Director of External Relations

About the role

We are committed to excellence and innovation in education and research and with a rich history and a forward-thinking approach, we strive to make a significant impact both locally and globally. Our mission is to inspire, nurture, and develop talent to create knowledge that transforms lives.

We are currently seeking an inspirational Director of External Relations to drive our marketing, student recruitment, and reputation strategy. This is a senior leadership position with the post holder being an Executive Board Associate. Reporting to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Professional Services), the Director of External Relations is a highly influential member of the University’s leadership.

The Director of External Relations oversees four key teams: Marketing, Communications and Engagement, Future Students Office, and the Attenborough Arts Centre.

You will lead and drive sustainable growth plans in order to achieve the long term student number targets to provide financial resilience in a high-quality and effective way. You will be responsible for delivering a step change in the national and international perception of the University. You will develop and lead the implementation of a brand strategy and deliver impactful awareness campaigns that demonstrably enhance our staff and student recruitment.

About you

We are looking for a strategic leader with significant experience in the leadership of Marketing, Communications, and Student Recruitment at a strategic level. Ideally, your strategic and tactical problem-solving skills, along with your direction-setting abilities, have been proven in shaping and developing policy and process within the higher education environment or multifaceted businesses of similar size and impact. You will have a track record in developing and managing global reputation strategies and associated campaigns for major brands, and you have delivered student recruitment growth in the Higher Education sector with outstanding stakeholder engagement. Your commercial experience enables you to maximise income generation across your areas of responsibility.

Our ideal candidate would have managed complex and nuanced relationships requiring bespoke approaches and high levels of judgment. You would be able to build trust and confidence across all levels of an organisation and have successfully mentored, coached, and influenced others to achieve results, leading a team of top specialists in their fields. Experience in successful budget setting and cost management is also essential.

An understanding and knowledge of how arts and cultural facilities can add value to a University brand would be desirable.

Additional information

Informal enquiries are welcome and can be made to Kerry Law, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Professional Services) at kerry.law@leicester.ac.uk.

First Stage Interviews will be held on 20 August 2024 remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Final Stage Interviews will be held on 02 September 2024 on Main Campus.

The University of Leicester has been changing the world, and changing people’s lives, for 100 years. When you join us, you’ll become part of a community of Citizens of Change, which includes not only our staff and our current students but also thousands of Leicester graduates around the world.

As a diverse and forward-thinking employer, we embed the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. That includes not just our core missions of teaching and research, but also our support for staff, students and our local community through our values of Inspiring, Impactful and Inclusive.

We’re committed to the wellbeing of all our staff and to the sustainability of our environment, on our campus and beyond. We offer a competitive salary package, excellent pension scheme and a generous annual leave allowance, along with opportunities to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative environment.