Head of Global Mobility

We are looking for an experienced and collaborative Head of Global Mobility to establish and lead this new service as the University of Bath enters an exciting period of international development.

Our Strategy 2036 sets out our ambition to achieve global excellence with impact, transforming the world through education, research and innovation. As our international activity grows, we are creating a new global mobility service to make it easy, safe and effective for our people to work overseas.

You will shape the University's approach to outbound staff mobility, providing strategic leadership alongside practical oversight of international assignments, secondments, overseas working and other cross-border employment arrangements.

This is an opportunity to build a high-quality service from the ground up. Working across HR, Finance, Payroll, Legal, International Relations, academic departments and other professional services, you will develop a clear operating model, governance framework and consistent service standards. Your focus will be on providing an effective, user-centred service while ensuring that legal, financial, regulatory and duty-of-care risks are understood and managed appropriately.

A key early priority will be supporting the University's developing transnational education activity. The University is working towards establishing joint institutes in China, with teaching currently planned to begin in the 2027/28 academic year. The proposed model will involve members of staff travelling overseas to deliver teaching, making effective mobility arrangements and a positive employee experience critical to the programme's success.

While transnational education will be an important initial focus, this is a University-wide role. You will help create a scalable and sustainable service capable of supporting the full range of the University's present and future international activities.

This is a rare opportunity to shape a strategically important service at an early stage of its development. You will have the scope to influence how global mobility is understood and delivered across the University, building the relationships, processes and capability needed to support our growing international ambitions.

The role will balance strategic development with operational leadership. You will be comfortable moving between shaping policy, advising senior decision-makers, overseeing sensitive cases and working with colleagues to resolve practical issues.

You will join a University with a strong reputation for education, research and innovation and a clear long-term strategy for achieving global excellence with impact. You will work with colleagues from across the institution and with a developing network of international partners to support activity that will make a tangible difference to our students, staff and global community.

You will have substantial experience of leading or managing global mobility, international employment or a closely related cross-border HR service.

You will bring a strong understanding of the principal issues associated with staff working internationally. These are likely to include outbound immigration, personal tax, social security, payroll, employment law, insurance, health and safety and organisational duty of care.

You will also be able to demonstrate:
- Experience of developing policies, governance arrangements and compliance frameworks
- Sound judgement when advising on complex, sensitive or high-risk cases
- The ability to analyse complicated issues and present clear, proportionate recommendations
- Experience of working with multidisciplinary stakeholders, senior leaders, professional advisers and specialist suppliers
- Strong strategic planning, service-design and continuous-improvement skills
- Highly developed influencing, negotiation and relationship-management skills
- Experience of leading and developing people
- A commitment to inclusion, fairness and a positive employee experience

Experience of global mobility within higher education, research or an international partnership environment would be valuable, but it is not essential. Relevant professional training or qualifications in global mobility, HR, immigration, tax, payroll or service management would also be welcomed.

What we can offer you:
- Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days
- Generous employer contributory pension schemes
- Cycle to work scheme
- Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
- Staff discount at Team Bath gym
- Staff benefits include discounted postgraduate tuition and language courses, alongside a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities such as apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning, and more
- Local discounts, including free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
- A family-friendly workplace
- An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
- Relocation allowance
- Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses
- Employee assistance services through Health Assured, including access to the Wisdom app

Be Well at Bath: We're committed to creating a health-supporting working environment where everyone can thrive and be at their best. We offer staff support groups and networks, a network of Staff Wellbeing Champions, and a suite of tools, resources and frameworks that enable you to be at your best and thrive.