University of Birmingham Hiring for Student Experience and Engagement Officer (Dubai) – Dubai Professional Services – 99968 Job at Dubai Full Time

Position Details

Dubai Professional Services

University of Birmingham, Dubai campus

Salary: Competitive

Grade 6

Full time

Location: Dubai, UAE

Closing date: 7 August 2022

University of Birmingham Dubai

Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we have now taken up residence of our state of the art new campus and are excited to build on our brand and reputation as a global institution. This post represents an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.

Professional Services Ethos

Our ethos as a Professional Services team has been developed in line with the principles of being a Birmingham Professional. In particular, here in Dubai, this means that all Professional Services colleagues seek to collaborate effectively to ensure the needs of the whole campus community and our stakeholders are met. It also means that we work constructively together to provide a flexible range of service and support that adapt to the changing needs of the Campus as we grow. There are specific focal points in the academic cycle when all Professional Services team members will be expected to contribute regardless of their primary role, for example Welcome or Graduation. In addition, the duties listed below are illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of this post which is likely to change over time in response to the needs of the Campus and as you develop your experience and skills. You will have the opportunity to develop and may also need to specialise your duties further, over time, in agreement with your manager.

In order to contribute to the success of the team and the University’s vision for the Dubai Campus the Professional Services team will be seeking to continue to recruit and develop colleagues who display:

• a high level of intellectual aptitude;
• strong agility and a portfolio of skills that can adapt to meet changing circumstances;
• an innovative and creative mindset; and
• both an enterprising and entrepreneurial nature to support our growth and pursuit of excellence.

Department Overview

Job Summary

It is important that students have a positive and distinct experience at each step of their university career. The post holder is therefore responsible for enhancing student engagement, driving continuous improvement in the student experience, and ensuring that students are appropriately supported throughout their journey to graduation and beyond.
Whilst some of these improvements to the student experience and engagement will be informed by student feedback, the post holder will adopt a proactive approach, engaging with students and staff on a day-to-day basis and also looking at best practice across the University and the wider-sector to continuously review, evaluate and enhance services, support and teaching and learning.

Working with academic and professional services colleagues across the University, the post holder will support in the development and delivery of an annual programme of activity to support students and enhance their experience whilst studying at the university. The post holder will develop and manage student feedback mechanisms in order to identify opportunities to enhance student experience, and deliver a range of dynamic communications to all students. They will also provide the first point of contact for a broad range of issues associated with student transition, mobility, progression and retention, alongside colleagues within the Student Experience and Wellbeing Team.

Although focusing on current students, the post holder will also provide a critical role working with colleagues in Student Marketing and Recruitment and Admissions, Careers and Alumni Relations to join up activity across the whole student journey.

Main duties

• Working with academic leads and appropriate professional services staff, support in the development and running an annual programme of activities that foster an inclusive and supportive environment, acknowledge and celebrate diversity and to build a sense of community where students can further develop academic and life skills.
• The post holder will play a key role in the organisation and delivery of Welcome, UoBE Festival and Graduation ceremonies as key student experience and engagement points.
• Depending upon the nature of the event, management of events will involve: event planning, promotion of events to students and academic colleagues to encourage participation, on-the-day delivery, the co-ordination and management of student volunteers and paid assistants, event review and evaluation, and the management of budgets.
• Supporting the Student Association to develop a series of events and campaigns in line with university protocols and policies.
• Delivering training and guidance to the Student Association, Club and Group Leaders to ensure appropriate leadership and an inclusive student community.
• Working with key academic and professional service staff to ensure the effective operation of a range of student feedback mechanism e.g. student surveys, module/programme review, staff student liaison committees, student reps etc.,
• Providing professional services support for the development and coordination of the delivery of action plans in response to the student feedback received to ensure the continuous enhancement of the student experience.
• Develop and deliver a range of dynamic communications to all students, prospective students and staff around student engagement and enhancement activities, continuously reviewing and improving the effectiveness of these communications.
• Working with the appropriate professional services and academic leads, contribute to the development and delivery of the student engagement strategy and related policies, processes, operational plans and budget; ensuring that appropriate KPIs and targets are included and that mechanisms are in places for monitoring and reporting on their delivery, sharing and learning from best practice, and that these are periodically reviewed to remain up-to-date and relevant.
• Working with the Academic and Digital Skills Manager and the Library team to identify student needs in relation to skills and resource development.
• As part of the Student Experience and Wellbeing Team to respond to student enquiries and support the wellbeing of students as part of the Dubai Student Hub and using our enquiry management system.

Additional responsibilities
1. To undertake such other duties as may be required from time to time, to further the work of the wellbeing services and the development of the student experience, or the University.
2. Undertake continuous personal and professional development.
3. Conduct financial and Health & Safety duties in line with statutory and University’s policies and procedures.

Person Specification

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent relevant experience in a similar role.
• Experience of working in a higher education environment is desirable
• An understanding of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate education and the student lifecycle
• Experience of using feedback systems and data to influence decision making and planning
• Experience of delivering events
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience in developing web-based and social media materials is desirable
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work with a range of stakeholders
• Proactive, highly motivated and well organised, with the ability to work on own initiative and prioritise workloads
• Experience of delivering projects and initiatives with measurable outcomes and deliverables
• Effective team working skills
• A track record of delivering an excellent customer experience
• Excellent IT skills and an aptitude for learning new packages to support analysis, presentation and communication of information (including VLEs, social media and other digital communications)
• Willingness to work flexibly, occasionally outside of normal working hours
• Commitment to continuing professional development and training
• Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal stakeholders
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues
• Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues

Dimensions
This role will require you to exercise personal initiative within and beyond the department. You will not manage a team or budgets.

As interest in all of the advertised posts has been extremely high, we encourage you to apply online, tailoring your skillset against the listed criteria in the application form.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.