"Student Operations Director"

Job Description:

Student Operations, Engagement Department
Located in Christchurch, New Zealand

Join UC and lead a values-driven student experience, placing students, service excellence and people-centred leadership at the heart of everything you do!

• Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
• Permanent (continuing) position
• Generous annual leave provisions and professional development opportunities.

Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!
He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Kaihautu? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do

We have an exciting opportunity for an accomplished senior leader to shape and lead Student Operations across the University. This role plays a critical part in delivering a seamless, welcoming and relationship-driven student experience, bringing together people, processes and technology to support students from first enquiry through to enrolment and beyond.

You will lead service transformation, operational delivery and technology-enabled change aligned to the University’s recruitment, retention and student success priorities, while partnering across the institution to deliver pragmatic, student-centred solutions. You will also champion Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments, inclusivity, wellbeing, and culturally responsive practice across all aspects of Student Operations.

Mōu | Who You Are

To be successful in this role you will be a senior, values-led leader with a strong track record of leading large, complex service environments and delivering meaningful transformation. You bring both strategic perspective and operational credibility and are motivated by improving experiences for students and staff alike.

You will also bring:

• Extensive senior leadership experience (10+ years) leading large, customer-focused or student-facing service teams, preferably in a tertiary environment.
• The ability to balance strategic leadership with operational excellence in high-volume, multi-channel environments.
• Demonstrated success in service transformation, process improvement and technology-enabled change at scale.
• Strong people leadership skills, building inclusive, engaged and high-performing teams.
• Highly developed stakeholder engagement and influencing capability across complex organisations.
• Sound financial acumen, including budget management and performance accountability.
• A clear commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, bicultural practice and culturally responsive leadership; te reo Māori and tikanga capability is an advantage.
• Excellent communication skills, able to provide clear advice and lead change with confidence and empathy.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of student operations at a university-wide level, leading services that sit at the heart of the student journey and making a lasting impact on student success and experience.

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC

Ngā Uara | Our Values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga guide our decisions and behaviour and provide a roadmap for how we do things at UC, affirming our commitment to pastoral care and support for our ākonga and staff. They challenge and inspire us to be the best we can and make UC a great place to work and study. For more info on Ngā Uara | Our Values visit us here.

Mea e tukua nei | What We Offer

The University of Canterbury offers a highly supportive and flexible working environment, with generous benefits including relocation support, five weeks’ annual leave plus University holidays, paid parental leave, employer superannuation contributions of up to 6.75%, and access to professional development, study and sabbatical opportunities. Staff also benefit from childcare facilities, wellbeing and recreation amenities, a vibrant campus environment, and the opportunity to live and work in revitalised Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.

For more information on our Benefits, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/joinus/benefits/

The closing date for this position is: Sunday, 18 January 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

For overseas applicants, please visit Immigration New Zealand website, to review the latest health and visa requirements for visiting and working in New Zealand.