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Student Recruitment Manager, Schools Membership Scheme, Events and Conversion

Employer
DURHAM UNIVERSITY
Location
Durham, United Kingdom
Salary
£33,797 - £40,322 per annum
Closing date
27 Apr 2021

Academic Office

Grade 7: - £33,797 - £40,322 per annum
Open-Ended/Permanent - Full Time
Contract Duration: Open-ended
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Closing Date: 27-Apr-2021, 6:59:00 AM 

Job Family: Business Process and People Services

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are welcoming, collegiate and inclusive.

OUR VALUESWe are motivated, inquisitive, challenging, rigorous and innovative.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

It is expected that all staff within the University:

  • Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
  • Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.

Family key attributes

Roles in this family provide a comprehensive service and deliver the efficient administration and governance of the University.

Overall family purpose

  • Deliver direct and indirect services to stakeholders.
  • Provide advice and answer queries as part of an enquiry-desk/help-desk function.
  • Respond to and manage requests for information and resources.
  • Deliver services to meet regulatory requirements and procedures.
  • Plan and deliver a joined-up approach to University business and people services.
  • Align business processes and services to meet operational and strategic policy objectives.
  • Deliver business processes to ensure effective management, governance and the economic viability of the University.
  • Encourage, collaborate and participate in the development of productive cross-institution relationships and working.
  • Provide excellent professional services that meet strategic and operational goals and business needs.
  • Carry out monitoring, analysis, development and planning to design new services and service updates for continuous improvement whilst meeting changes in regulations.
  • Engage with specialist professionals, consultants, and suppliers to exchange knowledge and facilitate partnership working.
  • Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.
  • Align and deliver programmes and activities to meet operational and strategic objectives to enhance the stakeholder experience.
  • Engage and encourage participation with external professionals, schools, alumni and donors.

Link to key strategic plan

  • An economically sustainable approach to delivering Professional Services across the University;
  • A joined-up approach to University professional services, regardless of location or line management;
  • A culture and practice of continuous improvement;
  • Design services that meet business need;
  • A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
  • Support and facilitate programmes that offer intellectual challenge, cohesiveness and a strong sense of progression;
  • Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

The Department and role purpose

The Student Recruitment Manager (Schools Membership Scheme, Schools Events and Conversion) will provide leadership and management for the Schools Liaison Team and leadership for schools conversion activity and schools events (both off-site and on-site) ensuring a high-quality, strategically-aligned and timely Recruitment and Conversion service to all prospective students, their teachers and advisers and University Departments and Colleges staff. This role requires the exercise of independent judgement and initiative, strong administrative and technical skills as well as excellent interpersonal and management skills. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring best practice is shared and adhered to and also that compliance is met in relation to safeguarding, risk management and other such regulations and policies. They are expected to work collaboratively with colleagues across the University to ensure the delivery of an excellent student journey experience.

Recruitment Admissions and Services

Based in the Academic Office (Education Division), Recruitment and Admissions Services brings together a number of teams providing services in events, enquiry management, CRM, data analysis and forecasting, projects and compliance and admissions. It provides an essential service to the University in ensuring its financial sustainability and in delivering student number growth and increasing diversity in line with strategic aims and targets. We are the public face of the University in UK schools and colleges, through our contact with prospects, enquirers and applicants across the world and through our events programme. The team includes a range of professionals from a number of specialisms including administrators, decision makers, data analysts and forecasters, IT specialists, designers and marketers, events managers and recruiters. Further information on Recruitment and Admissions Services can be found at www.durham.ac.uk/academic.office/ugadmissions.

The Academic Office

The Academic Office provides a professional administrative support service to staff, students and potential students of Durham University. The Academic Registrar is the head of the department and is responsible to the Vice Provost (Education) for its management.

The Academic Office includes the following services:

  • Academic Registrar's Office
  • Access and Engagement
  • Curriculum, Learning and Assessment (including Ceremonies, validated programmes and collaborative provision)
  • Recruitment and Admissions
  • Student Immigration and Funding
  • Student Registry

All of the services are based at either the Palatine Centre or Mountjoy Centre in Durham City.

Core responsibilities:

  • Recognised professional recruitment and conversion practitioner with responsibility for the management of team members.
  • Provide input to the design, development and delivery of schools events, activities and engagement throughout the student journey.
  • Manage operational service activities to ensure excellence in the stakeholder experience.
  • Contribute to the analysis of stakeholder feedback to help define needs and requirements, inputting to the design and planning of services.
  • Internal and external relationship development and partnership working, networking and participation to engage and influence future services and the University reputation.
  • Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff ADR and performance reviews.
  • Handle the vast majority of welfare issues within a team, referring more complex welfare issues to appropriate support services/senior management.
  • Delivery of ongoing coaching, mentoring and training to team members and ensuring staff have access to development opportunities within the work of the team.
  • Maintain an awareness of current policy and its impact on University business goals.
  • Contribute to business meetings, working groups and sub committees at departmental and operational service levels.
  • Devolve responsibilities to team members to ensure continuity of service provision and encourage skills development.

Role responsibilities:

  • Provide line management and operational leadership for the Schools Liaison team within Recruitment and Admissions, specifically for those staff delivering the National Schools Membership Scheme and the National ‘feeder’ schools and colleges work; ensuring a high quality and timely service to all stakeholders, including prospective students, teachers, advisers and staff.
  • Manage and monitor performance and workload outcomes and/or staff, planning cover to ensure smooth service provision through peaks and troughs.
  • Analyse recruitment and admissions data and provide reports to Service Heads, making recommendations for improvement as appropriate, including leading on office-wide student recruitment and conversion service reporting and the office-wide ‘Ideal Student Journey’ project.
  • Provide advice to stakeholders in relation to University, School and/or Department policy, procedures and regulations.
  • Ensure the review and improvement of recruitment and conversion systems including IT systems, processes and procedures in line with University, School, Department or unit frameworks and ensure delivery of institutional and office recruitment and admissions targets.
  • Distribute service information and provide recruitment and conversion advice to stakeholders regarding strategy, priorities and competitors.
  • Ensure procedures and approaches are updated to take account of internal and external changes.
  • Coordinate and oversee committee working and deal with complaints.
  • Awareness of the external environment and sector best practice to support high quality services.
  • Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check

Occasional weekend and routine evening working will be required. This is to attend external national events and to assist with tasks such as Open Days, Post-offer Visit Days and undergraduate confirmation. Due to the operational needs of the Office, annual leave is restricted during August each year and other periods of peak activity.

Recruiting to this post

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above (including those listed in the section ‘Realising Your Potential Approach’).

In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, so we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application.

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.

How to apply

We prefer to receive applications online. Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What you are required to submit

  1. A CV;
  2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
  3. Examples of how you satisfy the essential criteria in the person specification, this will require a separate document to be uploaded as part of the application process.

The Realising Your Potential Approach criteria is for information only, but may be referred to during the interview process.

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.

Contact details:

For further information please contact: Claire Smiles-Harrison (claire.smiles-harrison@durham.ac.uk)

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required

Essential Criteria

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop excellent working relationships both internally and externally.
  • Excellent presentation skills, with the ability to deliver talks to a range of audiences and different sizes of groups and without preparation if necessary
  • Ability to communicate and influence at a range of levels
  • Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office.
  • Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
  • Continuing professional development required to maintain professional recognition.
  • Professional practitioner with recruitment and conversion admissions knowledge and expertise used to contribute to the delivery and development of services, events and activities within the organisation.
  • Experience of implementing policy and procedures and involvement with future changes for a service area.
  • Knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines.
  • Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.
  • Experience of being able to network effectively and develop strong and productive working relationships, to influence perceptions of the University.
  • Experience of managing and developing a team or teams and/or line management qualification.
  • Experience of higher education recruitment and conversion processes or equivalent.
  • Excellent customer service skills with a clear commitment to delivering a consistently high standard of customer service to internal and external contacts and continuous improvement of the service.
  • Knowledge of current issues facing higher education institutions and applicants to degree programmes, with a strong understanding of different needs of prospective students and their key influencers (parents/teachers).

Desirable Criteria

  • Advanced IT user including Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word and a commitment to maximise the use of technology in supporting processes.

Realising Your Potential Approach

The Realising Your Potential Approach clarifies the behaviours expected to be demonstrated by all staff across Professional Services in the University regardless of their role. Along with the core responsibilities, role responsibilities and the person specification, the Realising Your Potential Approach behavioural indicators are used to inform the recruitment and selection process. Further information on the Realising Your Potential Approach is available here.

DBS Requirement: Please note that the successful applicant will require DBS disclosure.

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