Senior Returns Analyst

Senior Returns Analyst – Statutory Returns Team

Location:

High Wycombe;

Contract:

Permanent;

Hours:

37 per week;
Salary: £38,784 – £43,482 per annum;
Closing Date: 11 March 2026;
Reference: 1997.

Reports to:

Head of Statutory Returns.

Buckinghamshire New University is an ambitious, modern university committed to inclusive, dynamic, responsible, and visionary values, supporting students, staff, and the local community.

The Senior Returns Analyst plays a key technical role within the Statutory Returns Team, supporting the delivery of accurate, timely, and compliant statutory student data returns. The postholder focuses on data reconciliation, data quality assurance, and complex problem solving.

• Conduct investigations and identify resolutions for complex data quality issues affecting statutory returns, informed by appropriate rulesets.
• Reconcile data across multiple systems (e.g. student records, course data, modules, outcomes) to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Identify root causes of data discrepancies and work with colleagues to implement sustainable fixes.
• Develop and maintain reconciliation processes and documentation to support auditability and transparency.
• Support the Statutory Returns Manager in preparing and validating student data returns, including HESA returns.
• Translate institutional student and course data into structures and definitions required by statutory data specifications.
• Interpret external data requirements and specifications, identifying how internal data maps to these requirements, keeping up to date with changes to data standards, specifications, and good practice using external networks as appropriate.
• Contribute to submission readiness by carrying out detailed validation, sense checking, and exception analysis.
• Use advanced data analysis techniques to interrogate large and complex datasets.
• Write, review, and optimise SQL queries and other data extraction scripts.
• Develop repeatable processes and tools to improve efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
• Identify opportunities to improve data flows, supporting the creation and maintenance of data definitions, and data governance practices of the wider University.
• Work closely with colleagues across Business Intelligence, Registry, IT, and other professional services teams to resolve data issues.
• Explain complex technical or data-related issues clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide guidance and support to colleagues on data quality best practice.
• Contribute to team knowledge-sharing.
• Proactively identify risks to data quality and compliance and propose mitigating actions.
• Support the development of internal documentation, guidance, and controls related to statutory data.
• Comply with relevant legislative and other requirements (e.g., the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR; Health and Safety; UKVI; and Equality and Diversity) in all working practices.
• Such other duties temporarily or on a continuing basis, as may reasonably be required.

We are looking for a candidate who brings strong analytical skills, experience with complex datasets, and confidence navigating ambiguity. Higher Education experience is welcomed but not essential.

• Educated to Degree or Postgraduate level, or comparable professional qualification, in a related discipline with a Maths, Statistical or technical background, or with equivalent professional experience in a data management and analysis role.
• CPD training in a regulated data environment (e.g. for Higher Education via HESA or OfS) and across software platforms related to the role (e.g. Power
  
  BI or Alteryx).

• Delivering an excellent customer experience.
• Experience working with statutory, regulatory, or externally specified data returns.
• Experience in a regulated data environment.
• Significant experience working in a data-focused role, such as data analysis, business intelligence, reporting, or data quality.
• Experience working with relational databases.
• Proven ability to reconcile complex datasets from multiple sources.
• Experience diagnosing and resolving data quality issues using structured,…