Head of School for Business Management and Creativity

Salary: £79,000 - £84,000 per annum

London weighting: £4,000 per annum (if applicable)

Employment type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Dean of Faculty, Business & Innovation

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

This role operates on a hybrid working arrangement that will require circa 1 day of travel per week into our various UK campuses. This may fluctuate in line with business requirements. Our working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit so please note that an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.

At Arden University, we’re redefining what learning looks like in the 21st century. With a mission to make higher education more accessible, flexible, and career-focused, we empower learners from all backgrounds to achieve their potential. Innovation, inclusion, and impact are at the heart of our approach.

We are proud to offer industry aligned, digitally enabled degree programmes designed to meet real-world needs, both for our students and the evolving workforce. Our staff are passionate about delivering education that changes lives.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

We are seeking an exceptional and visionary Head of School for Business Management and Creativity to lead and develop our newly reimagined academic School. This unique School combines traditional business disciplines with creative and innovation driven thinking to reflect the future of enterprise, leadership, and digital first organisations.

This is a strategic academic leadership role, requiring a proactive, entrepreneurial individual to shape curriculum, champion academic excellence, and build an inclusive, dynamic community of staff and students. You will lead the design and delivery of forward-thinking programmes that span management, entrepreneurship, marketing, digital innovation, and the creative economy.

About the Opportunity:

The Head of School is a focused role that will be accountable for providing academic leadership within a school portfolio of Departments and subsequent programmes. The Head of School is a collaborative, inspiring and student-centred leader who is accountable for achieving outstanding quality features across diverse departmental portfolios within their school.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic and Academic Leadership

• Develop and deliver a compelling vision and strategic plan for the School, aligned to the Faculty and institutional goals.
• Lead on the development and growth of innovative, career-relevant programmes that combine business acumen with creative practice and digital innovation.
• Ensure an excellent student experience, consistently improving learning outcomes and engagement across diverse delivery modes (online, blended, campus-based).
• Drive quality assurance and academic standards in line with internal and external benchmarks.
• Ensure the school delivers outstanding student outcomes and success by liaising with all of the Heads of Department.
• Ensure the delivery of a high standard of teaching and learning across the full portfolio of programmes in the school.
• Work collaboratively with the other Schools in the Faculty

People and Culture

• Lead, inspire, and manage a high-performing, multidisciplinary academic team.
• Develop a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, wellbeing, and continuous professional development.
• Support academic career pathways, research, scholarly activity, and industry engagement.

External Engagement and Growth

• Build strong partnerships with industry, professional bodies, and the creative and digital business communities.
• Represent the School at senior university and external forums, contributing to policy, strategy, and reputation enhancement.
• Support student employability and work-based learning by embedding real-world experience and employer engagement into curricula.

About You:

Essential requirements:

• Significant academic leadership experience, including curriculum design, quality assurance, and team development.
• Excellent and effective communication skills to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• A strong ability to analyse and evaluate programme and school data
• Sound understanding of future facing business education, with a commitment to interdisciplinarity, digital transformation and innovation.
• Evidence of building successful external partnerships and driving employability focused outcomes.
• Effective analytical and report writing skills in line with expectations for senior management and the university Executive.
• Management training/qualification demonstrating the ability to lead others.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing and complex priorities, and thrive in a commercially oriented context.
• Demonstrate leadership skills, effective people management, and team building skills.
• A clear vision of academic excellence within the ethos of the school.
• Up-to-date knowledge of current trends and policy within the higher education sector

• A successful track record of leading academic portfolios at different levels/modes of study, ensuring relevant portfolios deliver high levels of Student Experience and Student Outcomes (TEF metrics), as well as Student Satisfaction (internal and external surveys).
• Proven track record in leadership and people management skills, encompassing managing high performance professionals, team building, direction setting and change management.
• Extensive experience of successful budget and resource management including P&L responsibilities and cash flow.
• Credibility in a relevant academic discipline and a track record of scholarly work, consultancy and/or relevant professional experience at an appropriate level
• Experience of working outside of the HE sector in a corporate, SME or entrepreneurial environment, in an area relevant to the School.
• A demonstrable understanding of the way big data and digital technologies are impacting upon the sectors and industries relevant to the School.
• In-depth understanding of the current challenges faced by the HE sector and how these can be addressed in the context of the School.

Why Arden:

At Arden, you will become a part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, as such we want to reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on-top, and even a Christmas closure!
• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
• SimplyHealth plan option
• Private Medical Insurance coverage (applies to certain job roles)
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Plus, other excellent benefits
• Our ‘Golden Ticket’ which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education

Our Values:

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

Closing Date: Thursday 24th July

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.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion:

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to the guidance here.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we make sure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Sponsorship statement:

Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa under the points-based immigration system. However, we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.