Head of Strategic Student Communications

Arden University; Coventry; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 70,000

Job description

Salary: £65,000 - £70,000 per annum

Employment type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Pro Vice Chancellor Student Experience

Department: Student Experience

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. The primary location for this role will be based at our Coventry head office.

Travel will be required into the following locations:

• Coventry head office
• Birmingham campus
• Leeds campus
• Nottingham campus
• Manchester campus
• London area (Tower Hill, Holborn & Ealing)

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 Student Experience team is dedicated to supporting and empowering students throughout their journey at Arden. They provide wellbeing support, academic guidance, career development, and engagement initiatives, ensuring every student feels connected and equipped for success. Our focus on innovation and continuous improvement helps create an inclusive and enriching learning environment.

About the Opportunity:

We are looking for a Head of Strategic Student Communications to develop and implement a dynamic communication strategy that enhances the student experience.

This is a new role at Arden. In this leadership role, you’ll ensure students receive clear, timely, and engaging messaging across multiple channels, keeping them informed about university policies, events, resources, and support services. You’ll collaborate closely with university departments and the Arden Student Association to create a strong sense of community, ensuring that student communications align with institutional priorities and evolving student needs.

This is an opportunity to drive innovative and effective communication initiatives that enhance student engagement, information flow, and overall experience. If you have a strategic mindset, a passion for student success, and expertise in communications, we’d love to hear from you!

About You:

Here is what we are looking for:

Essential Experience:

• Strong knowledge of higher education structures, policies, and the student lifecycle.
• Proven experience in digital marketing, social media management, and content creation.
• Demonstrated ability to shape a house style for branding elements and communication templates.
• Experience managing teams and working in a collaborative environment.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
• Proficiency in communication platforms, including email marketing tools, content management systems, and social media analytics.

Desirable Experience:

• Experience in budget and resource management.
• Experience commissioning and managing video projects, including user-generated content.

Key Competencies:

• Leadership and team management
• Strategic thinking
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills
• Data-driven decision-making
• Creativity and innovation
• Adaptability in a dynamic environment

Why 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%
• SimplyHealth plan option
• Private Medical Insurance coverage (applies to certain job roles)
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Plus, other excellent benefits
• 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: Wednesday 16th of April

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.

If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.

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 the guidance 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 under the points-based immigration system. 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.