Head: Student Experience

Direct Reporting Line

Campus Deputy Head

Varsity College is an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). The IIE enjoys the reputation of being at the forefront of private higher education in South Africa, and is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to provide higher education qualifications accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

The IIE's Varsity College, Cape Town Campus has a vacancy for a Head: Student Experience.

The overall purpose of the Head: Student Experience is to manage the portfolio's that fall under the Student Experience department with the specific focus on intentional, collaborative, connected and responsive student intervention strategies to deliver student experiences that promote learning and development beyond the classroom.

Duties And Responsibilities

Design, Implement and Monitor Student Touchpoints

1. Manages the campus student experience annual calendar of events and student operational support interventions.
2. Continually reviews student experience processes and procedures to ensure that outputs are high quality and effective.
3. Consolidates and supports the delivery of the multidepartment plans and ensures synergy and cohesion across departments.
4. Implements relevant policies that impact on the student experience.
5. In collaboration with the National Portfolio team, supports national events and initiatives to be implemented throughout the calendar year.
6. Plans and oversees the new student Orientation program from a student operations perspective.
7. In collaboration with the SMT, oversees campus communication strategy to students regarding student operational and student experience matters.
8. Continuously gathers and reviews student platforms and entry points of feedback to proactively align the campus student experience activities and interventions.

Holistic Student Support And Experience

1. Leverages the VC Voice and Student Committees as a tool to collect and disseminate information and feedback.
2. Supports and acts as a point of escalation to address student queries and connects the student to the correct member of staff to resolve queries.
3. Drives intentional, collaborative, connected and responsive student intervention strategies to deliver student experiences that promote learning and development beyond the classroom.
4. Develops, manages and runs student mentorship and leadership workshops and programs.
5. Assists departments in dealing with general and complex student enquiries with the objective of identifying and remedying issues.
6. Ensures multidepartment synergy and cohesion to ensure a seamless student experience.
7. Drives visibility, inclusion and awareness around each department's function relating to the student experience.
8. Maintains and drives a positive, empathetic and professional attitude toward our students.
9. Maintains a good knowledge of products and policies to advise students and staff accordingly.

Oversight of Corporate Social Investment (CSI)

1. Oversees the annual Corporate Social Investment (CSI) implementation plan and monitors the impact of this plan.
2. In collaboration with the Student Wellness Manager, facilitates and grows relationships with identified CSI beneficiaries.
3. Monitors the CSI budget and reports on successful outcomes.
4. Supports the rollout of requirements of CSI projects in conjunction with other departments.
5. Creates and disseminates communications to highlight CSI success.

Administration, Reporting and Budget Management

1. Supports the campus team with any audits that may require administration.
2. Maintains records across various responsibilities including student discipline, student experience events, projects and interventions.
3. Records keeping of student disciplinary matters and their outcomes.
4. Processes bursaries for the different student bodies in conjunction with relevant portfolio managers e.g. VC Cares and Student Wellness Manager.
5. Compiles ad hoc administrative reports needed by either National, The IIE, or ADvTECH.
6. Creates the annual budget for the Student Experience team and manages, forecasts and reports on these budgets in conjunction with campus Finance.

Student Experience Team Management And Guidance

1. Supports the development of individual departmental plans as aligned to the overall campus student experience plan.
2. Tracks and manages performance of the Student Experience campus team.
3. Maintains oversight of all projects, events and interventions relating to the campus student experience.
4. Monitors compliance to specific departmental policies and procedures.
5. Oversees and manages fulfilment of Service Level Agreements (SLA's) across the various departments and external stakeholders.
6. Provides support to the team via mentoring, performance management and staff development.

Student Discipline Management

1. Deals with student discipline issues that may arise on campus such as ones that contravene the student code of conduct.
2. Addresses student disciplinary issues in consultation with the Campus Head.
3. Where appropriate, ensures that student disciplinary measures are corrective in nature.
4. In collaboration with the Academic Operations and Academic teams, ensures that student disciplinary outcomes are contextualized so that outcomes are finalized appropriately.
5. Creates awareness around the Safe Campus Policy.

Competencies Required

1. Administrative
2. Communication skills
3. Organizing and planning skills
4. Time Management skills
5. Problem solving skills.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

1. Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma in Education OR Marketing, Communications or similar field (NQF Level 7) Ideal.
2. Postgraduate Diploma / Bachelor Honours Degree (NQF Level 8) preferable.

Minimum Experience Requirements

1. Minimum of 2 years Student Administration and 4 years experience in Operations/Academic/Student Support.

The IIE's Varsity College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. However, preference will be given to previously underrepresented groups in accordance with the South African Employment Equity Act.