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Associate Director Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise

The University of Southampton’s mission is to change the world for the better. As a world-leading, research-intensive university, with a strong and high-quality educational offering, it is renowned for its innovation and enterprise and sits within the top 1% of universities worldwide. The University consistently achieves a top 30 league table position for graduate career prospects and has a strategic ambition to be recognised as a leading university for employability.

We have an immediate and exciting opportunity to join the leadership team of our newly created Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise Directorate in the new role of Associate Director Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise.

Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise (CESE) assists students/graduates to plan their future career paths and develop their employability skills so they can embark on successful graduate careers or further study.  CESE also supports students to set up their own business/social enterprise, become freelance/self-employed or develop essential enterprising skills.

As Associate Director Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise you will take the lead on service operations.   The Employability Action Plan (EAP) has been created in line with the University Strategy and you will convert this into effective delivery through the communication of clear business objectives, implementation of improved business processes and a clear analysis of student needs in order to deliver strategic development and operational enhancement of CESE operations.

The ideal candidate will be proactive and collaborative, with substantial experience of working within HE careers and employability. You will need to enjoy working at pace and be comfortable with a data and evidence led approach to service delivery. You will have excellent communication and influencing skills and must be able to establish credibility with staff and key stakeholders across the organisation. You must be passionate about careers, employability and enterprise and always put students at the heart of your decision making, inspiring your teams to deliver customer service excellence in everything CESE does. Although the post will report to the Director of CESE, you will be self-managing, and able to work autonomously to deliver your objectives.

This post is offered on a full time, permanent basis.

As a university we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating a working environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work. We welcome applications from candidates who are committed to helping us create an inclusive work environment. We encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, people who identify as LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.

Committed to supporting our staff and students, we are open to a flexible working approach.  We give full consideration to applicants that wish to work flexibly and those who have taken a career break.

Benefits include a generous holiday allowance and additional university closure days. We will support your long-term future too, with access to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), subsidised health and fitness facilities and a range of discounts.

We believe equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to making the University of Southampton a welcoming, vibrant and successful organisation. Having a diverse workforce, inclusive of people of all ages and beliefs, from different racial, educational and social backgrounds opens up a wealth of possibilities, makes us more creative and accelerates our impact on society. We welcome applicants that value the diversity of our community and are willing to play their part in supporting the mission of inclusivity.