Director of Academic Services

Arden University; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days holiday + bank holidays

Aviva pension plan

BUPA Cash Plan

Private Medical Insurance

Perkbox benefits

Study Arden courses free

Golden Ticket

Job summary

Arden University is seeking a Senior Director of Academic Services to lead a broad portfolio that spans Academic Resourcing and Timetabling, Careers and Employability, Employer Engagement, Library and Learning Success, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Academic Excellence.

This role reports to the Provost & Chief Academic Officer and requires strategic leadership to deliver outstanding education at scale.

Qualifications

• Senior leader with a track record of delivering operational excellence and strategic change in higher education or similar environments.
• Experience leading multiple service areas and driving performance through data and insight.

Responsibilities

• Lead Academic Services and integrate functions such as Academic Resourcing, Timetabling, Careers and Employability, Employer Engagement, Library and Learning Success, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Academic Excellence.
• Ensure Academic Services operates as an integrated system that enables excellent academic delivery and student success.
• Drive continuous improvement using evidence and performance measures to align services with institutional priorities.
• Lead large-scale service transformation, workforce planning, and cross-functional collaboration with senior academic and professional services leaders.

Job description

This role operates on a hybrid working arrangement that will require regular travel into our UK locations listed below when required. Travel each week will fluctuate in line with business requirements. Our working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit so please note that an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.

Travel will be required into the following locations:

• Coventry Head Office
• Birmingham Campus
• Leeds Campus
• Manchester Campus
• Newcastle Campus
• Nottingham Campus
• London area (Ealing, Holborn and Stratford)

About Arden University

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

About our Department

The Academic Office at Arden University plays an important role in supporting academic governance, quality assurance, and student success. The department oversees key processes such as programme validation and approval, policy development, regulatory compliance, and assessment management.

Working closely with faculties, professional services, and external regulatory bodies, the Academic Office ensures that Arden's academic standards align with sector benchmarks and accreditation requirements. It is also responsible for enhancing student experience by maintaining fair and transparent academic policies, supporting assessment boards, and facilitating effective learning and teaching practices.

About the Opportunity

We are looking for an exceptional senior leader to join Arden University as our Senior Director of Academic Services. Reporting to the Provost & Chief Academic Officer, you will lead a diverse portfolio of services that are critical to the success of our students, academics and academic operations, ensuring the University has the people, systems, resources and support needed to deliver outstanding education at scale.

This is a highly strategic and influential role, responsible for bringing together a broad range of functions including Academic Resourcing and Timetabling, Careers and Employability, Employer Engagement, Library and Learning Success, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Academic Excellence into a coherent, high-performing service model.

Working closely with Deans, Campus Academic Directors and senior professional services colleagues, you will ensure Academic Services operates as an integrated system that enables excellent academic delivery, supports student success and improves graduate outcomes. You will use evidence, insight and performance measures to drive continuous improvement, enhance efficiency and ensure services are aligned to institutional priorities.

This role presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of academic support services across a growing and innovative university. You will lead large-scale improvement initiatives, strengthen institutional capability, champion student‑centred service design and ensure services deliver measurable impact for both students and colleagues.

You will be an experienced senior leader with a track record of delivering operational excellence, organisational improvement and strategic change within a complex higher education or similarly sophisticated environment.

You will bring significant experience of leading multiple service areas, driving performance through clear accountability frameworks and using data and insight to inform decision‑making and improvement. You will be comfortable operating at both strategic and operational levels, moving seamlessly between long‑term planning, performance management and day‑to‑day delivery.

A strong collaborator and influencer, you will have the credibility to work effectively with senior academic and professional services leaders, building productive partnerships while maintaining focus on outcomes and accountability. You will be passionate about creating services that improve the student experience, enhance academic delivery and support institutional success.

Most importantly, you will be a values‑led leader with the vision, resilience and drive to build an integrated Academic Services function that delivers excellence, innovation and measurable impact across the University. Experience of large‑scale service transformation, workforce planning, performance improvement, digital innovation or complex operational leadership would be particularly valuable.

At Arden

At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits.

Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on-top, and even a Christmas closure!
• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
• BUPA Cash Plan
• Private Medical Insurance
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Plus, other
• Our 'Golden Ticket' which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education

Our Values

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.

Closing Date: Sunday 11th October

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to here.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Sponsorship statement

Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa, or fulfil the criteria we have for providing sponsorship. However we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.