Head of Commercial Development

Head of Commercial Development | Senior Leadership Team £37 - £46k per annum (depending on experience), bonus on meeting targets | Full Time, Permanent

DSU as an organisation provides commercial services of outstanding quality which enhance the student experience, including multiple outlets of retail, catering, licensed trade and entertainment/event functions across many locations in the city and incorporating large venue operations during the Leicester Comedy Festival.

The DSU is seeking an exceptional Head of Commercial Development to lead its significant Commercial operation.

This unique Leicester opportunity will be a highly sought after role and is responsible for the strategic leadership and development of the commercial teams in order to optimise strategic, financial, and customer perception objectives across this multi-faceted and diverse organisation.

The post-holder is also a member of the DSU Senior Leadership Team, with joint corporate responsibility for the leadership and management of the organisation.

This role has a direct report with department heads managing significant teams specialising in Bars, Catering, Entertainment & Events, Festival, Conference and Retail shops. There is overall responsibility through the direct reports for a staff team of around 6.5 FTE salaried and approximately 50 hourly staff.  The current annual turnover of the Commercial Services department is c. £684k. DSU have the ambition to grow this and needs a highly motivated and committed candidate to lead the change.

The DSU campus has received a £3million capital redevelopment recently and with this the opportunity to reengineer our commercial offer to students; improving their experience whilst increasing our revenue streams.

The post of Head of Commercial Development will play a key role in developing its on-going strategy in an uncertain economic climate and needs to find new income streams, partners to collaborate with, and more efficient methods of operation to leverage the most from its current operations.  Most important, the role will allow the Students' Union to make the right decisions with regards to the commercial offer in the new building, from size, scope and positioning of each service.

The successful candidate will work closely with the CEO and other team members to advise the Board of Trustees on future strategic developments and will also take a lead in developing a closer working relationships for the mutual benefit of members and the Students' Union.

The post will be permanent.

The successful candidate will have an exceptional track record and proven success in a similar leadership role, and from within a multi-site/multi-function leisure environment with licensed trade and food sales.

Essential skills and attributes include:-

• Proven financial management skills, including responsibility for budgets, achieving challenging financial targets
• Demonstrable record of leading, motivating, and managing teams of staff to achieve strong results in a customer-focussed environment.
• A track record of working in and forging successful partnerships, and of engaging with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working as part of a senior management team and of formulating and delivering strategic objectives and policies
• The credibility and integrity required to represent and act as an ambassador for an organisation
• Ability to identify innovative opportunities, build consensus and manage change within a multi-discipline environment
• A facilitative leadership style with the ability act as a catalyst for change
• Ability to think strategically and corporately, with outstanding commercial acumen and strategic and financial planning skills.

Applications close - Tuesday, 1 August 2017 at 4pm

Interviews - Provisionally Tuesday 15 / Wednesday 16 August 2017

Start date - As soon as possible subject to notice period                

De Montfort University Students' Union Ltd is committed to equality of opportunity and is a Gold Investor in People