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

Are you passionate about campaigning, building movements and empowering students to lead change? 

We are looking for a strategic and politically astute Head of Student Campaigns to lead the development of a powerful, inclusive student movement. This is a unique opportunity to shape how students engage with democracy, activism, and changemaking across the University of Manchester and beyond.

As Head of Student Campaigns, you’ll lead a team focused on building a stronger and more inclusive student movement. You’ll design and deliver projects that increase student participation in changemaking, support democratic engagement, and ensure marginalised voices are heard and represented. Working closely with elected student leaders and colleagues across the organisation, you’ll help shape the future of student influence.

The Head of Student Campaigns will manage a team including the Senior Democracy Coordinator, Student Community Organisers, and report to the Associate Director of Student Influence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead movement-building initiatives aligned with student priorities.

• Develop and deliver training, events, and campaigns that mobilise students.

• Increase participation in democratic processes, including student elections.

• Build relationships with stakeholders across the university, city, and sector.

• Ensure inclusive engagement, particularly for underrepresented student groups.

• Embed project management practices to deliver impactful work at pace.

Essential Criteria

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

• Experience in community organising or movement building

• Strong project management and facilitation skills

• Ability to manage multiple projects and lead a team effectively

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills

• Political awareness and sound judgement

• Commitment to inclusivity, collaboration, and student empowerment

Why Join Us?

• Great staff benefits

• Hybrid working options

• Clear progression pathways through our graded role structure

• A supportive, inclusive, and values-driven workplace

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

Details 

Salary: £36,301 - £40,560 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: 22nd October 2025

Applications close: 9th November 2025

Interviews: 26th November 2025

Role Commencing: 5th January 2025

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