Senior Academic Director

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Deputy Provost

Click here to read the full job description and view our excellent benefits here

This role operates primarily on a remote working arrangement that will require some travel into our Coventry head office and Campus locations

About Arden University:

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

About the Opportunity:

We are looking for a Senior Academic Director to play a pivotal leadership role in shaping the academic experience across Arden University’s campus network. You will provide strategic oversight and day‑to‑day operational leadership to ensure a consistent, high‑quality, and student‑centred academic environment.  

You will directly lead a team of Academic Directors and oversee the effective delivery of institutional priorities relating to student engagement, continuation, completion, progression, satisfaction, and academic quality. Working in close partnership with Faculties, Student Experience, Academic Operations, Registry, and Campus teams, you will ensure that campus‑based delivery is cohesive, efficient, and aligned with the University’s strategic ambitions.

A key focus of the role is driving operational excellence—embedding consistent academic standards, strengthening support for students and staff, and ensuring that campus operations contribute positively to institutional performance measures, including B3 and TEF outcomes.

This is a senior leadership position with significant influence, offering the opportunity to shape academic delivery at scale and make a meaningful impact on student outcomes and institutional success.

About You:

You will be an accomplished and confident academic leader who brings extensive experience in managing managers and guiding multi‑disciplinary teams. You will operate with professionalism, clarity, and a strong sense of purpose, ensuring that teams remain aligned, accountable, and focused on delivering an excellent student experience. Your work will demonstrate meaningful impact on continuation, completion, progression, and satisfaction, and you will know how to translate institutional priorities into effective, high‑quality practice.

You will lead operational change with assurance, strengthening performance and embedding processes that support consistency and improvement across complex environments. Your leadership will be grounded in a thorough understanding of quality assurance and regulatory frameworks, applying this knowledge to ensure compliance while enabling innovation and enhancement.

You will use data as a central tool in your decision‑making, analysing information with precision, drawing clear insights, and using evidence to guide strategy and drive improvements.

You will work effectively across departments and stakeholder groups, building strong relationships that support cohesive, student‑centred delivery.

Overall, you will bring the professional credibility, analytical capability, and collaborative mindset required to lead academic operations at scale and contribute meaningfully to institutional success.

Closing Date: Tuesday 11th August

Interview Date: Week Commencing 24th August

Application Process: You will need to include a cover letter (no more than two sides of A4 as a guideline) outlining your experience and fit with the role, as described in the job description.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. In order to avoid missing an opportunity to apply please submit your application as early as possible.

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):