Academic Quality Officer - Dubai Campus

Heriot-Watt University; United Arab Emirates; Hybrid; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Heriot-Watt University seeks an Academic Quality Officer for our Dubai campus to lead accreditation, regulatory reporting, and quality assurance activities. You will coordinate with internal stakeholders to maintain academic standards across locations and liaise with KHDA, CAA and MoHESR as required.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and proven experience in international higher education quality assurance, with strong analytical and reporting capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in a similar international higher education environment.
• Proven ability to collate and draft large-scale reports.
• Experience clerking committees.
• Analytical problem-solving and strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent customer service and ability to work under pressure.
• Competent with IT packages.
• Desirable: experience with KHDA, CAA and MoHESR requirements and processes.

Responsibilities

• Work with Academic Quality Officers to gather university data for regulatory returns to CAA, MoHESR and KHDA.
• Collate and draft accreditation documentation for submission to regulatory bodies.
• Coordinate accreditation, licensure and audit events for approval and re-approval of the University’s licences and programmes.
• Represent the Dubai campus and maintain relationships with local regulatory authorities.
• Develop and maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and other teams.
• Provide guidance on Academic Quality policies and local regulatory requirements.
• Support approvals, reviews and renewal of external partnership agreements and collaborate with colleagues on policy developments.
• Coordinate reporting of PSRB accreditations in Dubai to the University and external bodies.
• Support campus-specific tasks such as Academic Reviews at the Dubai campus and Edinburgh Campus.
• Assist with student enrolment and graduation activities.

Skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Customer service

Adaptability under pressure

Professional proactivity

IT skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Office IT packages

Job description

Job Title: Academic Quality Officer

Grade: G6

Department: Registry and Academic Support (RAS)

Location: Dubai Campus

FTE and Working Pattern: 1 FTE, Fulltime

About our School/Directorate and Team

The Global Registry and Academic Support Directorate supports our students and staff across the full student life-cycle from enrolment to graduation.

The Directorate hasresponsibility asthe definitive record-keeperofall student information, programme and course details, as well as leading services that help students settle and stay at the University. This includes providing professional help and advice through a range of support and wellbeing services.

The Directorate supports academic and professional services staff across the University in a number of areas,including:academic,institutionalandstudent-relatedRegulationsandPolicies,andglobal,national and institutional quality matters.

ItdeliverstheseservicesthroughfiveDivisions,eachmanagedbyaGlobalHead,andtwoHeads of Campus Registry and Student Services:

• StudentLife
• OnlineStudents
• AcademicOperations
• AcademicQuality
• AcademicSecretariat,RegulationandPolicy
• HeadofRegistry&StudentServices–DubaiCampus
• HeadofRegistry&StudentServices-MalaysiaCampus

Academic Quality Division is made up of three Teams:

• Quality Assurance: Has management and oversight of all processes related to approval, annual monitoring and periodic review. Delivers an integrated approach to the assurance of quality and academic standards

• Academic Enhancement: Overseeing enhancement of learning and teaching and of the student learning experience (incl. PGR students), and delivers strategic change in learning and teaching and in the student learning experience

• Accreditation and Academic Partnerships: Has management and oversight of all academic partnerships and external accreditations (government and professional bodies) and delivers a consistent approach to external accreditation and the assurance of partnerships

In Dubai and Malaysia the Academic Quality divisions run as single teams, which liaise with the three central teams for professional support, and are managed locally by the Academic Quality Manager.

Purpose of Role

The Academic Quality Officer will be responsible for undertaking key quality assurance activities as part of the Academic Quality team based at the Dubai campus, with a particular focus on:

• Accreditation, review and audit events for the approval and re-approval of the University’s licence and programmes; and
• Regulatory data returns to the CAA, MoHESR and KHDA.

The postholder will be responsible for supporting an integrated, coherent approach across all modes and locations and to maintaining and assuring the quality and academic standards of the University’s provision.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work with other Academic Quality Officers to gather university data for regulatory data returns to CAA, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the KHDA.
• Collate and draft accreditation documentation for submission to regulatory bodies on behalf of academic colleagues for review by the Academic Quality Manager ready for submission.
• Co-ordinate accreditation, licensure and audit events (and produce reports where required from such events) for the approval and re-approval of the University’s licence and programmes. This includes both those required by the University’s internal processes and those required by UK and non-UK government Authorities / external agencies, including KHDA, CAA and MoHESR in the UAE.
• Represent the Dubai campus, and maintain strong working relationships, with local regulatory authorities under the direction of the Academic Quality Manager.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with internal stakeholders, including other Professional Service teams and academic colleagues.
• Provide advice and guidance on standard enquiries regarding Academic Quality policies and procedures and local regulatory and accreditation requirements.
• Provide support as needed for approval, review and renewal of the University’s external partnership agreements, including Partner Annual Monitoring and Review, and collaborate with International Development colleagues in associated policy and procedure developments.
• Co-ordinate the reporting of Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) accreditations in Dubai to both the University and to external government organisations, and provide support to Schools as required in PSRB accreditation events.
• Progress any other tasks associated with the work of the Academic Quality team, and this is likely to include campus-specific tasks, eg co-ordinating Academic Reviews at the Dubai campus, including organisation of Enhancement Workshops, and contributing to the organisation of Academic-Related Reviews and Internal Audits at the Edinburgh Campus.
• Progress any other tasks associated with the work of the wider Registry and Academic Support Directorate, eg assisting at student enrolment and at graduation ceremonies.

Please note that this job description is not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake other relevant duties commensurate with the grading of the post and its general responsibilities. Activities may be subject to amendment over time as the role develops and/or priorities and requirements evolve.

Education, Qualifications & Experience:

Essential

• Educated to at least Bachelor’s degree level, or equivalent practical experience in the workplace
• Experience of working within a similar environment, preferably in international higher education
• Proven experience collating and drafting large-scale reports
• Proven relevant experience in clerking committees, which will have been acquired over a number of years
• Analytical problem-solving skills
• Well-developed interpersonal skills
• Demonstrable excellent customer service
• Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
• Demonstrable professional and proactive approach
• Competent in the use of relevant IT packages

Desirable

• Experience working in Higher Education quality assurance
• Experience working with KHDA, CAA and/or MoHESR requirements and processes

Heriot-Watt University Values

With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and professionally relevant, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry.

We are a vibrant, forward-looking university, well known for the quality of our degrees with employers actively seeking out our graduates. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s international university with an unsurpassed international in-country presence. We deliver degree programmes to circa 30,000 students in 143 countries around the world, have a further overseas campus in Dubai and boast the largest international student cohort in Scotland.

At Heriot-Watt we’ve created an environment that nurtures innovation and leadership - where our researchers, staff and students can realise their potential and develop their ambitions.

We are proud of our collegiate atmosphere and integrated teaching and research approach which has helped to build a community of committed academics and highly motivated students. Our focus on careers delivers results and we’ve an excellent reputation for graduate employability.

In addition to the Edinburgh campus, we currently have campuses in the Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia. For all of our campuses we aim to provide stimulating, supportive environments conducive to effective learning and research, where staff and students can excel. At Heriot-Watt, we have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.

Our values describe our deeply held beliefs and our community spirit. They characterise not only how we are as a higher education institution but also frame how we want to be.

Our values are:

• Belong
• Collaborate
• Inspire
• Celebrate

As learning, living and working institution, we use our values as the building blocks of how we go about doing our work and how we each conduct ourselves as members of Heriot-Watt University. They represent what binds us together as a University community and help us to become the best at what we do.

For full details on our University, please view our websitehttps://www.hw.ac.uk/about.htm

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

The appointment is conditional upon successful completion of all Labor and Immigration formalities, and the start date will need to be delayed if the employment visa is not in place.