Job Description

About Us  

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. 

The King’s Admissions Office is responsible for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate admissions services at King’s College London. The Admissions Office receives over 120,000 applications each year, striving to process applications efficiently, providing a high level of customer service whether it be responding to emails or messages, from application to enrolment. The Admissions Operations team provides support to these Services through a number of areas: qualification research, policy, data analysis and communication sharing.    

We are part of the 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 Senior Admissions Officer (Qualifications & Operations) will conduct research and make evidence-based recommendations on entry qualifications (UK and international). They will maintain and annually refresh the Qualification Database (an internal resource) ensuring consistent decisions across the Admissions Service are made and communicated clearly to the wider team. 

They will ensure that publications are accurately updated and maintained in relation to entry requirements and admissions policy, both online and in print, liaising closely with Marketing colleagues to ensure that the university is compliant with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) requirements.  

The successful candidate will also deliver training on admissions policies and procedures to the wider Admissions Service, be responsible for providing training and guidance on the most complex queries regarding entry requirements and applicant fee status assessment, as well as dealing with complex fee assessment appeals within agreed service turnaround times.  

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to utilise their analytical skills and expertise to support the student lifecycle. This is an opportunity to grow your skills in evidence-based decision making. 

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. 

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 1 year (maternity cover).

This is a full-time post, but we welcome applications from candidates seeking a flexible work pattern within our necessary service operating hours.

  Key responsibilities

• Ensuring appropriate, accurate and timely provision of information regarding Admissions Service policy, and training to colleagues and service users as required  
• Using research and judgement to advise on resolution of complex fee assessment cases and enquiries, whilst knowing when to refer to senior colleagues, or signpost to other services  
• Assessing qualification equivalencies, entry requirements and Admissions Service policies ensuring these are accurately recorded on the admissions qualification database to deadlines 
• Providing informed and appropriate responses to the most complex entry requirements, qualifications and fee status queries promptly for applicants to King’s 
• Ensuring that entry requirements information and admissions policies are up to date both online and in print 
• Developing specialist knowledge in the areas of UK and international qualifications (level 2 upwards) and fee status assessment 

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

Qualifications & Training 

•       Relevant work experience and/or education: We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. Relevant work experience might include work in education, research or policy. Relevant educational experiences might include higher education in a related discipline, professional qualifications or other training 

Skills & Experience 

•       Excellent organisational, interpersonal, and time management skills, working to deadlines with minimal supervision 

•       Strong ability to develop reports and papers for a wide range of audiences 

•       Strong problem-solving and risk-analysis skills, suggesting innovative approaches to resolving issues 

•       Strong ability to review and develop policy and to implement appropriate procedures and systems 

•       Good networking skills and the ability to utilise networks 

•       Working effectively in a team and collaborating with colleagues, 

•       Experience of working in a regulatory framework with an excellent understanding of, and ability to apply, regulatory issues with sound logic 

•       Strong communicator, through both written and verbal communications, with excellent presentational skills 

Desirable criteria

Skills & Experience 

•       Experience of working within Admissions with a proven track record of success 

•       Successfully managing or supervising staff 

Knowledge 

•       Knowledge of UK admissions policy and procedures 

•       Knowledge of fee regulations and their application  

Further information

 Please submit a personal statement when applying for this vacancy, clearly setting 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 provisionally scheduled to take place on week commencing 6 June 2022.