Director of Student Life

Are you passionate about creating an outstanding university experience? Do you thrive in a collaborative, forward-thinking environment? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to be part of a newly designed Student and Academic Services (SAS) Directorate at Canterbury Christ Church University.

We are redefining student success by bringing together proactive, high-quality support that empowers students to navigate university life with confidence. As a vital member of our team, you’ll have the chance to shape and contribute to a service that makes a real impact—delivering tailored advice, guidance and innovative solutions that enhance student wellbeing, engagement and academic progress.

Joining us means being part of a vibrant, student-focused community of 350+ SAS colleagues where ideas are valued, your expertise makes a difference, and every interaction helps students thrive. If you’re ready to contribute to a bold new vision for student administration and support, we’d love to hear from you.

Role

The Director of Student Life is a new senior leadership role within the university, responsible for the strategic oversight and effective management of key functions, including the Library, Student Experiential Services, and Student Wellbeing and Support. The role ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, enhances the student experience through student-facing services, and supports the university’s strategic Vision 2030 objectives.

Person

You will be a proactive person who is passionate about making a difference at pace by driving continuous service improvement using data and adopting digital solutions to work smarter, not harder.

You will have extensive demonstrable experience in leading, managing and continuously improving at least one of the service areas you will be managing, with a proven track record of enhancing administrative services to benefit both students and staff, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and excellence for all aspects of the student lifecycle. You must be able to demonstrate strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire, develop, and empower teams to deliver outstanding service.

You must have comprehensive understanding of how to deliver a customer service culture, how to develop a stronger student community, and how to build services that help students live their best student lives in a supportive environment, underpinned by effective service delivery.

How to apply

Start date for applications: 22nd July 2025
Closing date for applications: 10th August 2025
Interviews are to be held: 21st August 2025

If you require further information regarding the application process, please contact the Recruitment Team at hr.recruitment@canterbury.ac.uk quoting reference number REQ05708.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Gerry Greyling, Executive Director of Academic Services, via email: gerry.greyling@canterbury.ac.uk (strictly no agencies, thank you) quoting reference number as above.