Senior Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Adviser

About ARU

ARU is a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive, and entrepreneurial education and research. Recognised with a Gold award by the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), ARU excels in high-quality education.

ARU’s research institutes and four faculties span scientific, technical, and creative fields, producing impactful research addressing global issues. ARU’s academic excellence is acknowledged by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 research areas deemed world-leading. As the largest provider of Nursing, Midwifery, Health, and Social Care students in the East of England, we also lead in degree apprenticeships, partnering with hundreds of employers nationwide.

Inclusion is central to ARU's mission. ARU has been recognised for its progress and success in developing our inclusive culture, such as being named ‘University of the Year’ at the UK Social Mobility Awards (2023), received a ‘Silver’ Athena Swan award (2024) for gender equality, a ‘Bronze’ Race Equality Charter award (2023) for tackling racial injustice, and hold a ‘Disability Confident Leader’ award (2024) for supporting disabled staff.

About the Role

Join our dynamic Organisational Development team at ARU and make a real difference. As a driver of positive change, you will lead projects that enhance our inclusive culture and improve staff experiences.

Key activities include managing the annual equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) focused staff survey. Using your experience with organisational development principles, you will uncover insights, identify improvement opportunities, collaborate with faculty/service leaders to implement actions, and evaluate long-term impacts.

You will also lead the introduction of ARU's new EDI Training Framework. This framework builds on our general mandatory EDI training, empowering colleagues with knowledge and tools on specific EDI topics. Your role will involve creating engaging content, delivering impactful sessions, and supporting a team of trainers to ensure all colleagues feel valued and supported at ARU.

Additional responsibilities include implementing institutional action plans, guiding faculty-level EDI charter applications, and developing policies and proposals that make a difference.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will have experience working in an EDI environment, and a strong background in project management and coordination. An in-depth understanding of the national equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda as it relates to higher education is essential.

If you feel you have the experience, knowledge, and meet the criteria, we’d like to hear from you and welcome your application. For informal enquiries, contact Sam Hawkins, Head of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (Staff) at sam.hawkins@aru.ac.uk for informal enquiries.

Benefits and Application

ARU offers an agile working culture with extensive benefits, including generous holiday entitlement, occupational pension schemes, training and development opportunities, a travel-to-work scheme, and a competitive relocation package. Visit our benefits page for full details. 

We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of our staff and students and value diversity, welcoming applications from all.

For a list of key requirements, please click the apply button to download the Job Description and Person Specification. To apply for this role please demonstrate how your skills and experience match the criteria in the person specification. Ensure your eligibility to live and work in the UK before applying.

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