Director of Educational Enhancement and Assurance

University of the West of England; Bristol; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading higher education institution in Bristol seeks a Director of Educational Enhancement and Assurance to provide strategic leadership, ensure academic quality, and drive innovation in teaching. Ideal candidates will have a proven background in strategic roles and the ability to influence and lead diverse teams. The role is full-time and offers a vibrant campus environment with opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Career development opportunities

Retail savings

Onsite nursery

Qualifications

• Proven track record in a strategic leadership role in higher education or a complex environment.
• Demonstrates inclusive leadership fostering a thriving culture.
• Energetic and resilient in a fast-paced and uncertain environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for academic experience.
• Ensure academic assurance and regulatory compliance.
• Drive innovation in curriculum design and student engagement.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational excellence

Evidence-based decision making

Collaboration

Influencing skills

Job description

Overview

We are looking for an exceptional and visionary individual with a passion for educational excellence and strategic impact to join our senior leadership team as Director of Educational Enhancement and Assurance within Education Services.

About the role: This pivotal role supports the Deputy Registrar, championing transformative leadership across the University by advancing excellence in learning and teaching, ensuring integrity in compliance and regulatory practices, and igniting innovation.

As one of the Directors within Education Services, you will:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership to enhance and support the academic experience across UWE and our academic partners.
• Lead institutional efforts to ensure academic assurance and regulatory compliance, maintaining the highest standards of quality and governance.
• Drive innovation in curriculum design and delivery, including the fostering of digital literacy among staff and partners.
• Champion student engagement, working closely with the Students’ Union and student representatives to ensure the student voice shapes our direction.
• Develop and implement inclusive policies and frameworks that support academic excellence and student success.
• Ensure service areas operate efficiently and effectively, aligned with University-wide objectives and financial sustainability.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of education at a dynamic and forward-thinking university. You’ll be part of a passionate leadership team committed to delivering outstanding outcomes for students, staff, and the wider community.

About you: You will be a values-driven leader who:

• Has a proven track record of delivering strategic and operational excellence in higher education or a similarly complex environment.
• Demonstrates inclusive leadership, fostering a culture where people thrive and continuous improvement is embedded.
• Is adept at making evidence-based decisions and aligning cross-service initiatives to drive performance.
• Brings a collaborative mindset and the ability to influence at all levels of the institution.

We are keen to hear from applicants with a wide range of backgrounds and do not need you to have direct experience of working in higher education. For example, you might currently work within a large and complex environment where you are able to demonstrate your ability to lead and motivate a team, develop frameworks for continuous improvement within an area that requires compliance and assurance, ensure effective prioritisation of a varied and complex workload and deliver a high-quality people-centred service.

Energetic and resilient, you enjoy working at pace and are comfortable leading and working with uncertainty, incomplete information and complexity. You have excellent communication and influencing skills and establish credibility quickly with staff at all levels. You are passionate about the power of higher education to transform lives and will inspire your team individually and collectively to deliver the best possible support for students.

This post is based at our lively Frenchay campus where we have invested in the latest facilities and resources to give both our staff and students access to everything they need to succeed.

Why UWE Bristol?

We are one of the largest providers of Higher Education in the South West with 38,000 students and 4,000 staff from right across the globe. Based in vibrant Bristol, our ambitions are to make a positive difference to our planet, transforming futures through actions and solving real world challenges.

We offer a wide range of employee benefits including progressive pay rates, very generous annual leave and career average pension schemes as well as retail savings, onsite nursery and opportunities for training and personal development.

Add your individuality to ours

UWE Bristol recognises the power of a truly diverse university community. We are proud to be part of a dynamic, multicultural city that celebrates diversity, and we’re always looking for talented people from all backgrounds to join us. Our people are our strength, and diversity enhances our creativity and leads to better decision-making and problem-solving. Bring your talent and ambition to our stimulating and supportive community where we’ll help you thrive.

UWE is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity to create an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who share our ambition to be a university recognized for the success and impact of our practice-oriented programmes, our strong industry networks, and our inclusive global outlook.

We particularly encourage applications from global majority candidates as we are currently under-represented in this area; however, all appointments are made strictly on individual merit.

As a Disability Confident employer we welcome applications from those who identify as having a disability.

Further information

If you would like an informal discussion, please contact Rachel Cowie on 0117 328 6747 ([e-mail]).

This is a full-time, permanent post. Due to the nature of the role, this post is not available on a job share basis for applicants wishing to work part time.

UWE Bristol is a campus-based university and it is vital to our success and the delivery of an outstanding experience for our students that our campuses are dynamic and vibrant places to learn and spend time. This role is therefore campus based, with the opportunity to work from home at the discretion of the line manager.

Shortlist Interviews are likely to take place on 23rd October 2025 and will include a presentation, discussion panel and formal interview.

The University has a legal responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to work in the UK. You will therefore be required to provide evidence of this right; please refer to the Home Office Right to Work Checklist for information on which documents are acceptable.

Please note that UWE Bristol does not cover any visa or health surcharge costs.