Deputy Director, Civic University

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Job description

Job title: Deputy Director, Civic University

Location: Highfield Campus

Salary: Level 6 (Up to £72,918)

Introduction

Are you driven to have a positive impact on the challenges and opportunities you see around you?

The University of Southampton is proud to be a Civic University with a determination to mobilise all its strengths to support the economic, social, environmental and cultural prosperity of our Central South region.

If you are you motivated by the chance to be part of a University dedicated to working with partners to transform the lives of people and their communities across our region, then this could be your dream job.

The University of Southampton and its Civic University Agreement

In the Spring of 2023, the University of Southampton signed a Civic University Agreement with five neighbouring local authorities. That ceremony represented a public commitment to collaborate to address the challenges and seize the opportunities facing our Southern region.

The Civic University of Southampton works in equal partnerships with organisations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors across our Solent and Hampshire area.

The University is ranked among the top 150 universities in the world in the Times Higher Education international league. According to the 2025 Sunday Times' Good University Guide, Southampton is among the twenty best universities in the UK and second only to Oxford in the Southeast.

About the role

Delivery and transformational impact are hallmarks of our regional civic activity. This role will play a key part in sustaining civic projects already underway and taking our civic agenda to the next ambitious level.

As deputy to the Director, Civic University, this is an exciting opportunity to show strategic and dynamic leadership and be able to represent the core aims of the Civic University of Southampton to external and internal senior partners.

The post presents opportunities for creative approaches to identifying and responding to the issues identified by civic partners, the communities, and private and public sectors the region embraces.

The role involves forging and maintaining strong collaborations and includes exploring revenue generating activities and sources of funding for the Civic agenda.

About you

You will be an experienced manager of teams and partnerships with a focus on strategic thinking and a creative vision.

Experience and insight into working with business, industry and a diversity of organisations across the public sector will be welcome. You will be action focused, good at analysing complex issues and devising a way forward. You will enjoy networking and forging new productive partnerships.

You will have a track record for overseeing and driving successful projects from start to finish with an emphasis on impact and robust ways of monitoring results.

Installing and managing appropriate governance arrangements will be second nature to you.

You will be passionate about the potential for the Civic University of Southampton to transform lives in communities, towns and cities across the South.

What we can offer you

We are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity by attracting, developing, and retaining staff from many different backgrounds to create an inclusive working environment. We are proud to have been awarded an institutional Athena SWAN silver award which underpins our pledge to improve equality for women.

We support a flexible approach to work, as well as additional benefits that will make your life easier, such as a corporate health care scheme and generous holiday allowance. We will support your long-term future too, with access to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), subsidised health and fitness facilities and a range of discounts.

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