Director of Strategic Planning, Insights and Improvement

LASE University Group: one employer, two universities.

At LASE, you are part of something bigger – here we change lives and celebrate student-centred education without boundaries. We open doors, nurture potential, and tackle regional and global challenges together. As a member of the LASE team, you will work alongside talented colleagues, contribute to meaningful change, and benefit from opportunities to collaborate, develop, and grow across a unique higher education partnership.

Together, we are transforming lives, enabling confident graduates, advancing knowledge, supporting regional prosperity, and creating an environment where our people can do their best work. We are united by one ambition: to shape futures that matter.

The Director of Strategic Planning, Insights and Improvement role offers an exceptionally broad and influential portfolio, operating at the heart of strategic decision-making across one of the UK's largest higher education groups. Reporting to the Group Chief Financial Officer, the role holder will provide strategic leadership across planning, performance insight, data analytics, statutory returns, academic workload planning governance, and continuous improvement, shaping these areas in line with the Group's long-term ambitions. You will be responsible for integrated planning, organisational performance, business intelligence, and institutional effectiveness. The postholder will ensure that strategic priorities are supported by robust evidence, meaningful insight, and a culture of continuous improvement.

We are looking for a leader who will bring experience, insight, and new ideas, but who also understands the importance of collaboration and building strong relationships. You will have a track record of leading a high-performing and impactful team, which creates an environment in which colleagues are empowered to thrive, develop, and realise their potential, building a function that is trusted, respected, and highly valued across the Group. Working closely with executive, academic, and professional services leaders, the role will provide insight that informs decision-making, identifies emerging risks and opportunities, and helps ensure the Group remains agile, responsive, and strategically positioned for future success. You will be comfortable navigating complexity, driving organisational improvement, and translating data and evidence into strategic action.

If you have the drive, commitment, professional credibility, and share our passion for higher education and its power to change lives for the better, we encourage you to apply. The candidate pack and further particulars can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the "Request More Information" button. The job reference number is 8613.

For an informal discussion, please contact Research Associate, Chris McCann via chris.mccann@perrettlaver.com.

The closing date for applications is 09:00am BST on Monday 21st September 2026.

Protecting your personal data is of the utmost importance to Perrett Laver and we take this responsibility very seriously. Any information obtained by our trading divisions is held and processed in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation. The data you provide us with is securely stored on our computerised database and transferred to our clients for the purposes of presenting you as a candidate and/or considering your suitability for a role you have registered interest in.

Please visit the following link in order to find more information about the use of personal information provided by candidates to the University: https://www.lase.ac.uk/privacy.

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