Swansea University - Head Of Commercial

Swansea University - Head Of Commercial

HEAD OF COMMERCIAL

CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ESTATES & CAMPUS SERVICES

The Estate and Campus Services Directorate not only has responsibility for the physical form of the estate but also the developmental and transformational needs of the University which influences operational, financial and management components of the University. Key to those operational, financial and management components is the delivery of commercial services that provide alternative income streams whilst simultaneously reducing core operational costs. The delivery of commercial services will be underpinned by: • Ensuring growth but within the concepts of rationalising and consolidating the estate. • Assessing existing levels of service as opposed to expected levels of service and how commercial interventions can bridge the gap between the two. • Recognising the University’s overarching priorities and objectives and how commercial activities can support those stated priorities and objectives.

• Ensuring the above is informed by key performance indicators and targets.

Dr Greg Ducie Director of Estates and Campus Services at Swansea University

Greg Ducie is an experienced urban planner who has worked in both private and public sector institutions within the realm of the built environment, from planning policy formulation through to physical infrastructure development and estate management. His interests include urban and rural sustainability, infrastructure planning, management and development, planning policy along with community innovation and participation within the scope of community-based planning. Greg holds degrees in Town and Regional Planning, Business Management and Commerce. He is currently the Director of Estates and Campus Services at Swansea University.

THE CITY OF SWANSEA

From the Maritime Quarter and Uplands to nearby Mumbles, discover a city with plenty of charm and bags of character. Town, beach, campus, it’s quick and easy to get where you need to be especially with the Unibus that runs 24 hours during term time and our popular Santander Cycle Hire Scheme. Swansea has a vibrant music scene which continues to grow. The city boasts a huge variety of music venues and plays host to music festivals and events throughout the year with plans underway for a new 3,500 capacity arena in the heart of the city. Swansea is a vibrant centre for art and culture. On rainy days, duck into Glynn Vivian and Mission Gallery in town or Taliesin Arts Centre and the Egypt Centre on Campus. Literature lovers should pay a visit to local boy Dylan Thomas’ home too. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a photographer, read Mikaela’s Guide to the Most Instagrammable Spots in Swansea.

ABOUT SWANSEA UNIVERSITY

Swansea University has been at the cutting edge of research and innovation since 1920. We have a long history of working with business and industry but today our world-class research has a much wider impact across the health, wealth, culture, and well-being of our society. We have achieved an extraordinary level of success in recent years and our research activity exceeds that of many larger universities yet this has not compromised the friendly and relaxed atmosphere that has always characterised the “Swansea experience”. Swansea University look forward to continuing to work together to improve lives and the bright future that the next century will bring.

READ THE STUDENT GUIDE TO SWANSEA

THE CAMPUS

Since 2010 we have embarked on a programme of significant transformation investing in student experience, academic and research facilities. Our development has included the construction of the Bay Campus which doubled the size of the University overnight. With acres of grounds to explore at your leisure, including the Crymlyn Burrows Site of Special Scientific Interest at the Bay Campus and our listed Botanical Garden at Singleton Park, Swansea University offers an outstanding outdoor environment for our students, staff and the community to enjoy. Our historic Singleton Park Campus is set in lush parkland within Singleton Park; one of Swansea’s key green spaces which provides the community with acres of lush green parkland to enjoy. The well-established grounds provide a wide variety of habitats, with grassland, mature woodland, planted areas and ponds, helping to support an extensive variety of wildlife. The new Bay Campus is right on the beach and adjacent to Crymyn Burrows Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), offering beachside habitats for you to explore at your leisure.

READ ABOUT OUR CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT PLANS

COMMERCIAL, CAMPUS & CULTURAL SERVICES

JOB DESCRIPTION

Associate Director Campus & Commercial Services

Commercial, Campus & Cultural Services Functional Division

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This role will support the Associate Director of Commercial Services by providing strategic leadership for all commercially focussed and income generating activity across the Directorate’s services and functions. The role will work across the University and with a network of external partners to maximise the commercial benefit of the University assets. The post holder will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Commercial Strategy and will lead on the development, optimisation, promotion, and quality management of the University’s commercial and campus services, both on and off campus, maximising revenue generation, raising profile (both internally and externally) and developing quality whilst supporting the enhancement of the student, staff and visitor experience. To post holder will promote the growth, diversification and maintenance of income streams and profitability, maximising the use of the University’s campuses and their associated facilities and will lead the creation and delivery of innovative strategies to optimise the University’s return on investment in these facilities.

Communications Manager (G8)

Strategic Sport Manager (G9)

Artistic & Cultural Programme Manager (G9)

Head of Campus Operations (G10)

Sports Operations Manager(G8)

Head of Commercial (G10)

Cultural strategy Programming Community engagement Cultural projects

Commercial Strategy Contract Catering Marketing & Sales Travel & Transport Commercial Events/Conferencing Off campus accommodation Venue Managment

Soft FM Grounds Waste Event Services Mail Print services Building Services

Sport Facilities Sport Grounds Facility Partnerships

Sport Strategy High Performance Sport Student Sports Engage Sport Partnerships

Internal Comms External Comms PR

Faculty/PSU Engagement

Campus, Commercial & Cultural Services Current Structures (including vacancies) March 2022

Director of Estates & Campus Services

Associate Director Commercial Services

The role will operate across all services and functions within Estates and Facilities Management.

Culture & Civic Mission Committee (SLT)

The role will be directly responsible for the following departments, functions and teams:

• conferencing and commercial events

Sports Operations Manager(G8)

Artistic & Cultural Programme Manager (G9) In Recruitment

Communications Manager (G8)

Strategic Sport Manager (G9)

Head of Commercial (G10)

Head of Campus Operations (G10)

• commercial contract management (including catering, hospitality and accommodation)

• venue management (including Taliesin)

Cultural Marketing and Programming Manager (G9)

Cultural Operations and Planning Manager (G9) In Recruitment

Deputy Commercial Manager (G8)

• marketing and sales

• fundraising & sponsorship

Sales & Marketing Coordinator (G6) In Recruitment Content & Promotions Coordinator (G6) In Recruitment

Technical Manager (G8)

• commercial development and scoping (including opportunity identification & appraisal, commercial projects, partnership development)

Operations & Planning Coordinator (G7)

Cultural Marketing Assistant (G4)

The postholder will also work with the Directorate Leadership Team to develop and implement commercial elements of strategies across other functional areas within the Directorate i.e. Sport, Projects, Sustainability.

MAIN PURPOSE OF POST

Networking, Engagement & Development

Strategic Management and Leadership

• Develop and manage internal and external relationships to develop new opportunities, to enhance staff and student engagement, to improve service delivery and promote building common purpose. • To work in partnership with Professional Services, Faculties and the Students’ Union, to develop and enhance the portfolio of services offered by Estates and Campus Services. • Maintain and develop relationships with key commercial and non-commercial organisations across the region to develop strategic partnerships and new opportunities for collaboration.

• To develop, implement and embed a commercial strategy that supports the promotion, development, optimisation and sale of University facilities and assets for commercial activities to both internal and external clients, driving new initiatives, partnerships and maximising revenue whilst maintaining the integrity of core business and the student experience. • To develop, implement and monitor annual operating plans and business plans for the commercial functions and services across the Directorate. • To take the lead in identifying and developing new service opportunities (both on and off campus) that widens the scope and impact of the Directorate. • To monitor the delivery and quality of the contracted services that we provide for our staff and students (i.e. catering, third party accommodation), ensuring fulfilment of contractual obligations and to constantly strive for innovation and improvement in this offering. • To identify business development opportunities by acting as a University ambassador seeking and engaging external partners and networks. • Line-manage an integrated professional staff team within a defined structure and to provide dotted line support on commercial matters across the wider Directorate. • To proactively seek new ideas and methods of working and implement effective training and development for all the staff to ensure the services provided are maintained at the forefront of best practice and are exemplars of client focussed commercial services in Higher Education.

• Share best practice and key developments with professional service staff.

• To formulate and develop risk-assessed, robust commercial proposals which have synergy with Swansea University’s corporate strategy.

• To lead a business incubation support for new products, projects and initiatives as required.

General Duties

• To fully engage with the University’s Performance Enabling and Welsh language policies.

• To promote equality and diversity in working practices and to maintain positive working relationships.

• To lead on the continual improvement of health and safety performance through a good understanding of the risk profile and the development of a positive health and safety culture. • Any other duties as directed by the relevant Director of Professional Services or their nominated representative expected within the grade definition. • To ensure that risk management is an integral part of any decision-making process, by ensuring compliance with the University’s Risk Management Policy.

Customer Service

• To have responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of commercial relationships are responsive and well- managed, establishing and responding to systematic client and user feedback. • To set quality standards across the full range of services to be provided and ensure that they are adhered to with regular training and performance reviews. • Implement appropriate management information systems and provide management information reports at a University-wide level, including commercial performance, customer satisfaction and service benchmarking.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Criteria:

• Clear ability to influence and network, with a range of well-developed interpersonal and communication skills. • Experience of building & maintaining relationships with internal/external stakeholders, clients and partners.

The role of Head of Commercial requires a highly capable and experienced individual with a proven track record of leadership and management within a commercial and service led environment. The successful candidate will be adaptable and perceptive, innovative and entrepreneurial, able to transfer experience and be alert to new opportunities. They will understand the need to be financially sustainable whilst always maintaining the need to keep the student experience at the forefront.

• Excellent project management skills and the ability to executively produce/manage commercial projects.

Leadership Values:

• The ability to research and benchmark trends and innovations in order to identify and exploit opportunities.

1. Demonstrable evidence of creating a culture that delivers successful outcomes through people, developing and challenging teams to succeed and take pride in delivering professional services and solutions. 2. Ability to enable teams to work together and across functions to deliver successful outcomes that exceed the needs and expectations of customers, and in creating environments that demonstrate equality, foster trust, respect and challenge. 3. Demonstrable experience of creating environments that identify, understand and give priority to delivering the needs of the customer, and in motivating and inspiring teams to provide the highest standards of personalised care. Qualifications:

Desirable Criteria:

• Ability to communicate in Welsh.

• Experience in Higher Education.

• Experience in catering, hospitality, conferencing, sport and/or venue management.

• Educated to degree level or equivalent

• Relevant professional memberships or qualifications

Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

Significant leadership experience and proven track record of delivering success in a commercial and customer focused, diverse, multi-site environment. Experience that shows an understanding of developing service/products for diverse markets. • Extensive experience of developing and delivering commercial strategies (incl. sales, marketing and business development) to deliver creative, cohesive, sustainable and inspiring services, facilities and products. The ability to translate strategic plans into deliverable projects, services and activities.

• Significant demonstrable experience of building, leading and developing a multi-disciplinary team.

• Demonstrable experience and knowledge of commercial contract management and performance management approaches. • Proven experience of delivering to financial targets in a customer service environment and ability to collate, monitor, interpret and evaluate financial and other management information.

LEADERSHIP VALUES

All Professional Services areas at Swansea University operate to a defined set of Core Values: Professional services values and it is an expectation that everyone is able to demonstrate a commitment to these values from the point of application through to the day to day delivery of their roles. Commitment to our values at Swansea University supports us in promoting equality and valuing diversity to utilise all the talent that we have.

In addition you will operate to a defined set of Leadership Values:

We are Professional We develop ourselves and our teams through continued professional development and use feedback to improve. We create a culture that delivers successful outcomes through people, supporting, developing and challenging our teams to succeed. We involve our people in developing a vision for the future and in enabling innovation and change, improving University, team and individual performance.

We Work Together We enable our teams to work together and across functions to deliver successful outcomes that exceed the needs and expectations of our customers. We are responsible for creating environments that demonstrate equality, foster trust, respect, and challenge. We are accountable for providing clarity and direction, communicating the “big picture”

We care We create environments that identify, understand, and give priority to delivering the needs of the University Community (our students, colleagues, external partners and the public). We motive and inspire our teams to provide the highest standards of personalised care and in doing so uphold the Swansea University brand.

and harnessing ideas and opportunities to achieve the University’s vision.

APPLICATION DETAILS The University is being supported on this recruitment campaign by the search consultancy, The Management Recruitment Group (MRG). For a confidential discussion or to find out more about this opportunity please contact our advisor, James Gregory. James Gregory [email protected] 07966 827 391 Applications should contain a CV and Covering Letter and should be sent to James Gregory.