Job Description
JOB SUMMARY
Job Purpose
You will head a team of Admissions officers in charge of managing admissions procedures from application to enrolment for a variety of specific programs or applicant cohorts, in accordance with admissions standards of fairness, consistency, and transparency. You will create processes that align with the top applicant experience while ensuring that exceptional customer service is central to all team activities. Admissions presently organises and supports contacts with over 100,000 candidates each year from UG, PGT, PGR, and Collaborations & Partnerships.
You will direct team members to ensure that initial application assessments, selection processes, decision making, and recording of all elements related to the contractual basis of offer, confirmation processes, and CAS issuance are carried out in accordance with institutional policy and all relevant legislative and compliance parameters. You will be in charge of developing your direct reports in accordance with the Admissions core training programmes, as well as ensuring that all team members are competent in all aspects of the applicant journey.
You will cultivate and develop connections with key stakeholders in the Academic Schools for which you are responsible, and you will ensure that all stakeholders are properly informed about both current cycle progress and future Admissions developments.
Main duties and responsibilities
1. Line Manage a team of Admissions Officers in a high-volume, high-pressure setting. This includes managing a specific group of applications or programmes, managing workload, providing training and development, and overseeing all HR processes.
2. Ensure that all team members have access to tools and established processes that are designed to meet Admissions criteria, ensure statutory compliance, and provide exceptional customer service.
3. Deliver training and manage team members to execute all processes related to the applicant journey: initial assessment, including fee and immigration status confirmation, selection, including assessment of academic, English Language, and non-academic qualifications, decision processing, and accurate recording of the basis of offer (qualification status, English Language status, non-academic qualification status, fee status, immigration status), confirmation processes,
4. Assist the Enquiry Team Lead in responding to application queries, including rejected applicant feedback requests or applicant complaints, in a timely manner, utilising automation as needed.
5. Responsible for developing and maintaining relevant operational reporting tools to monitor process efficiency against key performance parameters, as well as ensuring that all internal stakeholders are up to date on Admissions status and potential improvements.
6. Assist in developing and reporting on suitable key performance measures and service level agreements for decision turnarounds for uncapped programmes and applicant cohorts.
7. Create and implement suitable selection and review processes to ensure that decision-making is accomplished in accordance with applicant cohort, programme, or intake category targets and caps.
8. Operational lead for core procedures with high impact on recruiting, including UKVI Compliance and Fee Status Assessment for your designated area of responsibility.
9. Help the Admissions Operations Manager manage the technical tools and systems required for admissions operations. This would include supporting start-of-cycle set-up for Direct Applications, UCAS Applications, and My Campus Application processing screens, set-up of Applicant self-service, admissions communications implementation, set-up of the UCAS collection tool, support for data transfer interactions with third parties such as UCAS and UKVI,
10. Support operational Admissions processes as needed to ensure that turnaround times are maintained during periods of extremely high volumes.
11. Assist the Head of Admissions in developing and implementing system and process innovations, new products, and significant changes, ensuring that all key users and relevant stakeholders get training during the implementation phase.
12. Build and manage connections with important internal stakeholders at relevant schools and colleges. Ensure that all internal stakeholders are fully updated about Admissions status and future developments.
13. Responsible for extra particular activities or projects as required by the Heads of Admissions, including those with an enquirer and applicant interaction focus, such as Open Days or Clearing.
Knowledge, qualifications, skills, and experience.
Knowledge/Qualifications
Essential:
A1 Either: The ability to demonstrate the competencies required to perform the duties associated with this level of post after acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar role; OR Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 8 (SVQ 4, HND or equivalent), and experience with personal development in a similar role.
A2 Understanding of pre-HE and HE qualification frameworks in important recruitment markets: UK, EU, China, South Asia, South East Asia, and North America.
A3 Understanding of the legislation and compliance standards that govern admissions practice and policy.
A4 Knowledge of the higher education industry, as well as a thorough awareness of the legislation and compliance criteria governing HE admissions.
Skills
Essential:
C1 Ability to operate as part of a team and independently on their own initiative.
C2 Effective planning, arranging, and prioritising with the flexibility to offer a flexible approach to workload management and supporting workloads from throughout Admissions.
C3 Capability to perform independent research to evaluate academic qualifications using UK NARIC, university recommendations, and other available information.
C4 Capable of managing resources to fulfil demanding KPI targets and turnaround times.
C5 Ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing in order to provide excellent reporting and customer service.
C6 Excellent presenting abilities are required to clearly communicate complicated statistics and outcomes to internal and external stakeholders.
C7 Excellent IT abilities include Outlook, Excel, Word, Access, and bespoke databases, as well as knowledge of University management information systems, Student Records and Admissions – BI Query, Weblink, and MyCampus.
C8 Strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as the capacity to handle complaints and various data requests.
C9 Capability to adapt to an ever-changing internal and external admissions landscape.
C10 Capability to adopt a rational and rigorous approach to solving challenges faced throughout the Admissions cycle and effectively convey solutions to all important stakeholders.
Desirable:
D1 Management abilities and the capacity to manage sickness absence and phased return, recruitment, employee well-being, performance, training and development
Experience
Essential:
E1 Experience managing or overseeing a team of professionals in a high-pressure, high-volume setting.
E2 Experience creating and delivering bespoke training materials covering all parts of the admissions process, including statutory parameters.
E3 Experience liaising with colleagues from a broad range of Higher Education professionals, including academic colleagues.
E4 Experience in a higher education setting with high volume processing and strict deadlines, preferably in university admissions.
Desirable:
F1 Experience managing systems and processes in a high-volume admissions setting.
F2 Specific and extensive familiarity with the tools used in UofG Admissions: Oracle Campus Solutions, Oracle Apex, Advanced Excel, Microsoft Teams
Terms & Conditions.
The annual salary for Grade 6 will be £32,332 – £36,024.
This position is full-time (35 hours per week) and open-ended. Relocation aid will be provided where applicable.
As a member of Team UofG, you will be part of a globally changing, inclusive community that values ambition, excellence, integrity, and curiosity.
The University of Glasgow is responsible for ensuring that all personnel are eligible to reside and work in the UK. If you need a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you must first complete the visa route’s eligibility conditions before being awarded a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Please keep in mind that if tradeable points are allowed under the Skilled Worker visa criteria, this post may be eligible for sponsorship. For further information, go to https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.
As a respected part of our team, you should expect:
1 A friendly and engaging organisational culture in which your skills are fostered and cultivated, and success is celebrated and shared.
2 An good employment package with generous terms and conditions, including 41 days of leave for full-time employees, a pension (pension handbook: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/), benefits, and discount packages.
3. A flexible approach to employment.
4 A commitment to your health and well-being, including a complimentary 6-month UofG Sport membership for all incoming University personnel (https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/).
We think that we can only attain our greatest potential by combining the talents of everyone. Our ideals prioritise equality, diversity, and inclusion. Applications are encouraged from all members of our communities, particularly those from the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations, as well as those with other protected characteristics who are under-represented at the University. Read more about how the University encourages and integrates all aspects of equality and diversity into our community at https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.
We support the concepts of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and have bronze, silver, and gold awards throughout the University.
We are investing in our company, and we will also invest in you. More information can be found on our website at https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs.