Student Information and Advice Manager

About the role

The University of the Built Environment is recruiting a permanent, full-time Student Information and Advice Manager (35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00) within Education and Students, reporting to the Head of Student Support. The role oversees the operational delivery of high-quality information, advice and guidance to undergraduates, postgraduates and degree apprentices, balancing team leadership, performance management, liaison and quality improvement. Most of the week is spent at the Horizons office in Reading, with the remainder at home, and at least three days per week in the office.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and line-manage a team of seven Student Advice officers who deliver support by phone, email and online.
• Manage day-to-day operations, workflow, rosters and escalations so students and apprentices receive timely support.
• Set and review performance targets and SLAs, run one-to-ones, quality assurance checks and constructive performance reviews.
• Act as a change champion, supporting staff through organisational change and helping them build specialist knowledge areas.
• Identify process friction points, work cross-functionally to resolve issues and keep the team informed on policy and regulations.
• Review workflows to improve advice quality, response times and student satisfaction.
• Work with the Head of Student Support to develop the advice service, including a student-facing knowledge base and analysis of enquiry data and feedback.
• Liaise with students, academics, academic registry, student services, and occasionally employers, regulators and accreditation bodies.

Required profile

• GCSE Maths and English at grade C/4 or above.
• Level 3+ team leadership or management qualification, and level 2+ qualification in information, advice and guidance, coaching, counselling or another client support discipline.
• Proven experience managing a large, busy, customer-facing team and a track record of performance management.
• Experience working with developers or technology teams to improve online client experiences, and resolving challenging cases.