About us

Two centuries ago, UCL’s founders set out a radical vision: to open higher education to all, based on the belief that talent and potential should define opportunity. Today, we are a world top ten university in the heart of London, with a diverse global community drawn from over 150 countries.

At the UCL School of Management, we are building a distinctive business school within that tradition. As we expand at One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, we combine strong analytical and technological foundations with a growing engagement in the social sciences to better understand how organisations create value across business, public and third sector contexts.

Our focus is on excellence in research and education, and on preparing students to navigate complexity, work across boundaries, and act with insight and responsibility.

For colleagues, this is an ambitious and collaborative environment in which to build, working closely with academic and professional teams to shape the School’s growth, its competitive position, and the students it attracts.

Further information about the School can be found here.

About the role

This is a new and strategically important leadership role, created to establish and lead the School’s approach to student recruitment and admissions during a critical phase of growth.

You will own the end-to-end applicant pipeline across all undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, working across distinct admissions frameworks while maintaining a consistent focus on enhancing the applicant journey and conversion outcomes.

You will operate at a portfolio level, ensuring a coordinated and strategically aligned approach across programmes, balancing individual programme needs with broader School priorities.

Working in close partnership with academic undergraduate and postgraduate portfolio leads, academic programme leads, Marketing and Communications, and UCL’s central teams, you will lead a coordinated, data-driven approach to recruitment across the portfolio, building on strong existing demand to improve conversion, deepen engagement, and maximise offer-holder yield, while setting priorities and allocating resources in line with School-wide strategic objectives.

Performance targets and KPIs will be developed in collaboration with academic and School leadership, with the role holder responsible for ensuring a coherent, portfolio-wide approach reflecting differing programme maturity, growth ambitions and strategic priorities.

You will define and deliver a distinctive, high-quality, and inclusive candidate experience, ensuring the School competes effectively for top global talent within UCL’s central admissions framework. This includes developing targeted approaches to engage underrepresented regions and student groups, and working with colleagues to support the strategic use and promotion of scholarships and financial support to broaden access and attract high-potential candidates.

A central priority is building capability: leading a high-performing team and establishing the processes, systems and operating model required to manage the pipeline at scale and drive sustained, consistent performance across programmes.

This is a rare opportunity to build a core function from the ground up within a fast-growing and globally ambitious business school, shaping not only how the School recruits, but the calibre and character of the students it attracts.

The role will contribute to a broader School-level approach to marketing, recruitment and admissions, and external engagement.

Salary UCL Grade 9 £68,284 to £74,166 per annum (including London Allowance)

This is a full-time position based at Canary Wharf. The role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 40% on-site.

If you have any queries about the role or need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible online format to apply for this job, please contact mgmt-hrsom@ucl.ac.uk.

The UCL Ways of Working support colleagues’ success and happiness at UCL by sharing expectations around how we work—please click here to find out more.

About you

• You will bring significant experience in student recruitment and admissions within higher education or a comparable environment.
• You have a strong understanding of the UK and international student recruitment market, including the challenges faced by the sector and the opportunities that may lie ahead.
• You have a proven track record of managing applicant pipelines and improving conversion outcomes, and are confident using data, CRM systems and insight to prioritise activity and deliver results.
• You have a good working knowledge of the key regulatory frameworks governing UK student admissions, including visa compliance, consumer protection (CMA), and data privacy.
• You are a credible and effective leader, experienced in building and developing high-performing teams and establishing ways of working that enable performance at scale.
• You work collaboratively and influence effectively across academic and professional environments, including senior School-level leadership.
• You have experience working across multiple programmes or portfolios, balancing competing priorities within a structured academic environment.
• You have experience developing strategies to reach diverse and underrepresented audiences across international markets.

You will also bring:

• Strong organisational judgement, with the ability to prioritise and deliver in a fast-paced setting
• A data-driven and detail-oriented approach
• The confidence to challenge, adapt and respond to change
• A clear commitment to delivering an excellent and inclusive candidate experience

 Above all, you will be motivated by the opportunity to attract and enrol outstanding students, ensuring they are well matched to the School’s programmes and positioned to succeed.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits.

Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and, for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion here. 

To apply

To apply for this position, please click here.