"Communications & Operations Lead"

Te Ratonga Ākonga | Student Operations

Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

• Permanent position
• 37.5 hours per week

Are you a strategic operator with a passion for clear communication and great service? Do you enjoy leading people, improving systems, and shaping experiences that really matter?

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do

Te Ratonga Ākonga | Student Operations are seeking a Communications & Operations Lead to play a pivotal role in delivering an exceptional, student-centred experience across Student Operations.

This is a senior operational leadership role that brings together people leadership, communications expertise, and continuous improvement. You’ll lead our Contact Centre team, oversee student communications and digital content, and work closely with internal partners to ensure services are responsive, consistent, and future-focused.

You’ll be at the heart of the student journey—using data, insight, and collaboration to improve how students experience UC at every stage.

You will be responsible for:

• Leading and developing a high-performing Contact Centre team to deliver outstanding service across all channels
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives aligned with UC’s strategic priorities
• Overseeing student communications, web content, and multi-channel messaging (email, SMS, digital and print)
• Partnering with Digital teams to enhance systems, data quality, reporting, and the digital student journey
• Ensuring operational risk, compliance, and quality assurance are well managed
• Championing a student-focused, culturally responsive approach to service delivery.

Mōu | Who You Are

You’re a confident, collaborative leader who enjoys balancing strategy with hands-on operational delivery. You bring strong communication skills, sound judgement, and a genuine commitment to service excellence.

You will have 7–9 years’ relevant experience in operations, communications, or service leadership and be able to demonstrate:

• Proven experience leading and developing teams
• Strong analytical and reporting capability, with confidence working with complex data
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience working with digital platforms, CRM systems, or web content tools
• A continuous improvement mindset and the ability to manage competing priorities
• Alignment with UC values and a commitment to inclusive, culturally respectful practice
• Competency in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori is an advantage.

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC

At UC, being part of our team means more than just a job. We are committed to supporting our kaimahi | staff’s career and wellbeing with benefits designed to help our kaimahi grow and feel connected, supported and valued. 

UC’s Benefits approach is shaped by Ngā Uara | Our Values Whanaungatanga, Tiakitanga, and Manaakitanga. They are designed to be relevant, support and inspire our people, they include:

• 5 weeks annual leave +5 days university holidays
• UC Parental Leave (up to 9 weeks paid) + 26 weeks Government paid parental leave and onsite childcare facility
• generous employer contribution to superannuation (up to 6.75%)
• flexible working arrangements
• professional development and study opportunities
• supportive working environment
• a wide range of retail discounts across shopping, entertainment and travel
• on-campus staff discounts including UC RecCentre
• living in revitalised Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
• a unique working environment in a beautiful campus with access to UC facilities such as UC RecCentre and Staff Club at discounted rates plus onsite cafés and eateries, and more.

For more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/work-at-uc/benefits-working-uc.

For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/

The closing date for this position is: 5 March 2026 (midnight, NZ time)

Please note applications will be reviewed after the close date.

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.

Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to WorkatUC@canterbury.ac.nz

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency or hold a valid NZ work visa to be considered for this role.

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