Director of Communications, Marketing and Student Recruitment

The University of Manchester has a rich heritage of discovery, social change and a pioneering spirit, which has been at the heart of what we do since 1824. We were founded to make a positive impact on the community we serve, and over the past 200 years, we have consistently delivered on the vision of our founders. Today we are one of the UK’s largest single-site Universities, with a diverse global community of 13,000 colleagues and 46,000 students.  

This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining the University. With Professor Ducan Ivison, our new President and Vice-Chancellor in post, and in the midst of celebrating our bicentenary, we are looking to the future with optimism. Already recognised for our excellence in teaching, research impact, we are looking to build on our strong foundation and are in the process of launching a strategic review to define our priorities for the coming years.    

It is within this context of growth and change that we are seeking a new Executive Director of Communications, Marketing & Student Recruitment (CMSR), a key professional services leader for the University. This role has strategic responsibility for communications, marketing, and UK student recruitment. It heads up a directorate of circa 100 staff centrally and involves collaboration with a further 100+ colleagues delivering communications and marketing from within faculties and other areas of the University. The position contributes to the wider leadership of professional services and the aims of the University and has the potential to profoundly influence the University’s direction over the coming years.

Reporting to the Secretary, Registrar, and Chief Operating Officer (RSCOO), a member of the PS leadership team, and working closely with the Vice-Chancellor and colleagues across the University, the Executive Director (CMSR) is integral to our continuing success as a world-leading institution. Through promoting, enhancing and advancing Manchester’s brand and reputation in order to recruit students, raise funds, forge relationships with key stakeholders and influence policymakers, this role presents a career-defining opportunity and the potential for global impact.

We are looking for a professional who is values-led and who blends exceptional functional leadership skills with a nuanced understanding of the sector and policy environment. You must be a strategic thinker capable of working across the broad remit of external relations and who has the proven ability to develop and deliver strategic transformation in a large and complex organisational context. In such a multi-layered, multi-faceted and multi-stakeholder setting, your professional judgement, determination, communication and influencing skills will be key to your success.

An executive search exercise is being undertaken by Perrett Laver to assist the Selection Committee. For further information, including a detailed job description and person specification, and details of how to apply, please visit https://candidates.perrettlaver.com/vacancies using reference number 7523.  For an informal and confidential conversation about the role, please contact Anna Murphy on +44 (0)20 3928 7388 or via email at anna.murphy@perrettlaver.com. 

The closing date for applications 00:01 AM (BST) on Monday 14th October. Final interviews will take place in the week commencing Monday 25th November.

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all sectors of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. As Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates are currently under-represented at this level at the University, we would particularly welcome applications from individuals in minority ethnic groups.