Membership Services Director

Yusu; Heslington; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

38 days holiday

Discounts & benefits

Volunteer opportunities

Cycle to work scheme

Pension scheme

Shape student experience

Job summary

York Students' Union (York SU) is seeking a strategic Membership Services Director to join the Senior Leadership Team, shaping the student experience and leading membership activities across three core teams.

You will drive operational delivery, ensure inclusive practices, and use data and insight to influence policy and practice while prioritising member needs at the heart of everything.

Qualifications

• Experience in strategic leadership and organizational change.
• Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills.
• Commitment to equality and inclusive practice.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic development and operational management of membership activities across three core teams.
• Ensure delivery of inclusive, high-quality services and student engagement.
• Provide escalation point for high-risk operations and maintain legal/compliance standards.
• Utilize data and insight to influence policy and practice across York SU.

Job description

Reporting to:Co-CEO (Membership Services and CharityAffairs)

Place of Work: The University of York Student Centre, James College, Newton Way, York, YO10 5DD

Contract:Permanent

Hours of Work:40 hours a week

Salary: Starting at£52,403 per annum

Closing Date:Monday 28th September 2026 at 5pm

Interview details:

Stage 1: 9th Octoberonline meeting

Stage 2: 19th October 2026 in personatThe University of York Student Centre, James College, Newton Way, York, YO10 5DD

About the Role:

Our mission at York SU is simple - we provide representation, opportunities andrun services for all 22,000+ students at the University of York. Following anambitious period of growth, we are now entering the next chapter for York SU.

As our Membership Services Director you will join our Senior Leadership Team,shaping the Union’s student experience offer and leading strategic development,operational management and evaluation of the Union’s membership activitiesacross three core teams: student voice and representation, communities andopportunities, fostering an empowering and high-performing culture.

Reporting to the Co CEO (Membership Services and Charity Affairs), we arelooking for a strategic leader that can balance a robust approach and day to dayoperational excellence with big-picture thinking; helping us navigate anincreasingly complex regulatory landscape while keeping our members at theheart of everything we do.

You will be expected to contribute to excellent operational delivery that isinclusive by design and creates an offer that is reflective of our studentcommunities to grow engagement, impactful representation and satisfaction.You will serve as the senior point of escalation for high-risk operations, ensuringthat student activity operates within safe, legal, and inclusive frameworks. Andyou will champion a data-driven approach, using research and insight toinfluence policy and practice, and demonstrate our impact.

York SU is unashamedly ambitious, innovative, and value-led. We actively invest inour people and pride ourselves on a deeply collaborative and sector-leadingworking culture.If you’re excited by the opportunity to harness the voices of students, and want tocontribute to a sustainable and enterprising Union that’s working hard toempower, support and challenge to ensure that student life at York is the bestthat it can be, now and in the future, then we would love to hear from you.

Working at York SU:

At York SU we know that maintaining a great work life balance also improves our teams wellbeing, productivity and happiness, this is why we offer flexible working arrangements to suit personal needs and requirements. We have both a flexi-time work scheme and remote working policy available to staff as standard and welcome applicants to discuss their flexible requirements at the interview. (If applicable to the role)

• For a full year, you accrue38 days holiday (including bank holidays and 4 paid closed Christmas days) Pro rata for part time contracts
• You get extensive access to discounts and benefits
• There are paid volunteering opportunities
• You have access to the cycle to work schemes and other salary sacrifice options
• We offer a generous pension scheme
• You have the chance to shape the student experience for the better

York SU is committed to equality of opportunity - we are an organisation who works very hard to ensure we appoint based on merit. We would particularly welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and/or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer (LV1), we are proud to offer an interview to applicants who meet the minimum criteria** for the advertised position.

**It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high number of applications, seasonal and high-peak times, we may have to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.

If you are invited to interview with us we will share our interview questions in advance so you can feel a little more prepared. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as comfortable as possible.

If you have any further questions about the position, or if you have a requirement for adjustments that would make the application or interview process more accessible, please do not hesitate to contact us on [e-mail] .

Please note that products containing nuts, dairy, gluten and other potential allergies are served within our venues. We however aim to support a nut free environment within our student centre by encouraging staff not to bring nut based products to work.