Job description

The International School for Government is designed to equip policymakers and civil servants from across the globe to meet the challenges of the future, creating leaders capable of delivering the services that citizens expect today. Through education, research and public engagement, the School focuses on the most pressing policy problems, ensuring that policy professionals are prepared with both the hard and soft skills necessary to understand how power, influence and change move through political circles.

The School wishes to appoint a Programmes Manager who will assist in the management and delivery of online and executive education support services for students and academic staff. The appointee will work as part of a team to ensure consistent management and delivery of all online and executive education offerings in the School through providing high quality administrative support. They will be responsible for the operational management of programmes, modules and short courses across the School, ensuring timely and effective delivery in accordance with university and School priorities, timelines and policies.

The appointee with provide leadership and line management to one Senior Programme Officer and the Student and Business Support officer, allocating staff resource to ensure consistent and effective service delivery, and developing and delivering training to all levels to enable and embed service resilience. They will represent the School in wider university activities and committees, and contribute to strategic planning, along with the design and implementation of new systems and processes, and programme development and delivery, to provide high level service to students and staff.

The role holder will contribute to strategic planning, the design and implementation of new systems and processes; programme development and delivery; ensuring the provision of a high level of service to both students and staff at all times. They will be responsible for the effective distribution of education support across these programmes and the quality of service provided.

The role holder is required to work closely with all relevant stakeholders including participation in steering groups with our partners and maintain up to date knowledge of short course, programme and College regulations, providing accurate guidance to colleagues and students as required and ensuring all quality assurance processes are followed.

This role will present exciting opportunities to work with a small and collaborative team and together support a growing portfolio of online and executive education offerings.

This post will be offered on a full-time, 2 year fixed term contract.

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

Key responsibilities

• Monitor and review service delivery on a continual basis to ensure compliance with agreed timeframes, expectation, key performance indicators and service level agreements, providing feedback to team members and setting clear expectations. Address day to day and medium-term issues and flag longer term issues to relevant colleagues
• Undertake local line-management life-cycle processes. Motivate and develop staff ensuring an appropriate level of induction, skills and knowledge including overseeing the training and development of self and team members including through performance management, regular 121s and the Performance Review process.
• Be responsible for the coordination and approval of annual leave and the management of staff absences; ensuring that appropriate levels of staff cover remain at all times in order to maintain adequate service levels. Act flexibly with resources, reprioritising workload where necessary.
• Support the Senior Programmes Officer in ensuring key activities, such as assessment and progression processes are completed in accordance with university timeframes and policies and to liaise and engage with stakeholders and assessment sub boards as required
• To contribute to the development and implementation of teaching strategy in the School providing information and advice on College, Faculty, School and wider developments in this area.
• To provide day to day contract management support, working closely with internal and external partners.
• Represent the School’s interest in university wide service improvement projects, engaging with relevant stakeholders, groups and committees across the university to influence change.
• Support the relevant stakeholders in proactively identifying gaps in academic provision and areas that may require more academic staff resource allocation.
• Generate and analyse data, provide reports and present management information data to a wide range of stakeholders to understand and inform the School’s position, including monitoring of data relating to adherence to and achievement against KPIs
• Make recommendations from data and develop actions to enable continuous improvement in information, advice, guidance offered to students and staff.
• To take the initiative in ongoing service improvement within and across the School in liaison with internal and external networks.
• To independently and proactively resolve operational issues, having foresight to see where problems may arise and adopting a solutions based approach to ensure there is minimal and well managed impact on the student experience or School reputation.   Escalating risks where necessary
• Ensure that quality assurance requirements and, where required, accreditations requirements are met for all courses.
• Manage and assist with educational resource allocation including timetabling, teaching planning and the distribution of additional teaching resource.
• Some pastoral care for professional services staff and students.
• Contribute to a positive, inclusive and supportive work and study culture within the School for the benefit of all staff and students.
• Show a strong commitment to equality and diversity in the workplace

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

1.       Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

2.       Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively and delegate tasks appropriately in order to work towards and meet tight deadlines

3.       Excellent task management skills both for self and others

4.       Excellent analytical and information processing skills including the ability to assimilate large and complex sets of information quickly and accurately

5.       Advanced IT skills, VLE experience, MS Office programmes (excel) ability and interest in learning new systems

6.       Proven ability to communicate at all levels to a diverse group of stakeholders, including motivation, influencing and negotiation skills and network-building

7.       Awareness and understanding of HE polices and current issues in the field

8.       Good knowledge, understanding and awareness of confidentiality and GDPR on open and closed programmes

9.       Experience in managing change

10.   An understanding of and desire to improve the student experience

11.   Evidence of Line management experience

Desirable criteria

1.    Interest in public policy in the UK

2.    Substantial experience gained in a Higher Education environment.

The selection process will include a panel interview and presentation.