Job Description

The King’s community is dedicated to the service of society. King’s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us.  

We are part of the wider Students & Education Directorate, a collection of wide-ranging professional services in place to support King’s students and their education. As a directorate we manage the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond, to ensure a coherent and seamless student experience and effective administrative processes, working closely with King’s faculties to do so. 

About the Role

The Student Funding Officer will be responsible for a wide range of activities as part of the Student Funding team, which offers financial support at undergraduate or postgraduate level to try and ensure that all students can succeed and fulfil their potential during their studies. These include scholarships, bursaries and hardship funds as well as liaison and reporting requirements with external funding bodies such as the Student Loans Company (SLC), NHS and US Federal Loans schemes. Operationally, the office administers over seventy individual schemes which run throughout the year - from application, through assessment and selection to payment, including travel awards and Erasmus grants for study abroad.  

The successful candidate will have relevant experience as well as knowledge of Higher Education funding in the UK. You will be able to operate confidently and proactively and will have an understanding and passion for equality and inclusion. 

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to work in support of our students and who wish to expand their knowledge and expertise in the area of financial support.  

We encourage applications from candidates who have experience from both within and outside of the Higher Education sector where they can demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in this role. 

The post is offered as a fixed term, 12 month full-time post, but we welcome applications from candidates seeking a flexible work pattern within our necessary service operating hours.

Key responsibilities

• To provide administrative support for all tasks related to the administration of university funds including scholarships, bursaries and hardship funds, as well as US Federal Loans, Student Loans Company tasks and Erasmus+ Mobility Grants.  
• To provide accurate and impartial specialist advice to prospective and current students, parents, teachers and other external parties on all aspects of statutory government student support packages, including direct intervention with Student Finance England, NHSBA, Student Loans Company and other relevant third party organisations. 
• Tasks related to the administration of the Student Loans Company notification tasks and data exchange, including registration, attendance confirmation and course and fee validation, as well as the submission of online tasks related to changes in circumstance. 
• Tasks related to the administration of the Transport for London Student Oystercard scheme, including validation and attendance checks. 
• Tasks related to the administration of College debtors, including liaising with the finance department and administration of debtor lists for academic schools, examination boards; 
• To provide accurate and professional advice and guidance through a range of formats including email/telephone enquiries, open day events, virtual hubs and similar. 
• Perform any such duties as may be required in the area of student funding and other matters relevant to the work of the Student Funding Team and Directorate of Students & Education. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience Essential criteria

• Highly proficient communicator (listening, speaking and writing), able to maintain enthusiasm and professionalism. 
• Strong IT skills including the ability to work proficiently with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel with the ability to adapt quickly to new software 
• Experience of delivering a high level of committed customer service, and experience delivering information and/or responding to enquiries. 
• Ability to effectively identify enquirer requirements and proactively search, retrieve, collate and present information suitable for the required audience. 
• Ability to process a large amount of applications whilst maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail and to tight deadlines 
• Ability to work independently, prioritise competing demands, and manage workload effectively, and to work outside of standard hours where necessary. 
• An aspiration for personal development, openness to receive feedback on performance and make improvements accordingly. 

Desirable criteria 

• Knowledge and understanding of higher education, and the current issues and challenges in higher education Admissions. 
• Familiarity with university-related systems such as SLC, NHS and US loans portals. 
• Familiarity with the SITS Tribal student system. 

Further Information

Your application should clearly set out how you meet the essential criteria as this is how we shortlist applications. Learn more about how we recruit, including tips on writing your application and supporting statement on our website: https://jobs.kcl.ac.uk/gb/en/applying     

Interviews will be held using Microsoft Teams and will consist of competency-based questions linked closely to the essential and desirable criteria mentioned here. 

Although we have made improvements over the last number of years, our team is still under-represented in terms of staff from global majority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ identities, and from people with disabilities. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. 

Interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 28 February 2022.