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About the Role

The Senior Manager, Curriculum Sustainability, is a key role within the Sustainability Office as part of the Governance, Compliance and Legal Services (GCLS) unit. Working collaboratively, the post-holder provides academic and institutional sustainability support and relationship management across the University, working with a range of stakeholders to achieve organisational sustainability commitments and to promote good practice to individual units, key university groups and committees. This role will lead on organisational sustainability commitments including but not limited to Responsible Futures accreditation (every two years), the Concordat for Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation and annual Climate and Adaptation reporting on carbon emissions reporting in collaboration with relevant colleagues.

Maintaining an awareness of the changing policy and regulatory environment, the post-holder contributes to the delivery of ongoing progress on sustainability across the University, as well as to the development and promotion of efficient and effective practice.  Providing expert advice on sustainability to stakeholders across all Schools and the four Faculties is an important feature of this role, supporting the Director of Sustainability in overseeing the organisational approach to sustainability.  In addition, the postholder will promote good sustainability practice across the University, and provide management support to advisory groups.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide oversight and assurance of delivery against institutional sustainability KPIs and reporting requirements.
• Work with academic and professional service leads to set SMART sustainability commitments, monitor progress, and ensure quality assurance.
• Maintain and annually review the University’s Responsible Futures action plan, embedding it into strategic and academic planning.
• Coordinate and manage internal sustainability reviews, including data quality, to support external reporting and compliance.
• Enable cross‑University collaboration on sustainability data generation, analysis, decision-making and engagement.
• Support senior leaders in delivering Sustainability Office objectives and institutional accountability for sustainability in the curriculum.
• Lead the continuous development and review of sustainability-related processes, policies, guidance and best practice.
• Monitor curriculum development, academic quality assurance processes and student voice in relation to sustainability.
• Provide strategic advice, guidance, training resources and materials to Schools and sustainability governance groups.
• Chair and support sustainability working groups to ensure timely, accurate curriculum data and reporting.
• Lead recruitment, induction, support and (line or matrix) management of sustainability staff and academic matrix members.
• Deliver high-quality written and verbal communications, promotional materials and committee papers on sustainability progress and activity.

About You

• Knowledge of the University’s strategic, regulatory and financial context, including risks and challenges relating to sustainability in the curriculum.
• Strong understanding of the UK higher education policy environment (across the four nations) and emerging sustainability trends.
• Demonstrable experience delivering sustainability initiatives, including curriculum development, academic processes, quality assurance, reporting and communications supported by ongoing professional development and a relevant certification in at least one of these areas.
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex information, assess risks and significance, and develop evidence‑based proposals.
• Proven experience of designing, improving or redesigning processes to enhance effectiveness and compliance.
• Experience of managing committees or working groups effectively, exercising discretion and handling sensitive or confidential matters.
• Proven ability to manage, develop and support staff (line or matrix management).
• Strong collaborative skills, with the ability to build and leverage internal and external networks to achieve results.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including drafting clear committee papers and delivering training or workshops.
• Ability to work holistically and creatively to resolve complex problems, often under pressure and with incomplete information.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, managing multiple complex priorities simultaneously to agreed standards.
• High personal integrity, resilience and motivation, with the ability to work independently, adapt to change, and the ability to carry out the role in a way that is consistent with equality legislation and University policies.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email [email protected] quoting the advert reference number.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d anticipate this to be on average three to five times per week.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

We anticipate that we will be conducting interviews for this role onsite at our Milton Keynes campus on Wednesday 10 June 2026. 

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications has been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role please submit the following documents:

• CV
• A personal statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the criteria for this role as detailed above within the job description.

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.