Director (Non Executive) and Associate Director Opportunities

Director (Non Executive) and Associate Director Opportunities
Voluntary roles Appointment from 1 August 2026

Our university client is seeking two new Non Executive Directors and a small number of Associate Directors to join their Board and committees at a pivotal moment in their development.

Our client is a young, ambitious and progressive university in Cumbria, delivering applied, work based and flexible learning with regional, national and international partners. Recent investment includes the £79m Citadels campus project in Carlisle, a new Barrow campus, and the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine delivered in partnership with Imperial College London. The University holds TEF Silver and achieves excellent graduate outcomes, with 92% progressing into work or further study.

Our client is now appointing two Directors and several Associate Directors to strengthen governance, succession and committee expertise across areas including finance, audit, risk, estates and digital. Directors sit on the University Board. Associate Directors sit on committees and provide specialist expertise.

These are voluntary roles with extraordinary impact. Your insight will strengthen higher level skills across the region, improve economic productivity, enable society changing research and widen educational opportunity for future generations. You will influence major transformation programmes and support a mission driven university that helps people and places to thrive.

Time commitment: five Board meetings per year, an annual strategy conference, and committee membership (3-5 meetings per year). Most meetings take place in Carlisle or Lancaster, with some held online.

We actively welcome applications from individuals who are currently underrepresented on the Board, including those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and disabled candidates. We value leaders who bring strategic judgement, emotional intelligence and a commitment to inclusive, purposeful governance.

Our client has five Directors nominated by the Church of England. Candidates with involvement in the Church are welcome to note this in their application. Associate Directors are not Board members but contribute specialist expertise, strengthening governance capacity and supporting succession planning.

University Leadership Associates (ULA) has been appointed to support this appointment process. For more information and to apply, please visit

Timeline:

Closing date: 9am on Friday 1 May 2026

Interviews: are scheduled for Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 May 2026 on Teams. If you are invited to interview but these dates are not convenient, we will work with you to identify an alternative time wherever possible.

Approval: University Board meeting, Thursday 9 July 2026 for a start date of 1 August 2026.