Who are we?

We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 40,000 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

Do you work in an information, advice, guidance, or a support setting and have experience of giving money advice? Are you passionate about welfare rights and supporting students? If so we’d like to hear from you! We’re looking for a Senior Financial Advisor to deliver a dedicated financial advice offer within the Students’ Union Advice Service.

The Students’ Union Advice Service supports a student population of over 40000 with case numbers averaging over 3000 per year. We’re here to empower students to exercise their rights and options if they encounter problems during their time at university. We offer one-to-one advice on academic issues, housing, money and student finance issues and student life.

In 2023-24, financial advice made up 23% of the Advice caseload with questions on financial support options and additional funding being the biggest area of concern for students. Students having access to a dedicated Senior Financial Advisor will ensure we’re delivering on our strategic theme that students feel well supported.

A key part of the Senior Financial Advisor role will be mapping out the Service’s current offer, reviewing and improving this, as well as expanding on it. We’re looking for someone who can take the service through registration with the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can expand our offer to include debt advice. You’ll develop a one stop shop for students to access advice on a wider range of financial issues and ensure we’re providing a great experience service and demonstrating that we are a community, offering dedicated support in a key area of concern for students.

Your role will be supported by 2 student staff, who you’ll line manage. You’ll coach and support them to raise awareness of your service and the financial support available to students.

We are looking for someone who will be able to support students professionally and with a high level of empathy. Our Advice Service is used by students who are facing difficult or complex circumstances including severe financial hardship. As Senior Financial Advisor, you’ll be able to respond sensitively and compassionately to students in distress or facing crisis and will have an ability to give practical and emotional support. Excellent communication skills are essential.

We ensure that staff have regular opportunities for reflection and support for wellbeing, including access to external restorative supervision with an independent practitioner.

If you like a challenge, enjoy problem solving, working independently and thrive in a setting where no two days are the same, then this is the role for you, and we’d love to hear from you.

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

Details

Salary: £30,450 - £33,600 per year

Contract: 3 Year Fixed-Term 

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.

Inclusivity and Accessibility

We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on merit.

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.

Recruitment Timeline

Applications opened: 29th July 2024

Applications close: 14th August 2024 23:59

Interviews: 3rd September 2024

Role Commencing: September

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. In this case, all applicants who have started an application will be contacted 2 hours before we close the role.

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, Agne, with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.

Email: agne.rimkute@manchester.ac.uk