Jo Purves

Jo Purves is the current Pro Vice-Chancellor Partnerships and Global Engagement. She originally joined the University of Salford in April 2017 as Pro Vice-Chancellor International and Regional Partnerships. Jo’s professional career started in television, working in the newsroom of the Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC). Prior to her work at Salford, she was Vice-President Global Engagement at the University of Sheffield, having held international roles at Northumbria and Durham universities previously.

In her initial role at Salford, Jo shaped the international profile of the University through recruitment, transnational education, and global opportunities for our students, whilst also developing collaborative UK partnerships with FE colleges and employers. In August 2020, she became Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Development and Chair of the Academic Development and Number Planning Committee (ADNPC). She led the successful bid for the Greater Manchester Institute of Technology, which was formed to address the regional skills gap and provide additional educational and economic opportunities for under-represented communities in Salford and Greater Manchester. In 2025, she became Pro Vice-Chancellor Partnerships and Global Engagement.   

Jo is the ULT lead on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and senior ally for LGBTQ+, chairing the LGBTQ+ Equity Group. Outside of the University, she is on the Board of the Manchester India Partnership, a Greater Manchester Combined Authority initiative to promote trade and investment links between India and Manchester. Jo has also been Chair of the Universities UK Middle East and North Africa Steering Group, Chair of Trustees of the Northern Consortium, and a reviewer for UUK/UKRI international researcher mobility grants.