Associate Director (ACE Programme)

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The opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in the strategic leadership of a university wide transformational initiative to create an environment for academic excellence.

Join the University of the Arts London and play a key role in the Academic Capacity and Experience (ACE) programme.

This is a fixed term, 15-month contract, in line with the timeline for the project, and is a career defining opportunity to truly make an impact at a world leading university.

About the ACE programme

The ACE programme is a suite of university-wide transformation projects. It exists to transform the resourcing models that underpin academic delivery across UAL. ACE has a particular focus on creating an environment for excellence in taught course delivery.

The project encompasses the development of new operating models, delivery frameworks, resource allocation tools, and adaptations to the interfacing between the academic business and a range of professional services functions. 

The role

Working closely with the ACE Programme Director, three Project Managers and administrative colleagues, you will be responsible for providing strategic oversight and ownership of relationship management to support the successful delivery of the ACE programme.

Acting as an enabler of change, you will work with a range of teams across UAL and build relationships with key stakeholders, in particular at senior levels, to secure trust and two-way engagement on the ACE programme.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Maintaining strategic oversight of key relationships and successful partnership working between the ACE team and other programme-critical teams
• Developing and maintaining productive working relationships with the programme’s Director, sponsor, steering group, and advisory groups during all phases of the programme lifecycle
• Building relationships with other relevant change programmes across UAL
• Working to ensure that ACE’s activities and outputs are aligned with the university’s strategy
• Taking an active approach in identifying key stakeholders and building and managing those relationships to support the successful delivery of ACE
• Ensuring relevant and appropriate documentation and updates for the ACE project board and steering group are produced to the highest standard

About you

You will need experience of collaborating with senior executive teams within higher education institutions to lead and deliver large-scale projects.

Experience of overseeing relationship management engagement in a complex institution and/or for a complex programme is equally important.

You will also need experience of working on behaviour /culture change campaigns and initiatives, in addition to experience of planning and delivering several major projects simultaneously.

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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