Student Support Manager

Job description 

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities is seeking a Student Support Manager, based within the Education Team. This is a new role within the Faculty which is dedicated to supporting students and supporting staff to support students. There will be a focus on individual student wellbeing cases and managing the Faculty input for formal student support processes such as Student of Concern, Support for Study and disability inclusion. 

The role holder will be responsible for managing complex student cases, acting as a liaison for central support services, and attending relevant case conference meetings. The role holder will provide expert advice to staff where students are experiencing difficulties, support signposting to specialist services and undertake work to ensure staff awareness of these. 

The role holder will work on developing processes and support within the Faculty for students in need, focusing on training and guidance for staff and students alongside the existing formal processes to ensure that wellbeing support is provided clearly and consistently for all Arts & Humanities students. 

The post will be line managed by the Student Experience Manager and will work closely with staff in Departments, such as senior tutors, as well as specialist support roles in the College’s student support services, in particular the Wellbeing Advisers, to coordinate proactive communication. 

We are looking for someone with experience of supporting students through complex situations, who is resilient and can work with a team across organisational boundaries. The role holder will be adept at planning and problem-solving and be able to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders. 

This is currently a hybrid role, and the role holder will spend part of their working week on campus and part of the week working remotely. 

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract. This is a full-time post.

Key responsibilities 

Student support and casework

• To be the Designated Safeguarding Officer for the Faculty. 
• To manage incoming student cases that are escalated within the Faculty and/or referred to Faculty by central support services. 
• To support colleagues within the Faculty in arranging Support for Study meetings. 
• To attend all Stage 3 Support for Study meetings in the Faculty, completing relevant administrative tasks as part of this procedure. 
• To support staff with the Student of Concern process, providing initial advice and signposting. 
• To attend Student of Concern case conferences. 
• To develop and maintain a comprehensive and secure data management solution for student cases. 
• To be the Faculty point of contact for central support services. 
• To work closely with the Faculty Wellbeing Adviser and Student Experience Manager on the escalation process for cases that are serious, complex, or multi- faceted. 

Supporting Disability

• To be the primary point of contact for Disability Support & Inclusion colleagues for operational issues. 
• To support the Student Experience Manager in Disability Liaison work. 
• To provide departments with support, advice, and signposting on issues relating to disability support and inclusion. 
• To support Programme Teams with the efficient process management of disability related documentation such as King’s Inclusion Plans, Personalised Assessment Arrangements, and Personalised Emergency Evacuation Plans. 
• To support departments with complex case management where extensive reasonable adjustments are required. 
• To support staff in the Faculty in adhering to the most up to date and inclusive practices for teaching, events, and communication with students. 
• To develop and maintain a comprehensive and secure data management solution for students with disability related needs. 

Training, Development and Proactive Support

• To develop and deliver a training programme for academic colleagues holding administrative roles with a pastoral care remit (e.g. Senior Tutors) in the Faculty. 
• To develop and maintain a suite of resources for academic and professional service colleagues in the Faculty who are involved with student casework. 
• To support the Student Experience Manager and Faculty Senior Tutor with the running of a Senior Tutor forum. 
• To work with the Faculty Wellbeing Adviser to support and facilitate pro- active wellbeing initiatives for students. 
• To support departments with facilitating pro-active wellbeing initiatives and regularly reviewing to improve the effectiveness of these. 
• To work with the Student Experience Manager to support the development and implementation of new processes and procedures. 

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.       Experience of supporting students through complex and serious issues. 

2.       Experience of working confidentially with a strong awareness of professional boundaries for the role. 

3.       Excellent communication skills including the ability to draft documents, reports and correspondence, and to lead and contribute to meetings. 

4.       Experience of working within a procedural framework, applying relevant processes and procedures to casework. 

5.       Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to prioritise effectively, responding with initiative to situations arriving at short notice. 

6.       Emotional resilience and the ability to work calmly under pressure. 

7.       Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work with a broad range of stakeholders to influence and deliver outcomes successfully. 

8.       Knowledge of the issues facing students in Higher Education and developments in the sector around student wellbeing and support. 

Desirable criteria 

1.       Experience of working in a HE institution. 

2.       Knowledge and understanding of the General Data Protection Regulation. 

Further information 

We anticipate that interviews will take place the week commencing 8 May.

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service Clearence.