Location
Docklands Campus, London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Circa £180,000 base salary plus performance-related bonus

About the Role
The University of East London (UEL) is the UK's most socially inclusive university, renowned for its rapid improvement in graduate employability and growth in active graduate start-ups. Ranked 1st in England in 2026 for graduating students' overall positivity, UEL is committed to unlocking talent across society through careers-first education, innovation, enterprise, and civic impact.

With over 40,000 students from more than 160 nationalities, UEL is advancing knowledge and transforming lives through a future-focused educational experience that prepares graduates for success in a global economy.

UEL is embarking on a transformative journey with its Forward to 2040 strategy, evolving into a global, digitally enabled education, careers and innovation platform. Digital transformation is central to this ambition, leveraging data, AI, emerging technologies and digitally enabled operating models to enhance student and colleague experience, strengthen education and graduate outcomes, accelerate innovation, drive revenue growth, improve productivity, and create new lifelong learning models.

The Chief Digital Officer will lead this transformation, defining and delivering the Group's enterprise-wide digital strategy. This senior executive role involves overseeing digital product development, user experience, data and analytics, AI, enterprise architecture, technology-enabled transformation, and cyber resilience. The postholder will work across academic schools, professional services, subsidiaries, and international partnerships to build a coherent digital ecosystem supporting UEL’s global ambitions and revenue diversification.

Situated within a high-performance culture, the Chief Digital Officer is accountable for implementing a bold commercial digital strategy aligned with UEL’s academic mission and Forward to 2040 vision.

Experience
- Substantial executive or senior leadership experience in digital transformation, technology, data or digital product leadership.
- Proven track record of leading complex, enterprise-wide transformation in large, multifaceted organisations.
- Experience developing and delivering digital strategies linked to organisational growth and performance.
- Successful leadership of major technology, data, platform or service-transformation programmes.
- Expertise in integrating systems, data and digital services across organisational boundaries.
- Strong understanding of artificial intelligence, automation, analytics and emerging technologies.
- Experience building and leading high-performing multidisciplinary teams.
- Effective oversight of significant budgets, programmes and supplier relationships.
- Development of robust digital, data and cyber governance.
- Evidence of delivering measurable organisational, customer and financial benefits.
- Experience influencing boards, executive teams and senior stakeholders.
- Proven leadership of organisational and cultural change.
- Experience working with external technology, commercial or innovation partners.

About You
- Strategic and future-focused, able to anticipate change and translate emerging possibilities into institutional advantage.
- Student- and user-centred, committed to designing services around learner and colleague needs.
- Commercially and financially astute, ensuring digital investments create measurable value.
- Innovative yet disciplined, balancing ambition with strong governance and ethics.
- Collaborative and influential, able to unite diverse communities behind a shared direction.
- Inclusive and values-led, dedicated to reducing digital exclusion and improving opportunity.
- Delivery-oriented and personally accountable for measurable outcomes.
- Resilient and adaptable, capable of leading through complexity and sustained change.

Qualifications
- Degree-level qualification or equivalent senior professional experience.
- Evidence of continuing professional development in digital, technology, data, leadership or organisational transformation.
- Desirable: Postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline.
- Desirable: Relevant professional accreditation or fellowship.
- Desirable: Recognised expertise in digital transformation, information technology, data, artificial intelligence or organisational change.