Assistant Technical Manager
Who are we?
We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 48,000 students throughout their time at university. We help to make student life the best it can be by supporting students to campaign for change, creating opportunities to meet new people, providing employment opportunities, providing advice and support and being a safe place on campus.
We are a values-centred organisation that employs around 90 permanent, full-time members of staff. We recruit a wide range of roles throughout the year within all our departments from our Commercial team operating Manchester Academy Venues, 13 Media, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee to our Student Activities, Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Finance, HR and Facilities teams. Our team of around 400 part-time, studying staff are instrumental in providing to support to all departments as well as leading major projects like Student Angels. When you join UMSU, you’ll be immersed in an environment that empowers staff to make great things happen and we're always on the lookout for innovative, passionate, and proactive people to join us.
Our values are really important to us and shape the work that we do every day. As part of our recruitment process, we want you to demonstrate how your experiences, behaviours and skills align with our values. You can find more detailed explanations of our values on our website.
About the role
Join the Team Behind Manchester's Biggest Live Events
Manchester Academy is an iconic, award-winning live music venue and part of Manchester Students' Union, the largest Students' Union in the UK. Every year, we welcome more than 300,000 music fans through our doors and host hundreds of world-class gigs, club nights, and events.
We're looking for an Assistant Tech Manager to join our Venues Team. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of Manchester's thriving live music scene, supporting productions from some of the biggest and most exciting artists touring today.
As Assistant Tech Manager, you'll play a key role in delivering exceptional live events, overseeing technical operations from load-in to load-out and ensuring every show runs smoothly, safely, and professionally. We're seeking someone with experience operating audio and/or lighting consoles, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced live events environment.
What you'll be doing:
- Managing the technical delivery of productions from load-in through to load-out.
- Engineering live sound and lighting for concerts, club nights, and special events.
- Acting as the primary point of contact for all technical enquiries relating to venue operations.
- Maintaining safe, clean, and organised stage and backstage environments in line with Health & Safety requirements.
- Monitoring venue facilities and taking proactive action to ensure a safe working environment.
- Mentoring and supporting the development of our student technical staff.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Salary: £27,013 - £30,237 per year
Contract: Permanent, Full-time
Hours: 35 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK
Our Reward Package
You'll get access to our reward package which you can see here.
Recruitment Guide
We have a guide that explains our full recruitment process. We recommend reading through this before beginning an application.
If you are invited to interview with us, we will share our interview questions in advance so you can prepare your responses. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as prepared as possible.
AI Use
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are revolutionising how we approach a whole host of tasks at work. As a future-focused employer, we believe in embracing, not banning, these tools. However, as with all tech, some ways of using it are better than others. You can use GenAI to refine and articulate your ideas. It’s a tool to help structure your thoughts and improve clarity, not to replace your unique voice and experiences. Please don’t just copy and paste what AI tells you to write.
We recommend you read our guide on how to approach the use of AI within our recruitment process:
Inclusivity and Accessibility
We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on skill and values.
We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.
If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Under this scheme, we aim to offer an interview to candidates who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. Minimum criteria are marked with an asterisk on the person specification. However, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or peak recruitment times (i.e. July, August and September), it may not always be possible to guarantee an interview for every eligible candidate. In such cases, we will take steps to ensure that the process remains fair, consistent, and inclusive.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 10/08/2026
Applications close: 03/09/2026
Interviews:14/09/2026 and 19/09/2026
Role Commencing: 01/10/2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to make any further changes. Please ensure you are happy with your responses before submitting.
Contact
People Team:
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: jobs.su@manchester.ac.uk
Phone: 0161 306 3279
Hiring Manager: david.morrissey@manchester.ac.uk
You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.