Technology at Unite Students

Unite Students recognise the importance of leveraging digital technologies to underpin our ambition, and we are establishing a Digital Innovation capability to identify and coordinate digital initiatives from across the business that will contribute materially to Unite`s growth and profitability objectives.

To achieve these objectives, the Head of Digital Innovation will establish and lead a team with the specific objectives to drive; faster innovation, enhanced solution offerings, early identification of next-gen digital technology to support our future business objectives, strengthened consumer engagement, more successful relationships with our partners, streamlined operations and an enhanced employee experience.

The Head of Digital Innovation will work closely with the Head of Enterprise Applications to clearly identify those areas of the business that need specific innovation and bespoke development in technology, versus those areas where off-the-shelf solutions can be leveraged most effectively.

The Head of Digital Innovation will report into the Director of Digital, Data and Technology and will define and report against key metrics to measure the success and impact of digital initiatives. They will also co-ordinate and work closely with IT on establishing the technical foundations and alignment with overall architecture and service operations.

What you`ll be doing

• Act as an ambassador for Digital thinking across the business. The candidate will define and embed the target vision and strategy across the organisation - including a clear definition of what `digital` means for the business, and what a high-performance, digital business will look like in the future
• Develop and support relationships with leading stakeholders and keep them involved and acting as ambassadors from initiative identification through to deployment
• Ensuring that the digital initiatives are proactively identified and prioritised in line with the overall business strategy and ability to deliver Unite`s ambition
• Establish the capability in the business to cost-effectively and rapidly prototype new ideas/develop POCs working with 3^rd parties/tech vendors as necessary to prove the value of new digital activities before committing
• Ensuring that current technologies are used as effectively as possible across initiatives, with effective knowledge sharing and collaboration
• Managing the timely development and deployment of future and existing digital products i.e. Web and Student App in line with planned release schedules
• Anticipating technical support and infrastructure needs for the planned initiatives and co-ordinating with IT to address these with the necessary priority
• Investigate and drive the wider business adoption of existing digital solutions e.g. RPA
• Establish and track the rolling Digital Initiative roadmap and keep up to date
• Assess the different initiatives against the digital framework, the E2E value creation view and the overall business objectives to identify gaps or changes in priority (working with the Unite Transformation Office)
• Report on execution success and progress versus the initiative charters and overall digital business ambition
• Ensure that our digital initiatives are reflected in our strategic plans and annual budget cycles
• Assure that the digital journey is part of the recurrent internal communication and that digital initiatives get known beyond the perimeter of the intiative itself
• Identify, keep up to date and develop skills in the core technologies that we can leverage to realise our digital business ambitions
• Identify and agree with IT, the technology standards to be used where appropriate, influencing and adopting industry standards wherever possible
• Co-ordinate with IT that development environments are provided to support innovation and testing, ensuring that these are properly managed
• Co-ordinate with IT that secure operational platforms for digital business systems are available
• Establish and actively manage a network of technology/service partners whose skills and capabilities Unite can leverage

What we`re looking for in you

• Passion and experience in setting up, managing and embedding a Digital Innovation capability (ideally in a similar industry) and evangelising the potential across the business, whilst also bringing a very business focused, commercial mindset
• Experience in translating business requirements in technical aspects of digital delivery
• Affinity with new digital technology trends and how they impact large, complex organizations (looking beyond just the standard Web and App)
• Evidence of having delivered successful digital deployments from prototype through to adopted solution (with achieved business case)
• Sound knowledge of major Enterprise Applications (e.g. Salesforce, Oracle Fusion)
• Excellent listening, written, and oral communication skills
• Strong communication skills to host and inspire based on digital broadcasts
• Ability to anticipate and solve problems
• Energetic, innovative, and flexible

What You`ll Get in Return

• An annual bonus so you can share in the company`s success
• 25 days` paid holiday
• Private Medical Insurance
• Pension - based on how much you save, we`ll contribute 1% more
• Flexible working opportunities
• Shared Parental Leave - 18 weeks full pay
• Other benefits include, ShareSave, Bike to Work, Charity Match, amazing discounts and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is a FTSE 100 business and the UK`s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 25 leading university towns and cities, with 74,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

Instinctive inclusion. We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn`t just what we do but who we are.

People make Unite Students. Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

Room for Everyone

We`re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we`re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building a home for success, for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with a passion for creating room for everyone, doing what`s right, keeping US safe, and raising the bar. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.

We are US.