Head of International (Student) Recruitment

We are seeking an experienced and strategic leader to join Edinburgh Napier University as our Head of International Recruitment. This is a newly created role, reflecting our ambitious global growth plans, and offers a unique opportunity to shape and lead the future direction of international student recruitment across the University.

The Role: As Head of International Recruitment, you will lead the development and delivery of the University’s international recruitment strategy. You will be responsible for achieving ambitious recruitment targets across a diverse portfolio of markets, ensuring our approach is evidence-based, agile and aligned with institutional priorities. This new role has been established to provide dedicated strategic leadership to our International Recruitment function.

You will lead, engage and develop a high-performing, geographically dispersed team of around 30 colleagues across the UK and our global network, embedding a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement. Working closely with senior stakeholders, including the Director of Global Engagement, academic Schools, and external partners, you will play a key role in shaping market strategy, informing planning processes, and strengthening our position in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

This is a highly visible role that involves significant international travel, representing the University at key events, building strategic partnerships, and identifying new opportunities for growth. You will lead the University’s international recruitment strategy, delivering sustainable growth across all levels of study through the development of evidence-based, multi-year regional plans.

You will inspire and manage a global, geographically dispersed team, embedding a high-performance and coaching-led culture, while overseeing budgets to ensure effective investment and strong return. The role will drive market diversification, strengthen the global agent network in line with the UK Agent Quality Framework, and build strategic partnerships with agents, institutions and stakeholders worldwide.

In this role, you will also support wider departmental priorities by identifying opportunities for transnational education (TNE) and global online partnerships, working closely with Schools and colleagues to develop and progress these. You will provide expert market insight to inform planning, forecasting and portfolio development, working closely with academic Schools and senior leadership.

As a senior representative of the University, you will raise our global profile through international engagement, while continuously monitoring performance, identifying new opportunities, and leading cross-directorate initiatives that support the University’s wider internationalisation objectives.

Who we are looking for: You will be an experienced leader in international student recruitment within higher education, with a strong track record of delivering growth in a complex, global environment. You will bring:

• Significant experience leading international recruitment operations and delivering measurable outcomes
• Proven ability to develop and implement successful market strategies across multiple regions
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience of leading large, dispersed teams
• Experience of managing budgets and developing business cases for investment
• Excellent relationship management and influencing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels
• Strong analytical capability, with experience using data and insight to inform decision-making
• Outstanding communication and organisational skills
• A proactive, innovative and adaptable approach in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally and work flexibly

A postgraduate or professional qualification, experience in mature B2C markets (e.g. North America or Europe), and additional language skills would be advantageous.

At ENU, we offer a great working environment where we support ambition, recognise achievement, and offer other excellent benefits including:

• Minimum of 41 days annual leave (including 10 fixed holidays)
• A generous pension scheme (employer contribution of 17.6%)
• Various learning and development opportunities
• Access to our benefits platform Vivup which includes huge range of discounts across the UK’s major retailers, health care discounts and Cycle to Work
• Discounted access to onsite and local gym facilities