The University of Southampton’s Widening Participation and Social Mobility (WPSM) directorate are pleased to be recruiting for a new Student Inclusion Manager, to focus on improving the experience of Black and ethnically minoritised students.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to build on current work at the University, including the Awarding Gap Project (AGP). This involves working in collaboration with students from Black backgrounds to develop and implement activities and projects and has led to the creation of the Black Fresher’s Guide, the launch of the Bridging the Gap podcast, and an annual cultural gala. The postholder will be expected to grow this work, as well as developing new project streams based around the themes of curriculum and culture.

This is an exciting time to join the University, as we have recently launched our new Access and Participation Plan. This includes an intervention strategy relating to the degree awarding gap between Black and white students at the University, which in 2021/22 stood at 18.1%. In the plan, we have committed to three core strands of activity relating to ‘community’ through the growth of the AGP, ‘culture’ through staff training and policies, and ‘curriculum’ through a review of work within academic faculties. The University has also made strategic commitments towards achieving race equity through the Race Equality Charter, where a bronze award was received in 2022.

The successful candidate will work collaboratively within WPSM and across the University more broadly to develop and deliver strategic projects focused on race equity. They will also have oversight of existing activity linked to closing the ethnicity degree awarding gap at Southampton. They will also have line management responsibility for the Student Success and Inclusion Co-ordinator who delivers projects linked to the ethnicity degree awarding gap. They will form part of the Success Management Group, alongside the Financial Support Manager and Student Inclusion Manager.

The ideal candidate will have an in-depth understanding of race equity within higher education, including a strong empirical understanding of how ethnicity degree awarding gaps can be both caused and reduced. They will also have proven experience of planning and progressing strategically significant projects, including the development of success metrics to ensure that impact is prioritised. A strong understanding of evaluation and evaluation types is also key to the role, to ensure that rapid and sustained progress is made towards the reduction and closure of ethnicity degree awarding gaps.

The University welcomes applicants from widening participation backgrounds for this role, especially those from ethnically minoritised backgrounds. Please be assured that all applicants will be treated equally during the selection process.

Please note that this role involves both office and remote working.

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please contact Roshana Wickremasinghe, Head of Student Success (R.Wickremasinghe@soton.ac.uk).