Chief Marketing & Growth Officer | University of Plymouth

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Chief Marketing & Growth Officer University of Plymouth

The University of Plymouth seeks an exceptional Chief Marketing & Growth Officer to drive sustainable growth, strengthen reputation and shape institutional strategy.

University of Plymouth is seeking an exceptional Chief Marketing & Growth Officer to join our Executive Group and play a central role in shaping our future.This is an opportunity to influence the direction of a large, complex and ambitious institution with a clear purpose: advancing knowledge and transforming lives through education and research.

Reporting directly to our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Davies, and working alongside executive colleagues across the University, you will provide strategic leadership across marketing, communications, student recruitment, admissions and institutional growth. Your leadership will help determine how we position ourselves in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape, strengthen our reputation and identify opportunities that support our long-term sustainability. You will bring together market insight, institutional ambition and organisational influence to help us make informed choices about where we invest, how we develop and how we extend our reach. For the successful candidate, this is a rare opportunity to combine strategic influence, institutional purpose and tangible impact at one of the UK’s most distinctive universities.

Who we are

Located in Britain’s Ocean City, we are a broad-based, research-intensive university with an international reputation for excellence and a strong commitment to civic engagement.

We combine outstanding teaching, impactful research and meaningful partnerships to create opportunities for our students and deliver benefits for communities and organisations regionally, nationally and globally.

Our heritage and location have helped us develop internationally recognised strengths in marine and maritime education and research, health, sustainability and innovation. From our pioneering research into marine microplastics to our contribution to healthcare education and regional economic growth, we have a long history of tackling real-world challenges through research, partnership and enterprise.

Our purpose is advancing knowledge and transforming lives through education and research. Our vision is to deliver outstanding interdisciplinary research, experiential education and civic engagement.

Four principles guide our work:

• Quality: striving for the highest quality in everything we do
• One Team: working, planning for and delivering a shared vision, underpinned by a strong sense of collegiality.
• Reputation: building our institutional reputation through confidence in our pioneering contributions, excellence in education and research, socio-economic impact, and thought leadership
• Sustainability: sustainability in our finances, reputation, services, partnerships, environmental performance and global contribution.

These principles shape our culture, inform our decisions and provide the foundations for our future development. We combine academic excellence with societal impact, creating opportunities for individuals and communities while contributing to economic, environmental and social progress.

About the opportunity

As our Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, you will shape and deliver our integrated growth, marketing, external engagement and communications strategies.

You will hold executive responsibility for a significant portfolio spanning marketing, communications, student recruitment, admissions and market development. Alongside providing leadership for these functions, you will identify opportunities for sustainable growth, market expansion and education-related income.

You will operate at the intersection of strategy, growth and reputation, bringing a market-informed perspective to our Executive Group and institutional decision-making. Your insight will help us respond confidently to change, make evidence-based choices and pursue the opportunities that are right for our University.

Working collaboratively across our Faculties and Professional Services, you will build shared ownership of our growth ambitions. You will ensure that market intelligence, customer understanding and external insight inform our strategic planning, academic portfolio and investment decisions.

Your success will depend on your ability to connect our institutional ambitions with the needs of learners, employers, partners and wider society. You will bring clarity to complex opportunities and help us translate ambition into focused, deliverable and sustainable plans.

Shaping our next chapter

One of the most compelling aspects of this role is the opportunity to help define the next chapter of our development.

We are seeking your executive leadership to support sustainable student-related and education-led growth. You will help us identify opportunities across existing and emerging markets while responding effectively to changing learner expectations, employer needs and wider sector dynamics.

This will include exploring opportunities across:

• Undergraduate and postgraduate recruitment
• International student recruitment
• Lifelong learning and professional education
• Flexible forms of education delivery
• Strategic partnerships
• New products, services and growth opportunities informed by market demand

Your experience in interpreting market and commercial insight will be central to our academic portfolio development. You will help us understand learner and employer demand, anticipate emerging markets, evaluate new modes of delivery and identify opportunities for sustainable growth.

Working closely with colleagues across the University, including Research, Partnerships and Innovation, you will help us maximise opportunities for collaboration, external engagement and impact. Your leadership will support our ambitions to strengthen our regional, national and global reach while ensuring that new opportunities remain aligned with our purpose and values.

Strengthening our reputation

We have a compelling story to tell and significant strengths on which to build.

As custodian of our brand, you will lead the continued development of our positioning and reputation. You will ensure that our identity, strengths and strategic ambitions are communicated clearly, confidently and consistently to prospective students, partners, stakeholders and wider audiences.

You will oversee our marketing and communications activity, strengthening our profile and ensuring that our voice remains distinctive and relevant in an increasingly competitive environment.

There is a considerable opportunity to develop an even more compelling and differentiated proposition for our University. Your leadership will help us communicate the breadth of our achievements while drawing particular attention to our strengths in marine and defence, health, sustainability, innovation, civic engagement and regional leadership.

You will bring together our growth, brand, and reputation strategies, ensuring that they reinforce one another and support our wider institutional ambitions.

Leadership, influence and collaboration

As our Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, you will operate at the heart of institutional decision-making.

We value collaboration, evidence-based decision-making and inclusive leadership. We are looking for someone who shares those values, is comfortable operating in complexity and ambiguity, and inspires confidence through sound judgement, intellectual curiosity and a commitment to meaningful outcomes.

Your ability to deliver through influence will be as important as your formal authority. You will listen carefully, challenge constructively and create the conditions in which colleagues can contribute their expertise. You will also provide clear and supportive leadership to the multidisciplinary teams within your portfolio, enabling them to work collaboratively and perform at their best.

This opportunity offers something increasingly rare: the chance to influence the future of a university with a strong identity, a clear social purpose and ambitious plans for the years ahead.

You will join a university that is internationally recognised for its impact, deeply connected to its city and region, and committed to improving lives through education, research and partnership.

We will give you the scope to shape strategy, challenge thinking, strengthen our market position and help create the conditions for sustainable growth. You will be able to connect our institutional success with wider societal benefit, ensuring that more people can access the transformative opportunities higher education provides.

This is a role for a leader who wants to make a lasting contribution, rather than simply oversee a function. You will help shape the future direction of our University and extend our reach, relevance and influence.

Who we are looking for

We are seeking an accomplished executive leader who combines strategic judgement, commercial awareness and a deep understanding of how growth, reputation and market positioning contribute to organisational success.

We welcome applications from commercially astute leaders within higher education, as well as from adjacent sectors and commercial environments. Your experience might have been gained in a university, a purpose-led organisation, a consumer-facing business or another complex setting.

We are interested in the perspective you will bring, the outcomes you have achieved, and your ability to apply your experience within our complex and purpose-driven environment.

Your experience in the following areas will be welcomed:

• Providing executive or senior leadership within a large and complex organisation
• Delivering growth, brand, marketing, customer, commercial or other market-facing outcomes
• Shaping organisational strategy and translating ambition into measurable results
• Applying strategic and commercial judgement
• Using data, market intelligence and customer insight to inform decisions
• Identifying opportunities, assessing risk and navigating complexity
• Communicating and influencing effectively with a wide range of audiences
• Building productive relationships with senior colleagues and external stakeholders
• Leading and developing substantial multidisciplinary teams
• Delivering outcomes through influence, collaboration and formal authority

Your experience in leading growth strategies, building brands, developing new markets, strengthening customer or student engagement or delivering commercial outcomes at scale will be particularly relevant.

You will need to demonstrate that you can adapt your experience to our higher education context. You will understand the importance of balancing commercial judgement with institutional values, academic ambition and public purpose.

Higher education experience will be highly valued but is not essential. We recognise that relevant insight and leadership capability can be developed in a range of settings. We are therefore open to candidates whose experience brings fresh thinking, provided you can demonstrate a genuine understanding of our environment and a strong commitment to our purpose.

Most importantly, you will be excited by the opportunity to help shape our future, strengthen our reputation and build sustainable growth. You will share our belief in the power of education, research and partnership to improve lives and create positive change.

An inclusive and supportive community

We are a diverse, welcoming and inclusive community. We value the contribution that different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences bring to our institution.

We are committed to creating an environment in which you and your colleagues can thrive, develop and be yourselves. Through our staff networks, equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, we continue to strengthen a culture founded on equity, inclusion and belonging.

We believe a diverse workforce enhances decision-making, innovation and organisational success. We therefore welcome applications from people of all backgrounds who share our commitment to advancing knowledge, transforming lives and creating positive impact through education, research and partnership.

Welcome from the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive

Thank you for your interest in this significant opportunity to join the University of Plymouth as our Chief Marketing and Growth Officer. The University of Plymouth is entering an exciting new phase in its history. Guided by a refreshed vision:

Together we shape extraordinary futures, creating knowledge, innovation and opportunity in Plymouth, our region and around the world.

This an important and influential leadership role. Working across academic faculties, professional services and external partnerships, the successful candidate will lead a coordinated approach to recruitment, engagement and reputation building, ensuring the University’s strengths are effectively communicated to audiences in the UK and internationally.

This is an opportunity to join an ambitious, collaborative and forward-looking executive team at a university that is proud of its history, confident in its future, and committed to making a positive difference to lives, communities and society. We are looking for an inspirational leader who can bring strategic vision, creativity and commercial insight, while building strong relationships across the institution and beyond. I hope that, having learned more about the University and this opportunity, you will be inspired to apply and help shape the next chapter of the University of Plymouth’s success.

Professor Richard Davies
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive
University of Plymouth

About the University of Plymouth

A university shaped by place and purpose

Our coastal location, maritime heritage and purposeful partnerships with industry and research organisations have helped us build an international reputation for excellence in marine and maritime research and education.

From our origins as a nineteenth-century College of Navigation, we have developed expertise across marine biology, ocean science, marine engineering and environmental sustainability. Our marine strengths also influence research and teaching in business, law, health, psychology, geography, architecture, education and the humanities.

Our pioneering contributions have been recognised through three Queen’s Anniversary Prizes, including recognition for our work on marine microplastics and ocean sustainability.

Alongside our marine excellence, we are proud to be one of the leading providers of health education and research in the South West. We prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals and undertake research that improves health outcomes for communities locally, nationally and globally.

Teaching, research and student success

We are committed to providing an exceptional student experience and ensuring that our graduates are prepared to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Through the Plymouth Compass, placements, work-based learning and personalised academic support, we help our students develop the skills, confidence and resilience they need for their futures.

Our achievements include:

• A place among the world’s top 100 universities and the UK’s top 15 in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings
• Gold ratings in all three categories of the Teaching Excellence Framework
• Three Queen’s Anniversary Prizes
• 94% of our graduates entering employment or further study within 15 months of graduation
• Recognition among the UK’s leading universities for graduate prospects
• Being named Community University of the Year 2027
• Founding membership of the Defence Universities Alliance
• Becoming the first UK university to achieve accreditation from the International Accreditation Council for Business Education
• Becoming the first university to receive the Social Enterprise Mark

We are equally committed to generating real-world impact through innovation, collaboration and enterprise. We oversee a £100 million network of business support facilities, including incubation, innovation and science park infrastructure that supports entrepreneurs, businesses and regional economic growth.

Through our research, partnerships and civic engagement, we work with industry, government, public services and communities to address important global and local challenges.

Plymouth offers an exceptional quality of life. Set between the sea, countryside and moorland, our city combines the energy of a vibrant waterfront location with a strong sense of community.

Dartmoor National Park, the South Hams coastline and Cornwall are all within easy reach, providing an outstanding environment in which to live, work and study.

Plymouth offers a distinctive balance of professional opportunity, cultural activity and outdoor life. By joining us, you will become part of an ambitious and purposeful university in a city and region with a strong identity, remarkable natural environment and growing opportunities.

We know the real benefits of having a diverse community of staff and students, people who value each other. People who appreciate the contribution that each individual makes, who help us to be an open and accessible university, and deliver teaching and research that makes a difference. Here on campus we focus on moving from good to great and we’re all a part of making that happen.

That’s why we’re fully committed to promoting equality and eliminating discrimination for all staff, students, applicants and visitors.

We are long‑term supporters of Athena Swan and we offer a number of self‑managed employee networks – including our LGBT Staff Forum and a Women’s Network which offer support, guidance and the opportunity to contribute to our equality and diversity agenda.

We offer a number of self‑managed employee networks including our LGBT Staff Forum and a Women’s Network which offer support, guidance and the opportunity to contribute to our equality and diversity agenda.

Our policies on equality and diversity, and harassment and bullying, apply to all aspects of staff and student activity within the University. We expect everyone to support and implement all of our equality policies and ensure that their behaviour and/or actions don’t amount to discrimination or harassment in any way.

In accordance with the Equality Act 2010, we have an approved Equality Scheme in place here at the University. This provides you with more information about the current equality objectives we are working towards.

Applicants with disabilities are welcome to contact us in confidence at any stage of the recruitment process to discuss any reasonable adjustments or support that may be required to ensure fair and equal participation.

Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.

Timetable

Closing date: Monday 9th November 2026
Candidates informed of outcome: Friday 13th November 2026
First stage online interviews: Thursday 19th November 2026
Final interviews: Friday 27th November 2026

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