Sustainability Assistant
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 sustainability and empowering students to create positive change? Join Manchester Students’ Union as our Sustainability Assistant and help support student-led projects, campaigns and initiatives that contribute to a fairer and more sustainable future.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and organised Sustainability Assistant to join our Student Influence team. This exciting role will support students, student groups and elected officers to develop and deliver sustainability initiatives across the University and Students’ Union. As a Sustainability Assistant, you will help connect existing sustainability projects with new student ideas, ensuring students have the support, resources and opportunities they need to make an impact.
The Sustainability Assistant will provide practical support to student-led projects, including identifying funding opportunities, booking rooms and spaces, connecting students with key university contacts and promoting activities through Students’ Union and University communication channels. You will play an important role in helping students overcome barriers and ensuring sustainability initiatives are visible, accessible and successful.
Working closely with the Executive Officer team, the Sustainability Assistant will support the development and evaluation of sustainability campaigns and projects, helping to share best practice and strengthen sustainability activity across the institution. You will also contribute to partnerships with Students’ Unions across Manchester and external organisations, including Manchester City Council where appropriate.
A key aspect of the role involves building strong working relationships with the University of Manchester’s Environmental Sustainability team. You will attend meetings, contribute student perspectives to university-wide sustainability discussions and support collaborative projects that bring together students and staff to drive meaningful change.
The role will also support the development of digital sustainability as an emerging area of work, helping to create campaigns and projects that engage students with sustainability through digital platforms and innovation.
About You
We are looking for someone who:
* Has experience supporting projects, campaigns, events or initiatives.
* Is passionate about sustainability and social impact.
* Has excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
* Can work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.
* Is highly organised and able to manage competing priorities.
* Shares our commitment to inclusion, transparency, continuous improvement and delivering an excellent student experience.
If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to help students shape a more sustainable future, we'd love to hear from you.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Wage: £13.45 per hour + holiday pay
Contract: Zero Hours, Fixed-Term until June 2027
Hours: approximately 10 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK and a current student at UoM, graduating in 2027 or later.
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: 01/07/2026
Applications close: 27/07/2026 23:59 pm
Interviews: 18/08/2026
Role Commencing: 01/09/2026
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: david.ruiz@manchester.ac.uk
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.