Student Safety Team Leader

Overview

Lead with confidence. Keep our students safe.

Location: Sheffield

Contract Type: Permanent

Working hours: 42.5 hours, working 5 days out of 7 from Monday - Sunday, between the hours of 10pm and 7am.

As a Student Safety Team Leader, you`ll play a key part in keeping our students and buildings safe, comfortable, and welcoming throughout the night. You`ll oversee the night operations across multiple properties, support your team to deliver brilliant service, and step up to manage incidents calmly and effectively. You`ll work closely with the Student Safety Manager and your peers across the cluster, making a real impact every day.

Every shift brings something different—from coaching and supporting your team across multiple sites, to managing emergencies or stepping in as the duty manager. You`ll balance leadership with hands-on problem-solving, keeping things running smoothly and your team feeling supported every step of the way.

Your impact

Whilst no two days are the same at Unite Students, here`s a flavour of what you`ll be responsible for in this role:

• Lead and support the Student Safety Team to deliver a safe, consistent, and caring environment.
• Provide line management and leadership to your team - conducting performance reviews, managing attendance, conduct, and performance, and supporting their growth and development.
• Be responsible for setting objectives, creating rotas, and managing holidays to ensure effective cover and operational excellence.
• Contribute to cluster performance by delivering key business KPIs.
• Act as the point of escalation for incidents and ensure every situation is managed calmly, professionally, and with care.
• Conduct safety patrols, respond to emergencies, and ensure our buildings are secure and compliant.
• Maintain accurate Excel handovers, respond to overnight emails, and ensure smooth communication between teams.
• Keep our spaces clean, tidy, and well-maintained - taking pride in every detail.
• Collaborate with the day and night teams to ensure a seamless student experience across shifts.

Your background

You don`t need to fit a box or follow a traditional path - what matters most is your mindset. We`re looking for curiosity, openness to learning, and the drive to make a difference. Whether you`re solving problems, leading change, or supporting our students day-to-day, it`s your attitude and approach that will help shape something bigger.

To be successful in this role, you will:

• Bring a people-focused, supportive approach to leadership.
• Be able to guide and motivate others, even in challenging moments.
• Stay composed and solutions-focused in fast-moving or high-pressure situations.
• Have previous experience managing a team, including supporting performance, wellbeing, and development.
• Preferably, have previous experience in customer service, residential, safety, or security roles - but this isn`t essential. What`s most important is your ability to connect, act with integrity, and keep others safe.
• Hold a valid UK/EU driving licence.

Why it`s great to work with US!

In this values-led organisation, you`ll do work that makes a difference, helping to shape welcoming, vibrant communities where students can thrive. Whether this is your first step or your next one, we`ll help you build skills, confidence and a career you`re proud of.

We believe that everyone thrives when they`re able to bring the best version of themselves to work. So, alongside a competitive salary, we`ve built a culture and a reward package to support you in bringing your full, authentic self to work, including:

• A performance-related bonus paid twice a year
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to buy up to 5 extra days and earn up to 5 additional days for long service (FTE equivalent)
• A generous pension scheme where contributions between 4% and 11% depending on how much you save
• Life assurance worth 4 times your salary
• Share save scheme giving you access to purchase Unite Students shares at a discounted rate
• Enhanced Family Leave - including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Medicash (Health Cash Plan) - access to claim back the cost of routine medical care, such as…