The University of Westminster Students’ Union is looking for a detail-oriented individual to join our Advice and Wellbeing Team to enhance our offer to improve the lives of students at the University of Westminster.
This role will lead UWSU’s policy functions by providing policy briefings for union staff, supporting elected officers to prepare for university meetings and maintaining internal SU governance and policy (by-laws and articles). This is a great opportunity for someone looking to get into working in students’ unions, higher education administration and governance, or someone looking to develop their skills as a policy worker. You will be supporting young professionals in complex and fast-moving policy landscapes and working with experienced professionals to ensure they feel supported. It is vital to this role that you are an empathetic and personable professional who can adapt and rise to the challenge of a student-focused working environment. You will be in contact with internal and external stakeholders, developing policy briefings and supporting elected leaders to come to positions on key political issues.
We are looking for someone to work closely with the Advice and Wellbeing Manager and our elected sabbatical officers. The aim is to support the union’s ability to influence policy work with the aim to make students’ lives easier, embolden their rights and increase awareness of how UWSU advocates for students.
“I have worked in students’ unions for over 4 years and have seen the huge power of policy. You can support students today and change policy to prevent future generations of students from facing the same barriers. UWSU is a very supportive space to work, and all the focus is on being the best we can be for the students. I get to go home every day loving my job because we can make a real difference to others” – Henry Setter Advice and Wellbeing Manager.
We are immensely proud to state that we are the only Students Union in the country to score 100% positive employee engagement score in the NUS Employee Engagement Survey, and have recently achieved Investors in People (Gold). We are a supportive, collaborative team at UWSU and take every step to ensure our staff team feel supported and inspired by the amazing work they do.
We are committed to promoting equity and diversity and strive to be an organisation that values difference and inclusiveness. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments individuals may require in the recruitment process, or once in post. We particularly welcome individuals from an ethnic minority background to apply for this post, as they are under-represented at UWSU at this level.
We offer great benefits to reflect our commitment to the development and wellbeing of our staff:
· A very generous annual leave allowance: 28 days, plus winter and spring closure periods of at least three weeks per annum, and your birthday off!
· Religious holiday leave and/or Charity Days in addition to annual leave
· We provide a significant financial and time commitment to your personal and professional development. We actively encourage our staff to take all opportunities available to them.
· A confidential employee assistance programme
· Commitment to helping you achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life through flexible working
· Interest free season ticket and other travel loans
· Opportunity to learn a language through University of Westminster Polylang programme
· Reduced gym membership
· Reduced complimentary therapies through University of Westminster Polyclinic
You will be joining us as we enter a new phase of our strategy, and as we are growing in every area of work.
We are a multi-campus university in the heart of London, we have four main campuses on Regent Street, Marylebone Road, New Cavendish and Harrow. Although we are across four sites, we have the exciting campus feel.
If you would like to know more or are interested in joining our amazing team at Westminster, we want to hear from you!
If you would like to speak with the hiring manager Henry Setter you can contact him here: h.setter@westminster.ac.uk
We are more than happy to have any informal chats about the role or answer any questions, please contact our People Development Advisor Anna at a.ouston@westminster.ac.uk. We would absolutely love to talk to you, and if you have any concerns or would like to discuss any flexible working arrangements ahead of the application, please feel free to do so.
Feeling imposter syndrome? Imposter syndrome is a feeling that you may not be worthy of applying for a role, or that you don’t think your achievements are as worthy. It can often appear when applying for jobs, and can disproportionately affect women and people from minority backgrounds. If you identify imposter syndrome symptoms we urge you to recognise this, as we would hate to miss out on a fantastic applicant! You are more than welcome to reach out for an informal chat about the role as mentioned above.
Closes 21st July at 9am.