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

Be at the forefront of student-led change in one of the UK’s most exciting and dynamic cities – join us as Associate Director Student Influence at Manchester Students’ Union.

Manchester Students’ Union is seeking a visionary Associate Director to spearhead our student influence work, empowering over 47,000 students to become powerful changemakers across the University, the city, and beyond.

The Role

As Associate Director Student Influence, you’ll lead the strategic development and operational delivery of our changemaking activity. You’ll ensure students are represented and supported to lead meaningful change, whether through policy, campaigning, or building grassroots movements. You’ll work closely with elected student leaders, university stakeholders, and civic partners to grow UMSU’s influence locally and nationally.

This is a senior leadership role, reporting to the Director of Student Engagement and accountable for a team including a Head of Policy, Head of Student Campaigns and Senior Officer Development Coordinator.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement strategies to grow UMSU’s influence across university, city, and nationally.

• Lead and mentor a high-performing team to deliver impactful change initiatives.

• Cultivate relationships with policy makers, civic organisations, and sector bodies.

• Champion student-led, evidence-informed approaches to advocacy and representation.

• Oversee democratic processes and political education initiatives.

• Drive performance through strategic planning, budgeting, and resource management.

Essential Criteria

We welcome applicants from all educational backgrounds. You’ll need to demonstrate:

• Proven experience in changemaking, whether from a campaigns, organising, advocacy, policy or public affairs background.

• Strategic leadership and team management in a values-led organisation.

• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills.

• Ability to develop and deliver innovative strategies for change.

• Excellent communication and diplomacy, with a collaborative mindset.

• Commitment to inclusivity, transparency, and student empowerment.

Why Join Us?

• Competitive salary and generous benefits see full list here

• Hybrid working options

• Clear progression pathway through our graded role structure

• A supportive, inclusive, and values-driven workplace

Apply Now

If you’re an experienced changemaker ready to shape the future of student influence, we want to hear from you. Join us as an Associate Director and help us build a better student experience. 

Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.

Details

Salary: £42,689 - £55,770 per year

Contract: Permanent 

Hours: 35 hours per week

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: 22/10/2025 16:00 pm

Applications close: 9/11/2025 23:59 pm

Interviews: 25/11/2025

Role Commencing: 05/01/2026

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.

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:

You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.

Email: anneessa.mahmood@manchester.ac.uk