Students union chief executive officer jobs

Lead the development and management of a comprehensive programme of extracurricular activities, encompassing student groups, societies, volunteering opportunities, and events. Ensure an excellent volunteering experience for student leaders and volunteers, supporting their personal and professional growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Effective development and management of student led opportunities.
• Development and delivery of high-quality training and development opportunities empowering student leaders to contribute to the success of CSU’s strategy.
• Continuous and sustainable growth in the range of student opportunities and the number of students engaged.
• Ensuring a high-quality volunteering experience.
• Operational Management of the Opportunities team.

We are seeking a new Chief Executive to deliver a world-class students’ union.

Applications close: 9 a.m. Friday 11th July 2025

Location: Hybrid/London (at least 3 days per week on-site)

About the LSE Students’ Union

LSE Students' Union (LSESU) is a £5.6m not-for-profit organisation for LSE students. We've been part of the LSE community since 1897, and all LSE students automatically become LSESU members when they enrol.

We exist to:

• Support students holistically in terms of their academic and student experience, serving as an independent source of advice and advocacy.
• Help students shape and lead their own academic and student experience by providing opportunities that foster connection and engagement, building their skills and future careers.
• Use our influence to forge and create change in the interests of students within the institution, the community, and wider society, by empowering the students themselves.

We are emerging from a change programme which has seen us significantly enhance our culture, governance, and partnerships. We are proud to have positive morale internally, with 93% of staff feeling they are trusted and well respected at work. We have enhanced our Trustee board and enjoy a great level of support and engagement from Trustees.

Our new approach to building partnerships with LSE is working exceptionally well, including investing in dedicated partnerships management roles within our staff structure. We are also excited to be opening a newly refurbished commercial offer in the very near future.

About the role

We have set an ambitious strategy for 2030, which our team is enthusiastic about. Our vision is to be a union today, empowering every student to shape tomorrow. This is a journey about us transforming the educational journey and student experience of our members, setting a global standard for a world-class students’ union. Our plan has three core pillars focused on partnerships, advancing student voices, and creating a lifelong sense of identity.

We are seeking a new Chief Executive to drive this strategy and deliver a world-class students’ union.

Who we are looking for

Our ideal candidate brings proven senior leadership experience from a high-profile organisation, with expertise in managing complex situations and challenges, including those of a politically complex nature. You will have exceptional strategic vision and a successful track record in building institutional partnerships.

Your track record will show that you have led transformational change and provided empowering, inspiring leadership to your teams to achieve organisational goals.

Staff well-being, professional development, and having an inclusive culture where teams feel valued and motivated are important to us. Our new CEO will be responsible to the Trustee Board and the Sabbatical Officers, so we need a leader who is authentic, communicative, and committed to ethical leadership and decision-making.

We care deeply about the well-being of our team, but the nature of our work can mean that we need to respond rapidly to complex, emotional, and political challenges at a moment’s notice. Our leader will need the ability to remain calm and resilient under pressure and adapt to change and challenges as needed.

We welcome all candidates with the leadership experience required to consider this post, including those who might be considering working within a Students’ Union for the first time. You will be supported by an exceptional team that is excited to work with a new CEO.

Please click 'Redirect to recruiter’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Friday 11th July 2025.

Students’ Union UCL is an organisation that exists to make more happen. We are the representative body for University College London’s (UCL) students, one of the most diverse student communities in the world. UCL students have the potential to do anything, and the Union plays an essential role in helping them to achieve things they may have never thought possible. As a charity we employ over 130 career staff and over 250 part-time student staff, and deliver a wide range of services and representative functions for students. We work in partnership with UCL towards a fantastic experience for all of our 48,000 students and to ensure that university life enables them to develop the skills, experience and confidence to become the leaders of the future.

Our vision is of an outstanding experience for all UCL students and to be one of the best students’ unions in the UK and the world.

It's an exciting time to join our growing organisation as we lead the delivery of UCL’s ground-breaking Student Life Strategy. This is enabling us to build more programmes to improve students’ mental and physical wellbeing, promote genuine equity for all, build students’ skills and confidence, develop their international connections and intercultural skills, and make a real contribution to our local community.

We support hybrid working. Excellent benefits including defined benefit pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement. We are proud of high levels of staff engagement and pride ourselves on being a great place to work.

The role is a full time and permanent contract. This role is based at our UCL East campus with occasional working at Canary Wharf when required with flexibility to work from home on a 40/60 basis (40% working from the office). We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible, and job share basis wherever possible. 

We are looking for a School of Management Coordinator to drive student engagement and community enhancement at our expanding Canary Wharf Campus.
 

The post-holder will coordinate union-led activity at the SoM in Canary Wharf, supporting other departments in the activity they run and running engaging and relevant activities for SoM students. The post-holder will also support the UCL East Manager in undertaking continual research into activities and tracking engagement with activities on the campus.

Do you have experience in creating and supporting student communities? Do you enjoy running fun events for students and creating an exceptional experience for them? If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you!

Our ideal candidate will have some event-management experience, excellent communication capabilities and should be comfortable and experienced in engaging with students.

Are you an experienced accountant looking for a new challenge? Support our digital transformation and shape the future of finance within The Student's Union.

About the role

You will be responsible for managing the day-to-day financial operations of the SU. Working as part of a busy team at the heart of the SU, you will be accountable for making sure that the staff and students have the financial advice and support they need to deliver our charitable purpose.

Your relationship with student treasurers and budget holders will be key, and you will ensure they have up to date and reliable management information, as well as ensuring that finance policies and processes are followed throughout the organisation.

You will act as finance lead on events and a range of projects, as well as providing expert knowledge of fundraising and grants support. You will also support the Head of Finance in delivering the strategic aims of the organisation, whilst stepping in to support the day-to-day delivery of your team.

This role sits within the Finance Department in the Students’ Union. We offer a vibrant and fun working environment and flexibility to enable your work-life balance. We are open to this role being on a full-time or part-time basis (0.8 FTE) with a negotiable working pattern to suit you and us.

More than just a “job”, this is an opportunity for committed and ambitious people to help shape our organisation and the lives of the students we represent. Join us and be part of our story!

About you

We are looking for an experienced accountant with fantastic interpersonal skills. You’ll have a can-do attitude and ability to thrive in a fast paced and ever-changing environment. Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail are vital. Within this role you’ll be student-led and empathetic with the cause, mission and values of The SU.

Our ideal candidate will be:

• Part qualified (ACCA/CIMA/CIPFA) or Level 4 AAT with experience
• Able to work under own initiative to deliver objectives to agreed targets and a high standard
• Able to lead and motivate individuals and a team through change
• Experienced and knowledgeable in accounts preparation, purchase/sales ledger management, stock and fixed asset reporting, and financial accounting using complex financial systems
• Aware of and experienced in good finance practice, accounting standards and guidelines related to charitable fundraising

Further information

For any informal enquiries about the role please contact Ryan Bird, Chief Executive. 

Please ensure that your application is submitted via the University website.

What we can offer you:

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We are very proud to be an autism friendly university and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

• Free counselling services through Health Assured
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff discounts on postgraduate tuition fees
• Staff discount on language courses
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• A wide range of personal and professional development opportunities including Apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning and more
• Free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• Local discounts and more
• A family-friendly workplace 
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• Relocation allowance
• Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses

We are committed to continually expanding our benefits to better support you and enhance your experience with us. Find out more about our benefits.

Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on X for more information.

This is an exciting senior policy role in our committed policy team leading the fight to end child poverty in the UK. The development of a UK-wide child poverty strategy in government means this is a great time to join CPAG as we look to influence to influence policy makers to adopt our evidence-based policy solutions to child poverty.

We are looking for someone to take a lead role in developing evidence-based policy positions to support CPAG’s influencing and campaigns work. You will have knowledge of political processes and how external organisations can effect change. You will have a track record of producing high quality research and analysis, including policy briefings, on social policy issues. You will enjoy working collaboratively to identify policy issues and develop solutions, working closely with colleagues across the organisation as well as externally.

The postholder will be working in a fast moving, high profile and complex policy environment and will need to balance short term priorities with long term objectives. Current priorities include influencing the development and implementation of the forthcoming child poverty strategy, sharing analysis and expertise as part of the DWP’s review of universal credit, and monitoring the development of the green paper on the changes to disability benefits, and the white paper on employment.

We welcome applications from individuals with the skills and experience outlined and we can be flexible about working arrangements. We operate a hybrid working system and would be happy to discuss any flexibilities required. CPAG is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion which you can read more about in the job pack.

For more information about this post and to apply download the Senior Policy and Research Officer job pack.

Closing date for applications: Monday 7 July (midnight)

Interviews will be held in London on Monday 14 July

Contracted Weekly Hours: 37.5. Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Contract type: 12 months

Salary: £25, 890.72 per year

Annual Leave:25 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays per annum

Location:Based in Bournemouth, with extensive travel across BCP and the Dorset area. Hybrid working option for some of the time when not on visits.

International Care Network is a Christian charity whose aim is to help to rebuild the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. We are looking for two experienced support workers to support individuals and families under all relevant Government resettlement schemes (predominantly Afghan, but not limited to), who have been resettled in Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset. The case load for one of these roles will be primarily, but not exclusively based in Dorset (primarily Weymouth, Dorchester and Sherborne) and so travel to these locations will be a significant element of the role. The caseload for the other role will be primarily based in BCP, but travel to Dorset will still be expected. You will need a valid UK driving licence, your own reliable vehicle and to be a confident driver for this role.

ICN provides benefits to staff including:

• Company pension scheme.
• Travel costs paid for at 45p per mile, not including travel to and from work.
• Staff welfare opportunities including socials and access to external clinical supervision.
• Training opportunities relevant to role.

ICN will seek to ensure that all existing and potential employees are given equal opportunities. We are committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in our employment policies and practices. Our aim is to promote diversity so that no employee or potential employee will be subject to unlawful or unfair discrimination because of gender, age, marital or civil partnership status, colour, race, nationality or other ethnic or national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity or membership or non-membership of a trade union or political beliefs. We will seek to ensure that no applicant for employment is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be justified.

ICN take the safeguarding of service users, staff and volunteers very seriously, with a robust safeguarding policy and process in place. As part of this ICN are committed to developing a safe culture ensuring that all steps are taken to recruit staff and volunteers who are safe to work with our service users and staff, including requiring relevant DBS checks to be taken for roles working with children and/or vulnerable adults.

About the job

Over the past decade Pembroke House’s activities in Walworth have grown considerably, with annual turnover rising from £200k to £1 million. Further growth is expected as a result of a new strategy anchored around five 10-year commitments to the neighbourhood, consolidation of our activities across two community buildings and continuing to build wide-ranging partnerships in Walworth.

We are looking for an experienced and skilled financial professional who can steward us through this crucial period of development.  You will be someone who combines a passion for our mission, a keen eye for detail and a flair for interpreting financial information and supporting non-specialists to make sound financial decisions. 

Days will be varied spanning everything from helping budget holders report to funders; preparing accurate financial reports and management accounts; to creating the budgets and frameworks for long-term financial planning. The rest of the core finance team comprises a Bookkeeper and a pro bono Payroll Officer based in Pembroke College, Cambridge. Other members of the team manage petty cash, look after the room hire business (including invoicing and credit control) and administer pensions. 

The trustee’s Finance and Risk Subcommittee formed two years ago and a new trustee position of Treasurer is currently being recruited. The Finance Manager will service and attend the subcommittee’s quarterly meetings and be the main contact point with the Treasurer between meetings.

As a new role there will be plenty of opportunity to mould finance operations across the organisation. Finance systems are currently in place, and have satisfied the auditor over the past few years, but there remains scope for improvement, including through automation and upskilling of the wider team.

Key duties and responsibilities

• Foster a culture of financial responsibility, in conjunction with the Leadership Team.
• Draft the audit file and schedules and assist the auditor with follow up questions and queries.
• Lead on the preparation of the charity's annual budget.
• Prepare fundraising budgets, financial claims and invoices for funders in line with (grant) agreements.
• Approve and act as signatory to all contracts for services issued and received.

About Pembroke House

Pembroke House is a centre for social action and residential community in Walworth, south-east London. 

We were founded in 1885, by students from Pembroke College, Cambridge, as one of the first settlement houses. Shocked by growing poverty and inequality, the pioneers of the settlement movement sought a new approach: taking up residence to live, work and solve problems alongside local communities. We continue to share a building with St Christopher’s church, which has its routes in the same student settlement.

For over 130 years, we’ve been working to bridge traditional divides and unite people – whatever their background or walk of life – in building a better Walworth.

The post-holder will be responsible for providing practical and emotional support to individuals living with and affected by HIV, and LGBTQ+ people living across the Liverpool City Region. This includes ensuring they have access to essential services, resources, and community networks. The post-holder will also support our outreach efforts, working alongside our wonderful partners to promote good sexual health.

This is a unique opportunity for a committed individual to develop their experience and expertise within an evolving regional charity.

The post will involve some travel across the Liverpool City Region (excluding Wirral).

We seek someone with experience working with diverse communities. Knowledge and understanding of the common experiences and need of people living with HIV, and the LGBTQ+ community is desirable.

The ideal candidate will possess a relevant qualification (such as an NVQ Level 3 or above in social work, health, education) or equivalent experience and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

We are looking for someone with strong interpersonal skills (working with staff, volunteers, and service users), excellent organisational skills, and enthusiasm.

The post-holder will be responsible for providing support and advocacy to LGBTQ+ refugees and people seeking asylum, ensuring they have access to essential services, resources, and community networks to enhance their wellbeing and integration.

This post is proudly funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

We seek someone with experience working with diverse communities. Knowledge/understanding of some of the common experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ people, and people living with HIV.

The ideal candidate will possess a relevant qualification (such as an NVQ Level 3 or above in social work, health, education) or equivalent experience, and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

We are looking for someone with strong interpersonal skills (working with staff, volunteers, and service users), excellent organisational skills, and enthusiasm.

The post-holder will be responsible for deliver a range of support interventions for people newly diagnosed with HIV, and those re-engaging in their HIV care, who may be identified via Emergency Department Opt-Out testing in Liverpool.

Collaboratively work with Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUFHT) to ensure people living with HIV receive practical, social and emotional support. The delivery of peer support in a clinic setting and, in the community, and onward referrals to relevant services.

Ensure that people living with HIV in vulnerable circumstances are supported to minimise the risk of them returning to ‘need to find’ status and remain engaged in services.

We seek someone with experience working with diverse communities. Knowledge and understanding of the common experiences and need of people living with HIV is essential.

The ideal candidate will possess a relevant qualification (such as an NVQ Level 3 or above in social work, health, education) or equivalent experience, and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

We are looking for someone with strong interpersonal skills (working with staff, volunteers, and service users), excellent organisational skills, and enthusiasm.