Mr Westwood, a former special adviser to Labour’s John Denham in his time as secretary of state for universities, will become associate vice-president for public affairs at Manchester in February 2015.
The university said in a statement that he would be “responsible for ensuring that the university is able to respond to and adapt to changes in the external political and policy environment and thereby contribute to raising its profile. He will work closely with the deputy president and deputy vice-chancellor professor Colin Bailey and will provide a primary source of advice to other senior officers.”
Professor Bailey said: “Andy’s knowledge and experience will help us in strengthening our interaction with central government and allow us to respond more quickly to government policy, resulting in greater impact and benefit for the UK.”
