Director of NUS Charitable Services

£60-65k (pro rata) Flexible 25 hours per week.

The NUS Group now has sound foundations and continues to develop through its current 3 year strategy, underpinned by the structural changes to the organisation in 2011. In creating the new charitable body – NUS Charitable Services – students’ unions are beginning to be better supported and developed to build their capacity and ability to deliver the services that students need. Managing a turnover of £1.9m and leading a team of around 25 people (plus associates), reporting directly to the Board and with formal line management support from NUS Group CEO, you will be in a position to grow the organisation further in scale and activity and effect great change.

Working alongside the Chair and with the support of two Heads of Service, you will lead the development of existing services such as SUEI (the Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative), providing turnaround support, driving the talent management in students’ unions, while working on special projects and Ethical and Environmental matters. Students’ needs are ever changing and as students’ unions adapt, NUS Charitable Services will look for new opportunities to have a positive impact on students’ lives. As opportunities are realised and effectively managed, the charity will continue to build its own identity, a point of reference both within the student movement and with external partners and become financially self sustaining.

As part of the NUS Group Senior Management Team, the Director of NUS Charitable Services will be an influential figure in this growth period, consolidating on this year’s successes in developing strong working relationships with member unions and excellent project work across Ethical and Environmental and sporting legacy building following the Olympics and Paralympics. Excellent communication skills and political sensitivity will be key, striving to influence, advise and establish strong collaborative relationships at senior levels with our member students’ unions and beyond. This should be coupled with the tenacity, entrepreneurialism and resilience to really drive through an improvement agenda, ensuring that good intentions translate into measurable outcomes on the ground. The Director of NUS Charitable Services will be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the students’ union movement and its governance arrangements or could have a similar understanding of the charity sector or membership organisations. As both NUS and NUS Charitable Services adapt to students’ expectations, change must be well managed, with the Director positively influencing creative and customer focused teams who strive to innovate whilst delivering value.

Whatever the background, it’s important to have a real insight into how organisations’ performance can be enhanced combined with practical experience of making it happen. Furthermore the successful candidate will be someone who really ‘gets’ both the dynamic and relationship between NUS and member students’ unions and the essential and unique role of elected student national officers in the charity’s strategic direction and implementation.

Application deadline: 10am, Monday 5th November.

Longlist interviews: 27th or 28th November - London or Manchester TBC.

Final panel: 12th December - London.

For further information on this position, including an application pack, please visit www.nuspeople.co.uk

We encourage applications from women and BME applicants who are under-represented at senior manager level.