Commercial Director

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The opportunity

UAL Online is an exciting new division which has been established to enable access to the university’s world learning creative arts education to audiences around the globe. We plan to launch with a suite of new degree courses starting from the 2024/25 academic year.  

Reporting to the Pro-Vice Chancellor (UAL Online), the Commercial Director is responsible for developing and executing the university’s commercial strategy for online education. This includes identifying and developing new revenue streams, developing and executing our go-to-marketing and recruitment strategy, establishing a student success team and managing the division’s business operations. The Commercial Director will work closely to ensure that the university’s online commercial interests are aligned with its academic mission and strategy. 

The Commercial Director will have overall accountability for three broad areas of work: 

• Market research and data analytics 
• Online courses marketing and recruitment 
• Student success  

This role requires exceptional leadership, business acumen, and the ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. It is a new role within a fast-growing new unit. While we will seek to hire new staff to build out your commercial team, this will be a hands-on role, and you will be expected to roll up your sleeves and get involved in all aspects of the business set-up. 

The post holder will work closely with other teams within UAL including SMRA, Digital and Technology, Academic Registry and College academic and professional services stakeholders.  

About you

You will have the following: 

• Extensive experience in a commercial role ideally in publishing or higher education 
• Strong understanding of the current global higher education landscape in online education
• Appreciation for the creative arts and design, and a desire to build an outstanding user experience
• Considerable leadership experience at a senior level with financial planning and accountability
• Experience delivering successful strategic and operational leadership in a complex organisational environment with multiple stakeholders
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities to identify business opportunities and make data-driven decisions
• A deep understanding of market trends, customer needs, and competitor analysis to develop effective commercial strategies
• Experience in driving successful commercial strategies and achieving significant revenue growth

You will be collaborative, target-driven, and a strong team player with a flexible approach to work. The role will include occasional travel in the UK and internationally. 

If you have any questions about the role, please contact ualonline@arts.ac.uk.

Should you require any reasonable adjustments for your application, please contact Zele Akhilele, Resourcing Adviser via email at DigitalandTechnologystaffrecruitment@arts.ac.uk.

We are UAL

University of the Arts London (UAL) offers an extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing arts. We are a collegiate University spread across London with six Colleges, four Institutes and five Research Centres. UAL also has two subsidiary companies, delivering specialist activities – UAL Short Courses Ltd, and UAL Arts Temps Ltd.

We’re made up of all types of people, coming together in London, the world’s creative capital. We are designers, artists, performers, thinkers, researchers and makers. Our students, staff and graduates form a global network of creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. Together, our ideas change the world. Because the world needs creativity.

We are ranked highly across the board. We are ranked first for specialist art and design, second in the world for Art and Design in the 2023 QS World University Rankings (for the fifth year in a row), ranked fifth in sustainability and two of our colleges were rated in the top three fashion schools in the world.

Our culture

We have become one of the world’s most international Universities, welcoming over 22,000 students and 6,000 staff from 130 countries. And, as a global university, staff and students learn from different cultures and perspectives, which leads to new conversations and innovative work. At our very core, everything we do seeks to challenge the status quo by driving social purpose and standing up for what matters.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds including those who may feel underrepresented in the workforce due to their socioeconomic circumstances such as those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) backgrounds. We aim to be a university where everyone can be themselves and are supported to reach their full potential.

With our commitment to inclusion and diversity, we are proud to be a Race Equality Charter (REC) member to help us reduce barriers that negatively impacts B.A.M.E. staff, a Stonewall Diversity Champion to ensure all LGBTQ+ people are valued at work, a Disability Confident Scheme Committed employer and member of the Business Disability Forum which help us to improve the lives of disabled people in the workplace.

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