Join our team and help us build a better world through higher education.

Who we are

We offer excellent opportunities for people interested in working in an international organisation within the higher education sector.

The ACU is a unique membership organisation consisting of over 400 universities in 40 countries across the Commonwealth. This makes us one of the largest and most diverse international university networks.

We champion higher education as the cornerstone of stronger societies, supporting our members, partners, and stakeholders as they adapt to a changing world.

We believe that our staff are our greatest asset and we are committed to ensuring the ACU is a great, supportive and rewarding place to work with a high-performance culture. Our staff share our passion and vision and are key to helping us to achieve our goals.

Please visit our vacancy portal to check for current vacancies and apply online.

Vacancy portal

If you have not heard from us six weeks after the closing date of a vacancy, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion. We thank you for your interest and encourage you to apply for future roles.

We understand that finding a job can be challenging and at times stressful, and we want you to succeed, so here are some tips to help you apply to the ACU and prepare for an interview.

Why work for us?

If you join us, you will benefit from the following:

Working for an organisation with social impact, with the opportunity to make a difference
The opportunity to build your career with extensive training and development opportunities
Exposure to the international higher education and international development sectors
A positive, supportive and flexible working culture
Working within an inclusive environment where health and wellbeing is a priority.

Our values

Quality: We strive to excel in all we do, and continuously reflect on our work to find new ways forward.
Collaboration: We believe that cooperation and sharing ideas makes us stronger.
Innovation: We encourage people to think differently, be curious, and explore new ideas.
Respect: We treat others in the way we would like to be treated – with fairness, integrity, and generosity.
Inclusion: We value difference and encourage and celebrate the diverse voices of our colleagues and partners.

Our benefits

27 days annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees), plus 4 Christmas closure days
Generous pension scheme – 5% employee contribution, 10% employer contribution
Volunteering days
Enhanced maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave
Give As You Earn charitable donations scheme
Cycle to work scheme
Sabbatical leave
Ability to work overseas for a limited period each year

Work/life balance

Our offices are in central London, only ten minutes’ walk from Euston and Kings Cross stations. Staff spend 20% of their time in the office each month, although some staff come in more regularly
We make every effort to support flexible working so that staff can have a healthy work/life balance, including compressed hours, nine-day fortnights or part-time roles. We also have long- and short-term arrangements for staff who have caring responsibilities, or other personal circumstances that need flexibility

Health and wellbeing

Staff Wellbeing Service for professional advice and assistance. This is a free, independent 24/7 service, offering help and advice for work-related issues, as well as problems affecting your home life
Annual flu jab vouchers for all staff and free vaccines for international travel
Reimbursement of up to £75 for sight tests and towards glasses or lenses
We have a network of mental health first aiders who are here for all our staff when needed

Professional development

We have an annual programme of training and development to support skills development and promote wellbeing
We have regular external speakers who speak about issues of diversity and equality, such as transgender training, gender and race
We have additional opportunities to attend a range of internal and external events
We have an ACU Educational Fund for further study and professional development
We have an internal mentoring programme designed to support career development for staff

In recognition of its importance to the success of our organisation, inclusion is one of our five core values.

The ACU aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation (defined as Protected Characteristics in the UK Equality Act 2010). In addition, no job applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment in regard to neurodiversity, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, accent or socio-economic background. We positively encourage applications from any underrepresented groups

It is important that the people in our organisation reflect the wider community. Bringing together a diverse range of people helps us perform to our best, whether bringing universities together from around the world, supporting international collaboration, providing great scholarship services or realising our ambitions to build a better world through higher education.

Our focus on Access and Inclusion through grants and initiatives that help to drive systemic change and by working with universities to widen access and reduce inequality helps to tackle socioeconomic disparities and level the playing field.

We're proud of our inclusive culture and want to be a place where everyone can be themselves at work.

Our people can be confident that difference is not only accepted but celebrated at the ACU.

All our people are recruited, trained and held to account on the basis that discrimination in any form is unacceptable.

The ACU is committed to promoting the safety and welfare of those who deliver and those who receive our services, protecting them from harm and all forms of exploitation, abuse and harassment. The ACU expects all colleagues to share this commitment. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The scale and urgency of today’s global challenges have never been greater. From the escalating climate crisis to widening social divides, Commonwealth countries are among those most acutely affected.

Through vital research and inspirational teaching, universities are already helping to build a world that is happier, healthier and more sustainable for all. But their impact is even greater when they work together.

By bringing universities and individuals together from across the world, many of whom have expertise and first-hand experience in tackling these issues, the ACU offers a powerful mechanism for collaborative projects, shared knowledge, and joint action. At the same time, we campaign at the highest levels for greater recognition of higher education’s critical contribution to sustainable development – in particular its integral role in meeting all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ACU is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer.

Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions.

Please let us know if you require any adjustments in the application process or when you are invited to interview.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we have committed to:

Ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
Communicating and promoting vacancies
Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role
Providing reasonable adjustments as required
Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work
At least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people

We are proud to be part of the movement of change that is encouraging employers to think differently about disability, taking action to recruit, retain and develop disabled people.

Find out more about Disability Confident here.

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