Unitemps Branch Manager (2134)
Unitemps Branch Manager
Full Time, 37 hours per week | Permanent | High Wycombe Campus
Salary: £45,641 - £57,666
We’re not trying to fit in with the higher education status quo. We’re challenging it. We’re doing things differently because our students, our staff and our world need us to.
So this is an exciting moment to join us. We’re boldly reimagining what a university can be: a place rooted in social mobility, a community where difference is celebrated, and an institution that empowers people to become more than they thought possible.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the establishment and development of a new Unitemps branch at Buckinghamshire New University.
Unitemps is a university-led recruitment service that connects students, graduates and members of the wider community with temporary, permanent, internship and graduate employment opportunities. The service will form a central part of BNU’s developing Jobs and Careers Service, supporting students and graduates to gain paid experience, build their professional confidence and progress into employment.
As Unitemps Branch Manager, you will lead the launch, operation and growth of the branch. You will be responsible for developing the service’s business plan, building strong relationships across the University and with external employers, generating recruitment activity and ensuring the delivery of a professional, efficient and compliant service.
Working closely with colleagues across Careers, Graduate Outcomes, Human Resources, Finance and academic areas, you will position Unitemps as BNU’s institutionally governed service for temporary and extracurricular paid work. You will also contribute to the development of clear employment pathways connecting Unitemps with MyBNUFutures, careers support, employer engagement and graduate employment activity.
You will bring substantial experience in recruitment, business development, sales or account management, together with the leadership skills needed to establish and manage a new service. You will understand the importance of employment legislation, recruitment compliance, right-to-work requirements and accurate operational and financial reporting.
The successful candidate will be a confident and credible relationship builder who can combine strategic planning with hands-on delivery. You will be comfortable developing new business, managing competing priorities, interpreting performance information and representing BNU with senior colleagues, employers and external partners.
This is a unique opportunity to shape a new service from the outset and make a direct contribution to the employment prospects and experiences of BNU students and graduates.
What we offer:
- a generous holiday entitlement (35/30 days per annum, plus bank holidays & closure days)
- Hybrid working (dependent on business needs)
- training & development support opportunities
- contributory pension scheme
- free gym membership for our on-site gym
- a range of staff discounts with major retailers.
Please click here to see our wide range of benefits available for employees.
Please click here for our behavioural based interview question bank.
Please click here to view our employee handbook.
If you have the qualities and attributes representative of the University’s values and ambition, we would be delighted to hear from you.
For further information about this role please contact Kevin Campbell-Karn on kevin.campbell-karn@bucks.ac.uk
All applications must be made in full online
We are committed to promoting an inclusive and diverse workplace and aim to continue building an environment where everyone thrives and can be themselves.
Please let us know if you require any adjustments or support during the recruitment process. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that would enable you to perform to the best of your abilities in your role. Please reach out to Kevin if you have any specific needs or if you would like more information on how we can support you.
We ensure that our interview/shortlisting Chairs complete the relevant e-learning and/or inclusive recruitment training.
If you’re considering using AI to support your application, we encourage you to question the value it adds. The use of AI tools sometimes erodes authenticity and prevents us from being able to assess the real you. We strongly recommend you prepare your application using your own skills and knowledge and that AI is only used for the purpose of review.
Closing date: 9 November 2026
Interview date: 24 November 2026
If you are invited to interview for this role, you will need to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK and if on a visa, current visa and status. Sponsorship is dependent on the salary level of the position.
Bucks is a Disability Confident employer and as such you will be given the opportunity to declare a disability as part of the application process.
Job Description
JOB DESCRIPTION
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Job Title: Unitemps Branch Manager |
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College/Professional Service: Student Experience Group |
Grade: H |
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Location: High Wycombe |
Hours: 37 |
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Responsible to: Head of Graduate Outcomes |
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Responsible for: Unitemps Recruitment Consultant |
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Job Purpose: To lead and manage the University's Unitemps Branch, providing high-quality temporary and permanent recruitment services for University departments and external clients, whilst creating paid employment opportunities for students and graduates. The post-holder will be responsible for the growth and performance of the branch, developing and delivering business development plans to increase income, grow existing accounts and secure new business. They will lead and develop the Unitemps team, maintain compliance with relevant employment legislation and agency regulations and support the University's student experience and graduate outcomes objectives. They will practise an inclusive approach and support the development of an inclusive university community where people can be themselves. |
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Main Duties & Responsibilities of the role:
- Business Development & Planning - Lead the branch's sales and business development activity, identifying and converting new internal and external business opportunities, developing relationships with prospective clients, and promoting Unitemps services through networking, events and targeted sales and marketing activity. Develop and deliver the branch business development plan, setting priorities for internal and external growth, monitoring market trends, competitor activity and client demand, and taking responsibility for achieving agreed branch income, growth and business development targets.
- Account Management - Develop and manage effective stakeholder relationships across University departments and external clients, acting as a key point of contact, understanding workforce requirements and delivering tailored recruitment solutions. Proactively manage existing accounts to retain and grow business, identify opportunities to increase usage and cross-sell services, and lead pricing and contract discussions where appropriate.
- Financial Performance - Manage and monitor the financial performance of the Unitemps Branch, including income, expenditure, margins and agreed budgets and forecasts. Produce and report appropriate management information and KPIs, identifying and implementing actions required to achieve agreed financial and operational objectives.
- Team Leadership - Lead, motivate and develop the Unitemps team, fostering a proactive, commercially focused and high-performing culture. Take responsibility for recruitment and selection, objective setting, performance management, regular one-to-ones, professional development, wellbeing and health and safety. Establish and monitor appropriate individual and team KPIs and lead the team effectively through change.
- Recruitment Delivery - Lead and oversee end-to-end recruitment activity for temporary and permanent employment opportunities, including vacancy scoping, role advertising, shortlisting, assessment and selection, ensuring an efficient and high-quality service to clients and candidates.
- Candidate Attraction & Talent Pipelines - Oversee candidate attraction, sourcing and the development and maintenance of high-quality talent pipelines of students, graduates and temporary workers, ensuring candidates are proactively matched to employment opportunities and receive an excellent candidate experience that contributes positively to the wider student experience.
- University Collaboration - Collaborate with University stakeholders including Careers, Alumni, Employer Partnerships, Finance, HR, academic subject areas and Students’ Union teams to create a joined-up approach to student employment, ensuring an excellent student experience and maximising employment opportunities for students and graduates.
- Service & Brand - Champion a high-quality, customer-focused service and the Unitemps brand, acting as the escalation point for significant service or staffing issues, gathering feedback to drive continuous improvement, and promoting student employment opportunities through university-wide engagement activities and events, including Welcome Week.
- Payroll & Workforce Administration - Oversee the effective administration of worker onboarding, bookings, assignments, timesheets, payroll information, invoicing and worker records, ensuring accurate, timely and efficient service delivery.
- Compliance & Governance - Ensure compliant and safe recruitment practices by maintaining adherence to employment legislation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR, Agency Workers Regulations, University policies, right-to-work and UKVI requirements, vetting requirements, Equality and Diversity, and Health and Safety. Maintain accurate records and support audit and compliance obligations.
- Franchise & Network - Work closely with the Warwick Employment Group Franchise Relationship Manager and the wider Unitemps network, ensuring the branch operates in accordance with the Unitemps franchise agreement, agreed operating standards and processes. Participate in regular branch performance reviews and relevant Unitemps network meetings and activities.
- Other Duties - Such other duties temporarily or on a continuing basis, as may reasonably be required.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
A = Application T = Test I = Interview
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Education, Qualifications & Training |
Means of Testing |
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Educated to degree level or able to demonstrate equivalent relevant professional experience. |
A |
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Professional HR or recruitment qualification or equivalent experience |
A |
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Knowledge & Experience |
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Experience in recruitment, resourcing or staffing management. |
A |
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Proven ability to manage multiple vacancies and stakeholders. |
A |
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Proven track record of aligning commercial recruitment or business development activities with broader strategic organisational objectives (ideally within employability, education, or skills development). |
A |
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Experience of delivering excellent customer service. |
A |
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Experience of working with recruitment systems and databases. |
A |
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Experience of building and maintaining effective professional relationships |
A |
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Proven track record of identifying, developing and converting new business opportunities and achieving recruitment, sales, income or growth targets. |
A & I |
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Experience of leading, managing and developing a team. |
A |
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Experience of monitoring business performance through budgets, forecasts, KPIs and management information. |
A |
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Strong understanding of recruitment best practice and the temporary recruitment/staffing market. |
A |
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Understanding of employment legislation and right-to-work requirements. |
A |
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Understanding of GDPR and data protection principles. |
A |
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Understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion in recruitment. |
A |
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Skills |
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Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. |
A & I |
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Strong relationship-building and networking abilities. |
A & I |
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Commercial awareness and business development skills. |
I |
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Ability to prioritise and manage a varied workload. |
I |
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Strong organisational and administrative skills. |
I |
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Problem-solving and decision-making capability. |
I |
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High level of attention to detail. |
I |
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Proficiency in Microsoft Office and recruitment systems. |
I |
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Ability to analyse and interpret financial and performance information and translate this into appropriate action. |
I |
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Ability to articulate the value of part-time work as a mechanism for long-term career skills development to both internal stakeholders and external employer partners. |
I |
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Ability and willingness to travel as required to meet clients, attend University activities and participate in Unitemps network meetings and events. |
A & I |
BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS
The BNU Behaviours Framework (BBF) is a framework for all University staff that sets out the key behaviours that exemplify the DRIVE values and ethos of the University. The three key behavioural indicators for this post are as follows:
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Delivering excellent service Providing the best quality service to external and internal customers/students/stakeholders. Building genuine and open long-term relationships in order to drive up customer service standards. |
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Working together Working collaboratively and across boundaries with others in order to achieve objectives. Recognising and valuing the different contributions people bring to this process. |
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Achieving results Consistently meeting agreed objectives and success criteria. Taking personal responsibility for getting things done. |
