Academic Office

Grade 8: - £41,526 - £49,553 per annum
Open-Ended/Permanent - Full Time
Contract Duration: Open-ended
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Closing Date: 24-Jun-2021, 6:59:00 AM 

Job Family: Business Process and People Services

Our Characteristics: We are welcoming, collegiate and inclusive.

Our Values: We 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 Senior Access and Engagement Manager is responsible for managing the delivery of key requirements of the University’s five-year Access and Participation Plan 2020-2025. See: https://www.dur.ac.uk/about/strategy2020/other/access/. The role holder leads, manages, directs and develops the Access and Engagement teams in its delivery of access activities, ensuring effective coordination of resources and staffing. They also work closely with other senior managers and their teams responsible for delivering excellence in the student journey at Durham University, ensuring that there is joined up working and strong collaboration with other parts of the University.

The two teams that the role holder manages have the following remits:

• Access: includes projects to support admissions pathways to the University. This includes projects such as Supported Progression, the Sutton Trust Summer School Programme and the STEP Programme.
• Engagement: involves working with students, schools and colleges in the region to recruit students from under-represented backgrounds.

The role holder will have specific responsibility for the following access measures set out in the University’s five-year Access and Participation Plan 2020-2025: Excellence in the Local Context, Supported Progression Phase 3, and the national summer schools. The role holder will be expected to improve the impact of these programmes by increasing the undergraduate enrolments from Low Participation Neighbourhood participants in these programmes by 80 students per annum over the 2018/19 baseline. The role holder will also be expected to develop the national STEP programme for UK black students, so that it makes a major contribution to the University’s target of recruiting an additional 100 black undergraduate students over the 2018/19 baseline.

Access and Engagement

Based in the Academic Office (Education Division), Access and Engagement works to inspire, educate, motivate and support the choices of young people under-represented at university, and Durham University in particular. We are ambitious, passionate about our work and committed to making a positive difference. Widening Participation is a key target in the University’s Education Strategy.

Further information on Access and Engagement can be found at https://www.dur.ac.uk/academic.office/access-engagement/. 

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:

• Provide expert professional subject and managerial and leadership expertise for all areas of widening participation, including fair access, student success and graduate progression.
• Manage and develop Access and Engagement, infrastructure and people performance across one or more teams.
• Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff ADR and performance reviews.
• Recruit, induct, train and develop new team members.
• Help to shape the skills and expertise of future team members and design work structures to meet operational and strategic goals.
• Handle the vast majority of HR issues within a team, referring more complex HR issues to appropriate support services/senior management.
• Liaise and engage with key stakeholders internally and externally to promote engagement with the University by students under-represented at Durham, including , but not limited to; young people, parents, schools and colleges, charities, funding bodies, University staff in Colleges, Academic Departments and Professional Services, and staff at the Office for Students.
• Contribute to the scoping and resource planning across a range of activities at operational and possibly strategic level, particularly in preparing and monitoring the University’s Access and Participation Plan.
• Lead on the design, implementation and monitoring of policy and quality standards, procedures and systems to ensure effective working and continuous improvement.
• Promote and develop a deep understanding of organisational policy and external developments especially those concerning HE access and participation.
• Devolve responsibilities to team members to ensure continuity of service provision and encourage skills development.
• Ensure all activities, processes and transactions are accounted for accurately and promptly to meet regulatory and professional service and policy standards, adhering at all times to the aims and objectives of the University’s Access and Participation Plan.
• Ensure all stakeholder-facing staff provide an accessible, friendly and professional service by shaping processes for inducting and developing staff.
• Implement processes to manage the integrity and security of all commercially and professionally sensitive and personal data, in particular sensitive data belonging to children.
• Lead internal business meetings, working groups and sub-committees at operational service level to influence governance, organisational policy and standards for the service.
• Responsible for allocating and monitoring financial budgets and resources including monitoring University-wide expenditure on access.
• Analyse stakeholder feedback, implementing and reviewing service provision within a clearly articulated evaluation framework.

Role responsibilities:

• Management and development of programmes that help the University to achieve its access and participation strategic aims [17A, 47B].
• Seek out new and innovative ways to engage with members of the University in order to encourage institution-wide contributions to widening participation [17A, 47B].
• High level management of activity for young people with responsibility for adherence to the University’s child safeguarding policies and procedures [41B].
• Manage and support access and participation activity that fulfils the requirements of the University’s Access and Participation Plan.
• Work with team members and staff in academic departments, faculties, colleges and professional services to build and maintain excellent working relationships.
• Provide professional guidance to stakeholders regarding access and participation.
• Management of the Access and Engagement team by providing inspirational leadership and a commitment to the development of members of the team [43A].
• Produce communications to support access and participation objectives, designing and structuring information and fact, applying creative and innovative principles to influence and engage. 
• Deliver professional expertise with investigative and service methodologies, make recommendations and identify priorities to achieve business outcomes and objectives.
• Maintain an oversight of the service and performance metrics to provide reports for higher level managers and committee, including performance against OfS and HESA targets and key performance indicators.
• Represent the service and University at relevant events and contribute to the delivery of presentations at conferences.
• Develop external relations, identify and develop opportunities for communities of practice.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

• Satisfactory DBS Check
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends.
• Ability to travel both regionally and nationally.

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 (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 both the essential and desirable criteria detailed in the person specification

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

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

Contact details

For further information please contact; Dr Michael Gilmore, Academic Registrar, academic.registrar@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 effective working relationships, both internally and externally.
• Advanced IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office with the ability to manipulate and interrogate complex data sets using Microsoft Excel and/or Access.
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
• Experienced manager with specialist knowledge and expertise of widening participation to higher education. 
• Continuing professional development required to maintain professional recognition.
• Knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines especially those set by government agencies. 
• Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.
• Ability to contribute to planning at operational and strategic levels.
• Experience of writing strategically important documents.
• Skilled in data analysis to ensure reported outcomes are evaluated using quantitative and qualitative evidence. The role holder will be expected to demonstrate impact through such means.
• Financial experience with evidence of managing large, complicated budgets and ensuring all activity demonstrates good value for money.
• Experience of being able to network effectively and develop strong and productive working relationships, to influence perceptions of the University.
• Track record of management and development experience and/or an enhanced management qualification applied across a large service team or teams.
• Experience of creating and managing complex logistical activities and events (especially with young people) to promote a corporate institution, preferably in a higher education setting.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of child safeguarding practices.
• Knowledge of CRM or access tracking systems such as HEAT.
• Experience of writing an Access and Participation Plan, including target setting and the creation of an evaluation framework.

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.