Senior Education Support Manager (Quality & Compliance) - Life and Environmental Sciences - 988[...]

Position Details

College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to July 2026

Closing date: 27th April 2025

This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high-quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Role Summary

This role is based within the College of Life and Environmental Sciences and plays a vital role in supporting the management and development of educational provision working closely with senior academics and Professional Services colleagues to enable the College to deliver excellence in teaching.

The post holder will possess a broad understanding of how academia operates as a business and will be responsible for the management and optimisation of administration for all learning, teaching, compliance and quality administrative processes. They will work with all members of the LES Education Services team, lead on defined Education projects and make a major contribution to strategic discussions, developing policy and procedure to ensure consistency of practice and delivery of the College strategy.

The post holder will work on their own initiative and exercise a high level of judgement, skill and understanding to conceive, develop and implement long term improvements to service delivery and effective ways of working within their areas of responsibility.

Main Duties

1. To work closely with School Heads of Education, and the wider College Education team to enhance and maintain the quality of education in line with University, College and School education strategy and the College strategic plan.
2. Work independently, whilst consulting with senior academic staff, senior College staff and the Head of Education Services on the development and implementation of procedures to support change using an open and inclusive leadership style to gain commitment from all staff for any initiatives they implement. This will involve working with a variety of staff and may involve significant changes, gaining commitment and handling potentially difficult HR situations.
3. Manage education-related administrative processes, ensuring they are robust, flexible and operate effectively interfacing with colleagues at both College and University level.
4. Undertake regular reviews of education processes and systems to ensure that they remain efficient, integrated, fit for purpose and in line with current University, College and School quality assurance practices, current sector guidance and best practice. The post holder will identify the need for improvements where necessary and contribute to the delivery and implementation of action plans to respond to those needs, with agreement from the College Head of Education Services.
5. Maintain an overview of curriculum development, taking responsibility for the integrity of information held at School, College and University level.
6. Represent the College on Committees and Groups as directed by the Deputy Director of Operations (Education) and Head of Education Services.
7. Ensure that the shape of support in each School is fit for purpose, reviewing and balancing the allocation of responsibilities within the teams to ensure that an effective and efficient service is delivered, and communicate with Schools to ensure the delivery of a high-quality service which meets local and College needs.
8. Offer specialist advice about University systems, policies and regulations concisely in addition to reviewing, interpreting and implementing any new systems, policies or regulations using own specialist knowledge and expertise in this area to ensure administrative compliance.
9. Work with professional services and academic colleagues to support the delivery of change projects across the College, planning and ensuring delivery within set timescales.
10. In relation to teaching, learning and assessment the post holder will be expected to keep abreast of, analyse, interpret and provide professional expert advice and guidance within the School context on relevant University regulations, codes of practice and other external statutory obligations (including new legislation, CMA, QAA requirements etc.) taking into account the wide range of programmes delivered.
11. Take the lead on projects or new initiatives relating to the University’s education agenda as required.
12. Prepare and where appropriate, present reports, proposals and papers for stakeholders and senior meetings.
13. Have oversight of College compliance in relation to student attendance/student route and line management responsibility for the College Attendance Recording/Monitoring staff.
14. Ensure all relevant student attendance activity is in line with the College/University strategy.
15. Promote and encourage professional development opportunities for the staff you manage, through the Professional Development Review process and the Birmingham Professional initiative, developing and enhancing necessary skillsets.
16. The post holder will be required to undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required by the Head of Education Services, Deputy Director of Operations (Education) or Director of Operations.
17. Coach and encourage staff in a supportive environment, demonstrating willingness to listen, engage and support.
18. Contribute to and deliver training and other forms of support to staff within the College.
19. Nurture good working relationships to ensure effective communication of College initiatives, also ensuring the University Planning & Policy Development processes and procedures are circulated effectively.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

You will need to evidence:

1. Degree (or equivalent qualification), or equivalent relevant work experience.
2. Significant experience of working in Higher Education senior administration and/or management.

You will be:

1. Knowledgeable of the environmental, economic and political factors impacting on Higher Education.
2. Experienced in analysing complex information and of contributing to action plans, strategic plans and quality reviews.
3. Experienced in working within a customer centric organisation.
4. Experienced in managing staff, delegating work to colleagues and collaborating with others at a senior level to deliver change and/or projects.

In addition to the above, you should be able to demonstrate and/or evidence the following:

1. High level of competence in the use of IT with proficient experience of using Microsoft Office, databases (preferably student record systems) and online learning resources.
2. Excellent interpersonal skills, experience of working collaboratively with the ability to establish good working relationships with colleagues at every level of an organisation.
3. Excellent organisational skills.
4. The ability to cope with change in a fast moving, dynamic environment where change is often required immediately.
5. Exemplary attention to detail and the ability to work confidentially, use judgement and make appropriate decisions within the constraints of the role.
6. Excellent understanding of delivering excellent customer service and the ability to influence others to deliver.
7. An understanding of the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
8. Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
9. Ability to demonstrate effective negotiating and positive influencing skills.
10. Ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy, and the ability to deal discreetly with confidential and sensitive matters.
11. Excellent communications skills.
12. Ability to work with minimum supervision, and be self-motivated but also able to work as part of a larger team.
13. Demonstrate a flexible, positive and creative approach to work and meticulous attention to detail.
14. Demonstrate ability to acquire knowledge and understanding of detailed University policies and procedures and apply them in practice with the ability to interpret policy and offer advice to colleagues.

Dimensions

You will directly manage others in this role and be expected to act as a role model and coach members of the team. You may manage a budget in this role.

Planning and Organising

You will be required to manage and prioritise a varied and complex workload to deliver within required time frames, and make a substantial contribution to the management, development and implementation of strategic and operational processes.

Problem Solving and decision making

You will be working under the direction of a senior manager, but with considerable autonomy to deliver the outputs required. You will be working within the framework of existing policies, processes and procedures for the University and the College, but there will be plenty of scope to review and shape processes. You will take day to day decisions on complex tasks in the team’s remit including identifying next steps as appropriate. You will manage complex projects and be responsible for delivering outcomes within a set timeframe.

Internal and External relationships

This role will be liaising with internal colleagues and stakeholders, external stakeholders as well, sometimes with customers who have issues with the service, with an expectation on maintaining good working relationships with all.

Informal enquiries to Kerri Badger, email: k.l.badger@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.