Position Details

College of Social Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £31,396 to £33,966 with potential progression once in post to £38,205

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to September 2025

Closing date: 18th February 2024

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Role Summary

At the University of Birmingham, students are at the heart of all we do. To support the provision of an enriching and engaging student experience for all students within a specific School or College, that will add value to the students’ experience of the University of Birmingham and their programme of study.

Main Duties

• Lead, motivate and manage a team of education support professional services staff, to deliver effective, efficient and consistent administrative support for Apprenticeship and Compliance activities across the College education portfolio.
• Deputise for the Apprenticeships & Compliance Manager as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with relevant Programme Leads and professional services colleagues in IST, Registry and across the School/College in providing advice and guidance and acting as a point of escalation.
• Provide College representation to Immigration Practitioners Group, College Compliance Group, Apprenticeships Oversight Group and other committees.
• Ensure policies and procedures introduced are implemented effectively, and ensure appropriate staff are briefed promptly and effectively.
• Develop (in conjunction with academic and professional services colleagues) and manage the implementation of strategies and related policies, processes, operational plans within Apprenticeships and Compliance; ensuring progress is monitored and reported on, sharing and learning from best practice, and contributing to the periodic review of the strategy.
• Responsible for the critical analysis, review and implementation of administrative and business processes, anticipating enhancements in School and College level activity in light of changes to School, College or University requirements and expectations.
• Ensure approved School, College and University policies and objectives relating to the administration of Apprenticeships and Compliance activity are effectively and consistently applied throughout and work collegiately and supportively with colleagues during any significant change in process.
• Working with the Student Experience and Wellbeing team, ensuring that student feedback mechanisms e.g. module/programme review, staff student liaison committees, student reps etc. are appropriately managed and contribute to the development and effective implementation of resulting action plans for Apprenticeship and Compliance related activity.
• Working with the appropriate Programme Leads and Quality Assurance colleagues to manage the periodic review of individual programmes and modules identifying areas of best practice, improvements, expansion and streamlining.
• Contribute to the development and review of an annual calendar and programme of education support activity and related administration ensuring effective delivery.
• Manage education support related processes and communications to ensure compliance with University procedures for areas such as: Tier 4 requirements; GDPR; safeguarding; ESFA; Ofsted; EPAOs; and contribute to their ongoing review, revision, and documenting.
• Support and contribute towards the operational financial reconciliation of apprenticeships through the management EPA related and Co-investment related invoices
• Manage and oversee the accuracy of student data and documentation for Apprenticeship and Compliance activities.
• Where required, support the effective marketing of Degree Apprenticeship programmes within the College.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent relevant experience in a similar role.
• Considerable experience of education support administration and/or supporting students in higher education.
• An understanding of programme administration and the student lifecycle and an awareness of issues affecting higher education (nationally and internationally) and the importance of the student experience.
• Experience of managing and motivating staff across a range of activities.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work with a range of stakeholders including students and academics; establishing personal credibility and winning support.
• Proactive, highly motivated and well organised and the ability to manage, prioritise and delegate a range of complex tasks, completing them to the required deadlines.
• Willing to do things differently with a flexible, creative and proactive approach to problem solving.
• Experience of developing, implementing, maintaining and reviewing complex working systems, policies and procedures.
• Attention to detail and the ability to analyse data to formulate clear proposals/reports on complex matters.
• Effective team working skills.
• A track record of delivering an excellent customer experience.
• Excellent IT skills and an aptitude for learning new packages to support student administration e.g. student records systems.
• The ability to work flexibly in a fast moving, dynamic environment where change is often required immediately.
• Commitment to continuing professional development and training.

Desirable

• An understanding of Degree Apprenticeship programmes or ESFA Apprenticeship funding rules.
• An understanding of UKVI requirements for student visa holders.

Informal enquiries to Oscar Sanderson, email: o.j.sanderson@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .