Student Advice Officer

Overview

JOB DESCRIPTION

Permanent, part time.

Hours for this role are 17.5 per week and must include 10:30 to 16:00 on Wednesdays (in-person), when various departmental meetings take place.

The remaining hours are open to negotiation and can include up to seven hours working remotely on either a Monday or Friday.

Education and Students, Student Advice team.

Your line manager will be Ella Wheeler, Head of Student Support.

All hours worked on the core days each week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) will need to be worked at Horizons, our Head Office in Reading. Hours worked on Mondays or Fridays will be remotely at your home. The office closes on Fridays. You can attend the office on Mondays if you wish to.

* Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable.

The University’s Student Advice team are members of Advice

UK and are part of the wider team who hold the Matrix accreditation for the delivery of information, advice and guidance.

The team are the first point of contact for students seeking help and support. You will support students by problem-solving with them, providing information and advice, and helping them to access University resources and services. You will work with students on the phone and online, liaise with colleagues across the University, and be an important part of ensuring our students reach their potential.

Alongside your direct work with students, you will support work around student information and communication, ensuring student processes and online information sources are accurate and up to date. At key times in the year, you may also support the work of the wider Student Services and Registry teams, working with colleagues to manage events, services and administrative functions that underpin a positive experience for all our students.

• Working on the phone and via online platforms and mechanisms, provide a positive, friendly and supportive service to students who contact the University for support and/or advice.
• Receive, respond to and resolve student enquiries on a wide range of matters (including procedural, academic and personal issues) within service level agreements. Where resolution is not possible, provide timely referrals to other teams.
• Take ownership of student enquiries from first point of contact through to resolution, liaising with colleagues or other departments for information and assistance when required.
• Record all student contact accurately using Student Central and other platforms to share information as appropriate with colleagues across the organisation.
• Initiate formal student referrals to relevant University support teams where appropriate (e.g. Disability and Welfare team, academic teams).
• Ensure student facing information, advice and guidance is regularly updated and accessible to students, including templates used in enquiry management and procedural information that relates to students.
• Be aware and actively engaged with on-going changes, updates and communications from across the University as they apply to students. Ensure you remain on top of the workflows and key dates of other teams and are able to react quickly to student enquiries as a result of these.
• Work with your manager to analyse the data related to student enquiries and your own performance in the delivery of solutions, working with a continuous quality improvement mindset to ensure students get the best support.
• Support the delivery of events such as Welcome Week and graduation.
• Proactively participate in team meetings, training sessions and team development activities, positively contributing to the development of the service.
• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of team information resources and documentation.
• Ensure you remain up to date with University policies and procedures, especially those that are student facing.
• Undertake other such duties of a similar nature that fall within the scope of the role, and which may be required.

Line management responsibilities:
Non…