Head of Commercial Operations

South Bank Students Union is a non-for-profit organisation, which champions social mobility through education and has a vision to disrupt the cycle of inequality in higher education.

We are looking for a Head of Commercial Operations to join us on our journey to transform the way we engage and support students to help them reach their full potential.​

South Bank students are laser-focused on their study and spring-boarding their career after graduation, however, like all of us, their lives are complex, they are faced with the pressures of trying to balance their studies with work and lives at home. Many don’t identify primarily as students, instead they are carers, nurses, engineers, parents, designers, workers, entrepreneurs, apprentices and last chance learners.

We believe that a student’s background and life circumstances should not put them at an educational disadvantage, and all students deserve a high-quality University experience and the chance to graduate equipped with the tools to succeed in life. This role would suit someone who shares this vision.

The Union has been through a turnaround process over the last 18 months and we are looking for an enthusiastic and determined individual to help us transform our Commercial services – improving our customer service to grow our income and increase our profitability so we can reinvest our funds into delivering life-changing services and activities for our members.

We are looking for a person who has experience of working at a senior level to lead the development and delivery of our income generating activities across the Union’s commercial services – Events; Merchandise; Media and Community memberships. The perfect candidate for this role will also have considerable experience of delivering and managing events and producing effective promotional campaigns to drive engagement and income.

The post holder will lead staff in the Student Opportunities and Communications teams in designing and delivering high-quality, high-impact extra-curricular services which is bespoke to the needs of the broad range of students at London South Bank University, as well as meeting sales targets and developing opportunities for income generation and improving and implementing policies and processes. They will work closely with a range of stakeholders from students to University Executives, and must have the ability to adapt working and communication styles as needed to build positive relationships.

Students’ Unions are fast-paced, creative environments, and we pride ourselves on providing employment and development opportunities for students and graduates who are taking the first steps on their career path. Therefore we are looking for someone who enjoys these kinds working environments and is able to adapt their approach and working styles if necessary to help others thrive.

This role will be line managed by the Deputy Chief Executive and will be part of the senior management team who, along with the central management team are the driving force in terms of creating a positive and inclusive organisational culture. The successful candidate will play a key role in helping shape and deliver the Union’s ambitious strategy and will share our vision, believing they can and will have a transformative impact on the students they interact with.

In return the role holder will get lots of opportunities to develop a range of leadership skills which will help them on their career journey such as budgeting and interpreting accounting information; organisational development; people management; business planning, governance, compliance and stakeholder management.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

SBSU’s simple vision of disrupting inequality is the heartbeat of the organisation and it is this which steers its decisions, practice, and priorities. It unifies our services, and it drives our staff to remove societal barriers so that all people can achieve their full potential.

SBSU believes that in order to truly disrupt inequality for its members, it must also strive to do this for its workforce – in short, staff must experience it in order to deliver it!

Our Union benefits enormously from having a team of staff with a range of diverse lived experiences. We understand that some life circumstances might be more complex, and that some will have had to overcome more barriers. We value the unique perspectives that are formed by an individual’s background and believe that ‘bringing your whole self to work’ is essential for informed decision making and collaboration and paves the way for high performance so we welcome applications from all, especially if your background and circumstances are traditionally under-represented in the workplace.