Arts Students’ Union
Part business, part charity, part membership body – students’ unions are all seriously fun places to work. They are organisations in their own right. Professionally run, but different. Professional teams support elected student leaders to make change, improve lives, and fulfil potential; we help make this happen.
About Us
Part business, part charity, part membership body – students’ unions are all seriously fun places to work. They are organisations in their own right. Professionally run, but different. Professional teams support elected student leaders to make change, improve lives, and fulfil potential; we help make this happen.
Our roles
We have 2 different kinds of positions available within the Student Union. Please make sure you select the right role when applying.
Student Staff Roles
Roles open to UAL current students, within our 9 different teams such as Advice & Education Quality, working under a zero-hour contract.
Career Staff Roles
Full time or part time professional roles supporting student initiatives and contributing to the university community and ensuring the organisation is run efficiently.
How we recruit
Our application process may seem a little longer than that of other employers, but there’s a good reason for it. We’ve designed it to be fair, inclusive, and consistent for all candidates.
To achieve this, we ask everyone to complete our application form. Each application is reviewed by a hiring panel of at least three people who follow a structured scoring process.
Below, you’ll find some key tips to help you write a successful application.
If you have any questions please contact our HR team at hr@su.arts.ac.uk
Structured Application Sections
Our application form is divided into three areas — Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviour, which are key competencies categories for our staff. Each section helps you demonstrate how you meet the role requirements.
Person Specification
As you complete each section, make sure you refer closely to the Person Specification (PS). This is the main tool the shortlisting panel will use to assess your application. They’ll compare your responses to the criteria listed in the PS to decide who will be invited to interview. Each criterion in the PS is numbered for ease of reference, so feel free to use these numbers when writing your application (for example, “Knowledge 1.1″).
Specific Examples
Support your answers with specific examples (use STAR method). Your examples don’t need to come only from paid work; experiences from volunteering, education, community projects, clubs, or other roles are all valuable if they show the right skills and behaviours.
Use of AI
You may use AI tools to brainstorm ideas, refine structure, or check grammar but we want to hear from you, not from ChatGPT. Over-reliance may make your application appear generic or less personal.
Review before submitting
Before submitting, review your application to ensure your examples link clearly to the PS criteria and that your writing is clear and well-structured.
Why work with us
Because you’re excited by the challenge! The exact opposite of corporate, we’re progressive, daring, and creative individuals working to make a difference in unconventional workplaces. At the heart of everything we do are our values:
We are daring
How we do things is just as important as what we do. University is a space for growth, experimentation, and development. As an organisation, we are committed to ensuring that we are constantly developing new ideas that push boundaries and are outside of the ‘normal’ ways of working
We are collaborative
We are at our best when we work together. As an organisation, we are open to change and challenging our way of thinking. We are continually learning, talking and sharing information with our students and stakeholders to ensure that we make the best decisions and offer the best services for our members.
We are supportive
We know that studying at University can be a tough time, but it can also be life-changing. We are committed to equity and ending social justice. This means that we are committed to students having equal access and participation in our services.
We are committed to equity and ending social injustice
We recognise that students have different backgrounds and experiences and may need different levels of support and empowerment as they navigate their time at University.