UCU general secretary, Jo Grady

She was elected in 2019 after working in higher education at the universities of Leicester and Sheffield and serving for most of her career as a branch rep and officer.

Stay in touch with Jo:


(Jo posts in a personal capacity which may not reflect official UCU policy.)
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The post of general secretary is elected by the whole membership of UCU and their term of office lasts five years. The GS is the only elected post with a full-time appointment and salary. Their role is to lead the union and manage its resources and other salaried staff in line with the union's objectives. Delegates to UCU Congress and members of the national executive committee (NEC) determine the policies of the union and take high-level decisions about the union's campaigns, industrial action, and other matters - but the GS is responsible for advising those bodies and for carrying out and implementing their decisions.

For more detailed information about the GS's role, please see the job description [125kb]  as agreed by the NEC and advertised for the 2019 election.

Latest updates

See all Jo's news here

Task groups

Jo pledged to create a number of member-led task groups in her 2019 election manifesto. Group members will work alongside UCU staff and elected representatives to inform and develop UCU's organising and campaigning. The first of these task groups will will look at the ongoing issue of the sexual violence.

Reporting back

Reports from Jo to UCU's national executive and other committees:

You can find all of Jo's reports to the NEC here.

Other reports:

GS report to the anti-casualisation committee, Aug 20 [195kb]

GS report to HEC on pay & USS, 30 Jan 20 [53kb]

GS report to HEC on pay & USS, 1 Nov 19 [58kb]