Job Opportunity – Associate Consultants in Wellbeing and Mental Health Services

Come and be a part of our exciting journey in supporting excellence across the higher education sector! We’re always interested in speaking with people who combine deep knowledge of universities with outstanding interpersonal and consultancy skills.

SUMS is growing our team of specialists to provide universities with strategic advice on approaches to student and staff wellbeing and mental health support. We’re looking for experts who have worked strategically to deliver whole-university approaches. If you have experience in managing or transforming university wellbeing and mental health services; working with NHS and third sector services; or working with disability services or inclusive curricula, we’d love to talk to you. Contact us at sums@reading.ac.uk today.

How the SUMS Associate Model Works

Associate Consultants who join our team are a key component of our business model. They are typically experts in their own field; experienced specialists with in-depth experience of both Higher Education and the commercial world. Our Associates are not direct employees of SUMS, but they are a hugely valued part of our community. Each engagement our Associate Consultants undertake is delivered on behalf of SUMS, under the SUMS brand, as a SUMS ambassador.

Our SUMS Associate pool work to zero-hours contracts. Although our associates can receive a substantial volume of work each year, there is no guarantee of this because it is dependent on both the assignment pipeline and the areas of specialism in which universities require support. As such, our Associates often have a range of interests outside of SUMS too. Some undertake interim management work. Some are involved in delivering consultancy to other sectors as part of their broader business interests. We actively encourage this on the basis that wider experience can only be good for both SUMS and our clients.

What Essential Competences and Behaviours Do You Need to Join Our Team?

There are some things that are non-negotiable. We hold our Associates to the same high standards as we hold our permanent staff.  The following competences and behaviours underpin our, and your, success. We’ve listed them on our ‘Join Our Team‘ page here with examples of how we expect you to demonstrate them.

We pay a competitive day rate to those who come through our associate application process and join the team. If you would like to join our team and have experience of managing or transforming university mental health and wellbeing services, working with NHS and third sector services, disability services or inclusive curricula, please email us at sums@reading.ac.uk with your CV or complete the form at the bottom of our Join Our Team page here.