Student Advisor (Student Finance)
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 someone who thrives on helping others, solving problems, and making a tangible difference in people’s lives? We’re looking for a committed and empathetic Student Advisor (Student Finance) to join the Advice Service at the University of Manchester Students’ Union (UMSU). This is a full-time, fixed-term role for 12 months, with the possibility of extension subject to funding and business needs.
As a Student Advisor (Student Finance), you'll provide free, independent and confidential advice to students at the University of Manchester. You’ll be a generalist Student Advisor while also taking the lead on student finance and money advice. You'll become our team's specialist in this area, helping students understand their funding options, access financial support and navigate financial challenges. As a generalist advisor you’ll be providing advice and guidance across all areas of the Advice Service, including academic issues and regulations, University disciplinary procedures, housing and wider student life matters.
With the rising cost of living and increasing complexity of student funding, you’ll play a key role in helping students access the financial support they need and empowering them to make informed decisions. We’re looking for someone who can support students professionally, sensitively and with empathy, ensuring they feel heard, informed and confident about their next steps.
You’ll enjoy this role if you have an interest in money advice and financial wellbeing, alongside a curiosity about the law and an enthusiasm for understanding regulations, policies and procedures. Excellent communication skills are essential, together with the ability to respond compassionately to students experiencing distress or crisis while providing practical advice and support.
Alongside one to one advice, the Advice Service delivers supported self-help resources, preventative campaigns and outreach activities to help students access information before problems escalate. If you enjoy engaging with people, you’ll have opportunities to contribute to website and social media content, deliver presentations and workshops, attend promotional events and collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders across the University community.
You’ll be part of a small, supportive and dedicated team, working in a busy and varied environment where student wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. We’ll support your development through ongoing training and continuing professional development, helping you build expertise across all areas of our advice service while developing specialist knowledge in student finance. You’ll also benefit from regular opportunities for reflection and wellbeing support, including access to external restorative supervision.
Experience of providing student finance or money advice is desirable. However, we also welcome applications from candidates with experience in advice, welfare, support work, professional student services or other settings who can demonstrate transferable skills, a willingness to learn and a genuine passion for supporting students.
At UMSU, you’ll be part of a supportive, inclusive and values-driven organisation that champions student empowerment. We offer a collaborative team culture, opportunities for professional development and the chance to make a meaningful and lasting difference to students’ lives every day.
If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been looking for, we’d love to hear from you.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Salary: £32,042-£35,237 per year
Contract: Fixed-Term for 12 months
Hours: 35 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK at the start of employment
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: 02/07/2026
Applications close: 27/07/2026 23:59pm
Interviews: 20/08/2026
Role Commencing: 28/09/2026
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: Su Barton
You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: Su.barton@manchester.ac.uk