For more information and to apply visit: https://www.peridotpartners.co.uk/jobs/university-of-wolverhampton-su/
University of Wolverhampton Students’ Union represents and supports around 22,000 students across three main campuses. We have income of over £1m and more than 20 core staff, students and volunteers working together to promote student interests, support their welfare and provide social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities.
There’s something very special about our students. Many have overcome multiple systemic barriers simply to get to university. This often means that they require support and guidance to get the most from their time at university and achieve their potential when they leave. This has been compounded by the Coronavirus pandemic, so never has it been more important to provide effective support.
We have not always effectively supported our students to have the genuinely life changing and inspirational experience they deserve. With this in mind, we had an external review and over the past 12 months we have been on a programme of organisational change. We have new articles of association, a proposed new staffing structure, new Trustees and an improving culture.
The External Trustee role is critical to our success because two thirds of our board will change every two years. The board is made up of four Sabbatical Officers, who are elected by students every year, up to four Student Trustees, and four External Trustees including the Chair of the Board. The External Trustees provide significant skills, expertise, and important continuity to ensure that the board delivers its legal obligations and appropriate support for the CEO, staff and other Board Members. A unique part of the External Trustee role in a Students’ Union is ensuring that Sabbatical Officers and Student Trustees are supported to have a positive experience as Board Members. Having the opportunity to work closely with first-time leaders is a real privilege.
There is more to this role than four quarterly board meetings. In supporting our Union to develop we will need practical guidance and people who are also motivated to make an ongoing and consistent contribution in a sub-committee, outside of meetings and on special projects. We anticipate your time contribution to be around 100 hours per year or one day per month.
We are relatively small, operating with limited resources and going through transformational change. Therefore, we feel that recruiting people with backgrounds in human resources to strategically guide the development of our culture and the journey of our employees would be ideal. We are also interested in people with business and commercial acumen as well as an understanding of culture change. We will not rule out people from other backgrounds if you have experience of organisational change.
Around half of our students are BAME, yet our staff team and External Trustees are predominantly white. We need to change this. We strongly encourage people who have experienced or addressed racism, homophobia, sexism or any other form of discrimination that affects people’s lives to apply. Whatever your background and identity, you must be prepared to make appropriate interventions that support more inclusivity and challenge such behaviours when they see it and be able to support others to do the same.
For more information and to apply visit: https://www.peridotpartners.co.uk/jobs/university-of-wolverhampton-su/