Associate Director, Talent & Engagement in London

We are UCL: a diverse community with the freedom to challenge and think differently. The world urgently needs solutions to diverse problems. UCL was founded 200 years ago on the generosity of a collective of people who believed in an institution that could drive forward those solutions. In response, UCL has launched Here, it will happen, our biggest philanthropic and engagement campaign yet. This sets out our ambitions to solve global health, societal, climate and education challenges in UCL’s next century.

About the role

As Associate Director of Talent & Engagement, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the colleague experience across UCL Advancement at a particularly exciting point in our development. Working closely with the Executive Director of Advancement Strategy & Operations, the Advancement Executive team and central UCL colleagues, you will lead the talent and engagement agenda for a highly ambitious Advancement function delivering UCL’s bicentennial fundraising and engagement campaign. This is a strategic and visible leadership role, with responsibility for driving Advancement-specific talent planning, onboarding, learning and development, succession planning, retention and employee engagement initiatives.

You will lead and inspire a specialist team, helping to build an inclusive, collaborative and high-performing culture, while ensuring colleagues have the support, development and experience they need to thrive and succeed. You will also play a key role in developing Advancement’s people plan, shaping initiatives that strengthen team culture, enhance wellbeing and belonging, and support continuous improvement across the function.

This role will suit someone who brings both strategic insight and practical delivery, and who is excited by the opportunity to build, improve and embed approaches that will have a lasting impact across Advancement. We are happy to consider applications to work on a part-time/flexible basis wherever possible. This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 20% on site.

You will bring significant experience of leading talent attraction, onboarding, talent development and employee engagement activity, ideally within a higher education advancement, fundraising or engagement environment. You will understand what great talent practice looks like in a specialist function, and will be confident designing and delivering initiatives that help attract, develop and retain high-performing fundraising and engagement colleagues, including at senior level.

You will be an outstanding relationship-builder, with the credibility and judgement to work effectively with senior stakeholders across Advancement and central university teams. Strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy and discretion will be essential, alongside the ability to influence, coach and inspire others. You will also bring excellent communication and organisational skills, with the ability to manage a wide range of priorities and lead complex activity in a fast-paced environment.

We are looking for someone who combines strategic thinking with a practical, enabling approach; someone who is motivated by building inclusive cultures, improving colleague experience and helping teams perform at their best. Experience of leading high-performing teams, managing budgets and contributing to equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives will be important to success in this role. We are pleased to accept applications from individuals who possess transferable skills and experience drawn from sectors outside of Higher Education.

What we offer

We know that our people are our greatest asset and in return we provide an empowering environment where personal and professional growth is invested in. We offer agile working and flexibility around working hours. Working with some of the greatest intellects in the world, UCL also offers a generous pension scheme and holiday allowance, plus closure days and bank holidays.

• 41 days holiday (27 days annual leave, 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.