Chief Executive

Students’ Union

August2014

The University for business and the professions

Role Profile

Post:Chief Executive

Department:Students’ Union

Grade:8

Tenure:Permanent

Responsible to:Students Union Trustee Board

University

Main purpose of the Students’ Union

The City University Students’ Union is a democratic, student led, membership organisation. It employs a staff support team to assist students as they take an active role in making the student experience better, and enriching students lives.

Overall Responsibilities & Job Purpose

  • To lead the development and implementation of a rolling Students' Union Strategic Plan with the Students’ Union Trustee Board, to ensure the Plan reflects the needs of the Union’s diverse student membership and to ensure that effective processes are in place to meet and monitor its objectives.
  • To promote democracy, membership engagement and student leadership.
  • To act as a source of continuity and to build and develop constructive working relationships with the Students' Union’s key stakeholders.
  • To support and mentor elected officers, ensuring that they have adequate training and supervision and are equipped to perform their responsibilities and engage with members. To assist elected officers so that their voices are heard within the University and to ensure that there is adequate staff time and resource to aid their projects.
  • To manage operational activities and procedures effectively and monitor performance regularly so as to achieve targets and objectives.
  • To oversee the recruitment, management and development of support staff.
  • To use resources effectively, including management of budgets and finances and deliver outstanding services that complement University services to enhance the student experience.
  • To ensure compliance with legal and financial requirements and with Charity Commission guidance on good governance.
  • To ensure effective governance and provide secretarial support for the Trustee Board.
  • To build a sustainable business that meets the needs of its members.

Main duties and responsibilities

Planning and organising

  • With the Trustees, ensure that a ‘cyclical strategic plan’ is in place that meets the vision and values of the Students Union, ensuring all stakeholders as appropriate are involved and that the plan is regularly reviewed and updated and amended as required.
  • To liaise with funders and project partners both within the University and beyond to develop enduring constructive strategic relationships.
  • Engage in cyclical operational planning and agree annual operational targets and service standards with the Trustee Board. This will require supporting the Board in the development of funding arrangementswith the University and being the lead on resource planning.
  • Ensure that longer term planning priorities are factored in to cyclical planning. This includes, ensuring the Union always has adequate accommodation and alerting the Trustee Board to the impacts of external factors such as changes in national higher education policy/legislation/funding thus ensuring business continuity.
  • Ensure the Union’s planning is synchronous with broader University planning with particular attention given to estates, student experience and academic policy development.
  • Be responsible for the management of multiple complex projects to time and budget.

Finance/resource management

  • Ensure adherence with the Financial Memorandum and Memorandum of Understanding with the University.
  • To ensure that effective financial procedures and management information systems are in place with appropriate systems for monitoring their effectiveness.
  • Compile regular management accounts for Trustees and management staff.
  • Report on funded activities to the University and Charity Commission in keeping with the Charity SORP.
  • Ensure the Students’ Union retains appropriate insurance at all times and conduct cyclical reviews of insurance and organisational risk.
  • Act as the data controller for the Students’ Union and ensure that appropriate data protection and data sharing arrangements are maintained.

Democratic/Governance Processes

  • To be responsible for ensuring good governance including secretarial support for the Board, advise Trustees of their duties under Charity Law, in particular in accordance with the Education Acts, the Charity Act and Students’ Union constitution.
  • Ensure that written and verbal updates are provided as required and agreed to the Board of Trustees and other relevant parties.
  • To ensure that Students’ Union elections take place in a fair and democratic manner; including employing strategies to increase membership participation.
  • To attend Trustee Board meetings in an advisory capacity and to attend other Students’ Union committees and meetings as appropriate and/or requested by Trustees.
  • Ensure that the Students Union has, and regularly reviews procedures to maintain its accountability to members.

People management

  • Manage a specialist Union staff team with a diverse range of responsibilities; including communications, student activities and student representation, ensuring they can deliver on their individual and section goals within allocated budgetary/resource constraints.
  • Ensure that appropriate staff management systems are in place, to deliver effective and responsive Union Services and efficient overall management.

Students’ Union Elected Officers

Provide advice, support, motivation, and mentoring to the elected officers to help them fulfil their role to the benefit of the membership, in particular:

  • Legal requirements in relation to their roles (including being officer Trustees of the Students’ Union;
  • Ensuring the elected officers operate within the strategic framework set by the Trustees.
  • Advising elected officers on matters of governance of the Students’ Union including the constitution, standing orders, and policies of the Union;
  • Provide advice on the creation and implementation of strategy for the development of the Students’ Union and its services.

Key working relationships

  • Work with the Chair of the Trustee Board to ensure the effective participation of Board members in decision making.
  • Work with elected officers and offer appropriate support to the continuing democratic development of the Union.
  • Work with key university staff including staff in Student and Academic Services, the Governance Team, Finance, Human Resources, Sport and Leisure, Strategy and Planning and Marketing to ensure the effective operation of the Students’ Union.
  • Maintain a dialogue with the National Union of Students, local residents and regulatory authorities such as local government and the Charity Commission on a range of issues.

Additional Information

  • A CRB check is required for this post.

All role holders are required to carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the University’s policies on:

  • Equality and Diversity;
  • Health and Safety;
  • Data Protection;
  • No Smoking; and
  • Sustainable Development.

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. All members of staff are required to be professional, co-operative and flexible in line with the needs of the post, Department, School and the University.

Job descriptions should be regularly reviewed and at least prior to the annual appraisal, if applicable or on a regular basis to ensure they are an accurate representation of the post.

Candidate Specification

Post:Chief Executive

Department:Students’ Union

Grade:8

Tenure:Permanent

Responsible to:Students Union Trustee Board

University

The Chief Executive will be an inspiring and innovative leader, a powerful communicator with the proven ability to build partnerships and manage a wide range of stakeholders. The successful individual will demonstrate commercial acumen, a track record of effective performance monitoring and the ability to further the charitable objectives of the Students’ Union while retaining a strong focus on developing services that support its members.

Qualifications

  • Educated to degree level or with equivalent relevant work experience
  • Formal management or similar professional qualification (Desirable)

Experience

  • 3 years of proven success in a leadership role at a senior management level, preferably in a high performing member/customer focused charity
  • Experience of contributing to or leading the development and successful implementation of innovative strategic plans and monitoring performance against objectives
  • Setting, working to, measuring, and evaluating key operational and strategic objectives and associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Proven experience of managing human resources effectively, including the ability to lead, motivate, and manage staff effectively
  • Experience of accurate budget setting and holding responsibilities in excess of £250k with the ability to analyse services/activities in terms of costs, value for money, market context and impact on customer/user
  • Experience, or a detailed understanding of working effectively within a democratic environment, providing clear, balanced guidance on strategic issues that achieve and develop organisational objectives
  • Experience of leading a management team including all aspects of people management
  • Demonstrable business development skills and a track record in identifying and developing income generating and commercial activities
  • Experience, or a detailed understanding of supporting effective governance / strategy within a trustee / member-led organisation
  • Experience of leading on negotiations with a significant grant funder or equivalent
  • Experience of handling media enquiries

Knowledge

  • Understanding of effective governance and administration, and UK Charity Law. It would be desirable that this knowledge pertains to Students’Unions.
  • Knowledge of the Higher Education sector, student lifestyle trends and national policy that affects students and Students’Unions
  • Understanding the culture and ethos of member led organisations
  • Understanding of democratic systems of representation, and awareness of quality management issues within Higher Education
  • A good knowledge and understanding of legal issues relating to human resources
  • Understanding of health and safety, licensing, insurance and other statutory compliance issues, particularly as these relate to students unions
  • Awareness of the social policy agenda focused around student issues, the role of student activities in the student experience, and current commercial trends in the student leisure market
  • Understanding of the use of IT for generating management information and as a staff/student support

Skills

  • A strategic thinker that can lead organisations to turn ideas into deliverable operational plans
  • Strong leadership capabilities, along with the ability to direct, motivate and influence others, and empower managers and staff to take decisions and initiate improvements and change
  • Ability to operate with political skill and able to recognise (and influence) the interests of a wide range of stakeholders
  • Collaborative but decisive and able to support individuals and teams
  • Highly developed analysis and reporting skills, with the ability to identify and explore new and innovative ways of working, producing comprehensive business cases or fully supported recommendations accordingly
  • Effective at networking and building partnerships
  • Facilitative leadership skills with an ability to empower and engage with others to shape the future
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to form effective working links with the University and agreements with external partners
  • Excellent project management skills with the ability to successfully oversee multiple projects simultaneously whilst working flexibly, under pressure and meeting demanding and often competing deadlines
  • Financial and commercial acumen with skill in interpreting financial data and the ability to develop new opportunities

Salary and Conditions of Service

The salient features of conditions of service for Senior Administrative, Senior Library & Computer Staff are as follows:

Salary: will be within the range of £51,702 to £58,172 per annum. This is on Grade 8 of the salary scales for Senior Administrative, Library & Computer Staff.

Annual Leave is 27 days, plus 8 statutory and 4 additional days during the Christmas holiday period.

You will be automatically entered into the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) with the option to opt out.

  • All offers of appointment are subject to the University receiving satisfactory references and medical clearance.
  • All posts at CityUniversity are subject to reasonable adjustment under the Equalities Act (2010).

All appointments at CityUniversity are subject to a probationary period.

The appointment is terminable by three months’ notice on either side.

Applications

When preparing your application, you should address carefully the post details enclosed and in particular the qualities outlined in the Person Specification. Please include examples where appropriate.

All applications must be received by 2 September 2014

Further Information

We operate a no smoking policy.

If you would be moving to the UK, please visit . This one-stop shop of information is designed to assist and support your move to live in the UK and work at a UK University and includes information specific to City University London.

City University confirms its commitment to equal opportunities in all its activities. It is intended that no job applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of political belief, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or social class. Selection and promotion criteria will be kept under review to ensure that individuals are treated on the basis of the job requirements and on their relevant personal merits, and are not disadvantaged by conditions or requirements, which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

If you have a disability and are interested in this post, your application is welcomed. For an informal discussion you may wish to contact the Recruitment Team on:

Telephone:020 7040 3085

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