13 jobs in University of Manchester Students' Union

The University of Manchester Students' Union is seeking a Catering Manager to oversee the daily operations of student catering, focusing on Corridor Coffee and Food Hall. This full-time position offers a competitive salary ranging from £32,042 to £35,237 per year with many benefits including 30 days annual leave and matched pension contributions up to 8%.

We are looking for a candidate with prior experience in similar roles who can manage a team effectively and maintain high service standards. The role primarily runs Monday to Friday with flexibility for key events.

About the role

Still love hospitality? At Manchester Students’ Union, we’re looking for a Catering Manager to lead the day‑to‑day operation of our student‑focused catering offer, with a particular focus on Corridor Coffee and our Food Hall operations.

This hospitality management role runs at 35 hours per week, usually Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend days for key events.

The package is strong – £32,042 to 35,237 per year, 30 days annual leave, bank holidays, two additional paid weeks during Christmas closure, pension contributions matched up to 8%, a staff room with free snacks, discounts across cafés and bars, development opportunities and access to selected Manchester Academy gig tickets.

• Lead the day‑to‑day operation of the catering offer, overseeing Corridor Coffee and Food Hall operations.
• Lead a small core team and a wider group of student staff, ensuring service is organised, standards are consistent, products are available and students, staff and visitors get a great experience.
• Take ownership of staffing, stock, ordering, food safety, supplier relationships, training, promotions, waste, sales and service improvement.
• Lead from the floor, think commercially and bring people with you.

Experience as Assistant Manager, Café Manager, Food Hall Manager, Catering Manager or junior General Manager who enjoys the buzz of a busy operation and can spot the details that make it work.

• Competitive salary £32,042 - 35,237 per year
• 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and two additional paid weeks during Christmas closure
• Pension contributions matched up to 8%
• A staff room with free snacks and discounts across our cafés and bars
• Development opportunities
• Access to selected Manchester Academy gig tickets
• Clear values and purpose with real commercial ownership

• Salary: £32,042 - 35,237 per year
• Contract: Permanent, Full‑time
• Hours: 35 hours per week
• Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK at the start of employment

University of Manchester Students' Union invites applications for an Assistant Manager to help launch and run a new all-day Oxford Road bar and social venue. You will support the General Manager, lead shifts, manage service on the floor and collaborate with kitchen colleagues to ensure smooth trading from morning coffee through to late-night events.

This hands-on leadership role focuses on standards, safety, team development and student impact, with scope to grow as a hospitality leader within

This new venture is our most significant commercial launch in a decade, and the Assistant Manager will play a key role in bringing the venue to life every day.

You will support the General Manager in launching and running a new all-day Oxford Road bar and social venue, helping to create a place that works from morning coffee and daytime trade through to events, society activity, pre-gig energy and late-night drinks. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys being on the floor, leading service, solving problems in the moment and creating a venue that people want to come back to.

Working closely with the General Manager, you will help set the standards for service, safety, bar quality, floor management, customer experience and team culture. You will lead shifts, support the bar and floor teams, work closely with kitchen colleagues and make sure the venue runs smoothly during busy trading periods. You will also play an important part in stock control, cash handling, wet margin, labour deployment, events, bookings, compliance and customer feedback.

This is a strong development opportunity for someone who wants to grow as a hospitality leader. You will gain experience of a major new opening, commercial trading, duty management, student staff development, event delivery and the wider role that a busy venue plays in student life. You will be supported by the General Manager and wider Commercial team, but you will also be trusted to take ownership of shifts and make good decisions when it matters.

The Assistant Manager will help build the culture of the venue from day one: welcoming, safe, energetic, inclusive, commercially aware and proud of great service. You will help train and develop studying staff, creating a positive working environment where people understand standards, confidence, accountability and responsible hospitality.

Every commercial pound generated by the venue goes back into supporting students at the University of Manchester. That makes this an Assistant Manager role where strong service, safe trading, team development and student impact all matter.

You will work as part of the wider Commercial team, alongside colleagues in Manchester Academy Venues, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee, contributing to a growing Union hospitality operation with ambition beyond a single site. This is a rare opportunity for a hands-on, ambitious Assistant Manager to be part of a major new opening and help shape a venue with real purpose behind it.

Associate Director of Finance, University of Manchester Students' Union

We are recruiting for a new role of Associate Director of Finance supporting the COO/FD. The lead employer is the University of Manchester Students' Union who have been working on developing a shared finance service model and so it will be working across multiple organisations in Manchester.

Initially this role will be taking over management accounting responsibility from the COO/FD. It will involve delivering hands on management accountancy duties such as month end processing, balance sheet management, VAT and leading on budgeting and forecasting. The role requires strong technical accountancy and reconciliation skills.

There is significant scope for development in this role once the day to day management accountancy aspects of the role are embedded. This will include developing strategic finance capabilities such as long term financial modelling and working with Boards and committees.

The role is hybrid and there is a requirement to spend time in offices in Manchester, however this can be delivered flexibly and the role holder will be given autonomy over how time is managed. UMSU is an exciting organisation and no two days are ever the same due to the varied nature of activity. This is a good opportunity for someone who likes a varied workload, is passionate about finance and has the drive to shape the role and make it their own.

Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.

Salary: Circa £50K to 60K per year, dependant on experience

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Applications opened: 19/12/2025

Interviews: 26/01/2026

We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.

People Team:

You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.

Email:

Phone:

You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.

Mid-Senior level

Full-time

Finance and Sales

Higher Education

The University of Manchester Students' Union is preparing to launch its most significant hospitality venue on Oxford Road. As General Manager you will open the venue, set standards, build its team and shape its identity from morning coffee through to late-night drinks.

You will own the P&L, drive weekly targets, maintain margins and costs, and curate a guest-centric experience. You will recruit and lead Assistant Managers, Head Chef, Sous Chef and front-of-house staff, while ensuring licensing,

This new venture is our most significant commercial launch in a decade, and as General Manager you will play the lead role in making it a success.

Starting shortly before launch you will open the venue, set its standards, build its team and help shape its identity as a high-quality Oxford Road bar and social venue trading from morning coffee through to late-night drinks. Every commercial pound the venue generates goes back into supporting students at the University of Manchester, making this one of the few General Manager roles where the P&L has a purpose beyond profit alone.

The role sits within the Commercial team, working alongside colleagues responsible for Manchester Academy Venues, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee. Together, the team generates the trading income that supports the Union’s student-facing work while delivering first-class hospitality experiences for students, staff, gig-goers and the wider Oxford Road community.

You will lead the P&L for the site, keeping sales, gross profit, labour and controllable costs on track and taking swift action where needed. In practice, this means clear weekly targets, tight control of wet and dry margins, effective rota planning, strong stock management and a relentless focus on the guest experience.

You will build and lead the newly recruited team of Assistant Managers, Head Chef, Sous Chef, kitchen colleagues and casual bar and floor staff. Developing that team into confident, capable hospitality leaders will be a core part of the role, supported by in-house HR, learning and development, and the wider Commercial leadership team.

You will act as Designated Premises Supervisor, taking responsibility for safe and compliant trading, including licensing, health and safety, food safety, staff training, incident management and responsible alcohol retailing.

You will also lead and shape the venue’s events and programming calendar, working with colleagues and student groups to create the moments that give the venue its identity. Quiz nights, acoustic sessions, Welcome Week takeovers, society activity, University-linked activations and pre-gig trading will all form part of building a venue with community, energy and long-term success.

This role strongly reflects our values of delivering great experiences and building community. It is a rare and exciting opportunity for an experienced and passionate hospitality leader to take the reins at a major new hospitality venue while directly contributing to the student experience at one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities.

Inclusivity and Accessibility

We are committed to equality of opportunity and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on merit.

We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.

If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.

Create the food identity for a new Oxford Road venue, with the opportunity to build the kitchen, shape the offer and lead from day one.

Manchester Students’ Union is looking for a hands on, commercially minded Head Chef to open and lead the kitchen for our new licensed restaurant and bar at University Green. This is our most significant commercial launch in a decade and a rare opportunity to build a kitchen operation from the ground up.

Our new venue is an all day food, drink and social space trading from morning coffee through to late night drinks, serving students, University staff, gig goers and the wider Oxford Road community.

As Head Chef, you will help create a food offer that is fast, consistent, high quality, good value, margin aware and genuinely relevant to the people using the venue. The food needs to work across lunch, early evening trade, events, group bookings, society activity and pre gig visits. It should support the bar, suit the pace of the venue and give customers a reason to come back.

Working closely with the General Manager, you will open the kitchen, set the standards, build the routines and develop the team. You will lead on food quality, kitchen organisation, food safety, allergens, ordering, stock control, waste, supplier standards and food gross profit. You will also help create the kitchen culture from day one: organised, calm, safe, supportive and proud of the food being served.

As Head Chef, you will lead and develop the Sous Chef, kitchen colleagues and student staff working in the kitchen. You will need to be confident leading service, training others, managing prep, maintaining consistency and working closely with bar and floor colleagues so the whole venue runs well during busy periods.

We are looking for a Head Chef with strong experience in a busy commercial kitchen, ideally at Head Chef, Kitchen Manager or senior Sous Chef level. You will need strong food safety knowledge, allergen awareness, experience managing food cost, stock, waste and portion control, and the ability to deliver quality and speed in a high volume environment. Experience in a bar, casual dining, student, event, music venue or city centre setting would be a real advantage.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and 40 hour contract
• 30 days’ annual leave, bank holidays and an additional paid Christmas closure period of around two weeks
• Pension contributions, learning and development, staff discounts and wider Students’ Union venue benefits
• Weekly trading rhythm suited to student and event led days with peak energy around term, Welcome, gigs and major student moments

Details

Salary: £37,000 - £41,000per year

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week

Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK. A Personal Licence is essential.

We are looking for a Sous Chef to play an important role in helping build the kitchen operation from day one for our new all-day Oxford Road bar and social venue.

You will support the Head Chef in launching and running a new kitchen, helping to create a food offer that supports the rhythm from morning coffee through to early evening, events, group bookings and pre-gig trade.

Working closely with the Head Chef, you will help set up the kitchen, build its routines, support food preparation and service, and help maintain the standards that make the venue successful. You will lead kitchen shifts, support junior colleagues and studying staff, and help ensure food quality, kitchen organisation, food safety, allergens, stock control, waste and service speed are consistently well managed.

Expanding: You will gain experience of a new opening, commercial kitchen controls, team leadership, service delivery and the wider role that a busy bar and social venue plays in student life. You will be part of the wider Commercial team, alongside colleagues in Manchester Academy Venues, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee, and support the growing Union hospitality operation.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and 40 hour contract
• 30 days’ annual leave, bank holidays and an additional paid Christmas closure period of around two weeks
• Pension contributions, learning and development, staff discounts and wider Students’ Union venue benefits
• Opportunities to grow into a senior kitchen leadership role

Details

Salary: £28,000 – £32,000per year

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week

Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK. A Personal Licence is essential.

We are looking for an experienced, commercially sharp General Manager to open and lead our new licensed restaurant and bar at University Green. This is our most significant commercial launch in a decade.

As General Manager, you will lead the site’s P&L across sales, gross profit, labour, stock, food and drink margins, controllable costs and contribution. You will build the weekly trading rhythm, keep the team focused on the right numbers and act quickly when standards or performance need attention.

You will lead a newly recruited team including Assistant Managers, Head Chef, Sous Chef, kitchen colleagues and casual bar and floor staff. You will also act as Designated Premises Supervisor, leading safe and compliant trading across licensing, responsible alcohol retailing, health and safety, food safety, training and incident management.

We need a general manager with strong experience running a high volume licensed bar, restaurant, pub or venue. Proven P&L experience, strong wet bar knowledge, confidence working with food operations, excellent people leadership skills and the ability to build a strong safety culture are essential.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and 40 hour contract
• 30 days’ annual leave, bank holidays and an additional paid Christmas closure period of around two weeks
• Pension contributions, learning and development, staff discounts and wider Students’ Union venue benefits
• Opportunities to build a high-performing team in a high-volume environment

Details

Salary: £40,000 - 50,000 per year

Contract: Permanent, Full-Time

Hours: 40 hours per week

Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK. A Personal Licence is essential.

We are looking for an ambitious Assistant Manager to help launch and run a new all-day Oxford Road bar and social venue, supporting the General Manager in creating a place that works from morning coffee through to events, society activity, pre-gig energy and late-night drinks.

Working closely with the General Manager, you will help set the standards for service, safety, bar quality, floor management, customer experience and team culture. You will lead shifts, support the bar and floor teams, work closely with kitchen colleagues and ensure the venue runs smoothly during busy trading periods. Your responsibilities include stock control, cash handling, wet margin, labour deployment, events, bookings, compliance and customer feedback.

This position is a strong development opportunity for someone who wants to grow as a hospitality leader. You will gain experience of a major new opening, commercial trading, duty management, student staff development, event delivery and the wider role that a busy venue plays in student life.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and 40 hour contract
• 30 days’ annual leave, bank holidays and an additional paid Christmas closure period of around two weeks
• Pension contributions, learning and development, staff discounts and wider Students’ Union venue benefits
• Opportunities to build team culture and support student staff development

Details

Salary: £30,000–£32,000 per year

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week

Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK. A Personal Licence is essential.

We’re looking for a committed and empathetic Student Advisor (Student Finance) to join the Advice Service at the University of Manchester Students’ Union. This is a full‑time, fixed‑term role for 12 months, with the possibility of extension.

As a Student Advisor, you will provide free, independent and confidential advice to students. You will be a generalist Student Advisor while also taking the lead on student finance and money advice. Your role includes advising on academic issues, disciplinary procedures, housing, wider student life matters, as well as student finance and money advice.

Key responsibilities include providing one‑to‑one advice, delivering supported self‑help resources, preventative campaigns, outreach activities, website content, presentations, workshops, promotional events, and collaboration with stakeholders across the university community.

Sensitivity, empathy and excellent communication are essential. Experience providing student finance or money advice is desirable, but we also welcome applications from candidates with experience in advice, welfare, support work, professional student services or other settings with transferable skills.

Benefits

• Fixed‑term contract for 12 months
• Competitive salary (£32,042‑£35,237 per year)
• 35 hours per week, flexible
• Professional development, training, and access to restorative supervision
• Peer support and teamwork within a supportive, values‑driven organisation

Details

Salary: £32,042-£35,237 per year

Contract: Fixed-Term for 12 months

Hours: 35 hours per week

Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK at the start of employment.