Head of student experience

At the University of Sussex Students' Union, we are passionate about making student life better. We are looking for an ambitious, values-driven and inclusive leader to join our Senior Leadership Team as our new Head of Student Experience. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and deliver services, activities and opportunities that have a lasting impact on thousands of Sussex students.

You will provide strategic leadership across student representation, advice, activities, events, liberation work and elected officer support, ensuring the student voice remains at the heart of everything we do. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across all student experience functions, driving high-quality advice and representation, activities, events and liberation work to maximise impact and improve outcomes for Sussex students.

You will play a key role within the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to the development and delivery of the Union's strategic priorities, and lead cross-organisational support for Full-Time and Part-Time Elected Officers, ensuring they are empowered and well-supported. You will ensure student voice, insight and lived experience inform organisational priorities and service design, champion equality, diversity and inclusion across all areas of student experience, and develop productive relationships with senior University stakeholders and external partners.

You will lead, motivate and develop a high-performing team, oversee operational planning, performance management and risk management, and manage departmental budgets of approximately £1 million alongside income generation of approximately £250,000.

We are looking for skilled, friendly and highly motivated people who share our values. With our vibrant environment and organisational culture, the Students' Union is a dynamic workplace that few could match. Led by students, we are all about working with students to help them get the most out of their time here at the University of Sussex or Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

Although we are located on Sussex Campus – close to Brighton & Hove – we are separate from the University, something that is crucial to our campaigning and lobbying work. We think of ourselves as one big team and are often working together on projects or helping each other out at big events such as Freshers Week or Elections.

Working on Sussex Campus and for the SU comes with many perks: our staff receive one day off each fortnight as part of our nine-day-fortnight working trial, and access to enhanced time off, which normally amounts to an extra 6 days leave in addition to 20 days of annual leave per year, plus bank holidays. We also allocate funding for staff socials, learning and development opportunities for all our roles, and create a supportive workplace through regular one-to-one meetings, an employee assistance programme and professional health services.

We are really committed to maintaining a diverse workforce because we know how important it is to have decision makers and collaborators with varied lived experiences and backgrounds that reflect the range of needs from our diverse student community. We welcome applications from everyone, and we want to strongly encourage applications from: people with an ethnic minority or Chinese background, people with a disability, people with dependents, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

We conduct anonymous shortlisting and all of our interview panels have Unconscious Bias Training in order to support the above. We also consider flexible working for those with care commitments. If you have any suggestions as to how we could improve our language or application process please let us know.

As a representative body, one of our key aims is to increase applicants that identify as Black, Asian or a minority ethnic to work in the Students' Union. To support this we will ask you an optional question about your ethnic origin. Not providing this information will not adversely affect your application for the role. This information will be hidden during the application process. Staff that identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic are also welcome and supported to join our BAME Staff Network.

The Students' Union aims to implement reasonable adjustments for all staff and applicants with disabilities, creating a culture of cooperation, shared responsibility and proactiveness to ensure equitable access to jobs. We want to make sure everyone is supported in our selection processes, and are equipped to work safely and get as much as possible out of their role as possible.