and campus visits 

•  Acted as the primary representative/planner for all BC high school tours and visits such as the Post-Secondary Institutions of BC tour and the Canadian Universities Event tour.

Student Recruitment Officer

• Assigned to create the Affiliate Partnership Program for the University of Toronto TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Course.

• Sourced affiliates through online networking/cold-emailing and signed them via Skype or in-person meetings.  The program was generating substantial revenue within two months.

• Negotiated final contracts and handled the on-going management/coaching of affiliate marketing as well as sales performance.

Strategic Partnerships Coordinator

Teach Away is the worldwide leader in international teacher recruitment and online teacher professional development. With the widest variety of international teaching jobs, Teach Away’s international offices match educators with the best jobs teaching abroad in over 50 countries.

In this role I:

• Sourced and selected teacher candidates to interview utilizing social media, on-line job postings and a customized SalesForce database.

• Interviewed an average of seven candidates per day speaking with both domestic and international applications to determine whether their teaching pedagogy and personal characteristics were a fit for the Abu Dhabi Education Council. 

• Traveled to interview sites around North America to assist the client with conducting final round interviews. Prior to travel would work with selected candidates to overview procedures and prepare official documents required to work in the UAE.


Placement Coordinator

• Created change management documentation and processes for branch-wide use in project handovers.

• Assisted project manager in maintaining project schedule and budget for multi-million sub-station projects and change requests for these projects.

• Selected as one of four branch-wide trainers for the rollout of a new online management system in partnership with BC Hydro.

Project Coordinator Intern

• Worked with the social media consultant to build the initial online marketing strategy/content plan and assisted in the pitch to the executive team.

• Worked directly with the acting VP of North America to determine a new market entry strategy executed by the product management and marketing team.