Work with us

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.

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.

Find out more about our values and behaviours

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 40% 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

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

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.

Safeguarding

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.

Sustainability 

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).

Disability Confident Committed Employer

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.