Adviser, Student Recruitment & Support (Open University)

The Open University is committed to making higher education open to all and providing a seamless journey for students and supporting their learning success, regardless of their background or previous educational qualifications. This post forms part of a wider team based within the contact centre of The Open University in Wales. The role will initially consist of administrative tasks to assist the wider team and enable other team members to focus on other aspects of the role.

Working within the Student Recruitment and Support Team, you will help ensure that information and documents are stored correctly within the OU systems and help ensure students are able to access support available to them. You will work with multiple internal systems as part of your role, participating in outbound call campaigns, as well as responding to enquiries via phone and email from students and prospective students.

Key Responsibilities

Operational processes and standards

1. To undertake associated administrative and operational processes to action enquirer and student requests in an effective and timely manner.
2. To access, utilise and update student and enquirer records including qualification and module records, personal details, and the Open University Customer Relationship Management tool 'VOICE’.
3. To work to a rota as part of a team to ensure that all activity is dealt with promptly and effectively and within agreed Service Levels.
4. To meet and strive to exceed the expected service standards as set within our quality framework, delivering a positive experience for all students and enquirers by putting them at the heart of everything you do.

Continuous Improvement and Development

1. Follow the Information, Advice and Guidance model best practice whilst actively participating in a culture of continuous improvement and engaging with quality initiatives.
2. Recognise and celebrate successes, whilst taking ownership to act upon feedback, doing things better with enthusiasm and commitment.
3. From quality monitoring, internal feedback and coaching, seek out opportunities that will stretch and challenge you, openly talking with your Team Manager about your own performance, striving to become a champion in your area of expertise.
4. To attend training events and briefings to ensure you have access to accurate and up to date operational information so you are able to adopt correct and evolving business practices and procedures.
5. Attend and actively engage in team meetings whilst proactively contributing to business improvement ideas and initiatives to optimise service provision.
6. Positively engage in the support and development of new team members.
7. Share knowledge and best practice with others across faculties and departments.
8. To undertake any other duties which may reasonably be required.
9. To provide information to both enquirers and students supporting them with registration processes, funding enquiries and general information about The Open University via predominantly inbound/outbound phone calls and emails.
10. To proactively transfer calls to specialised teams for further advice and guidance where appropriate as part of an Information, Advice and Guidance model.
11. Using your experience and initiative you will navigate and respond to issues, interpreting and applying procedures and guidelines as laid out within agreed policies.

Person Specification

1. Educated to GCSE level, to include Maths and English at Grade C or above, or equivalent.
2. Commitment to delivering excellent customer service, with a “can do” attitude and in a professional manner.
3. Recent experience of working in a customer facing environment, with experience of answering and actioning diverse queries, using a wide range of information sources.
4. Good communication skills, both oral and written e.g. effective telephone techniques, use of plain English to explain policies and processes and to write clearly, succinctly and correctly.
5. An ability to deal with and follow documented information and procedures: using initiative in problem-solving, whilst recognising boundaries.
6. Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office packages.
7. Experience of working effectively in a team, and working to meet personal, team and organisational targets.
8. Good organisational skills including the ability to meet deadlines, working productively and accurately in a high-pressure environment.
9. Flexibility including the ability to adapt to changing circumstances (home and office working), duties and work practices.
10. Evidence of demonstrating a commitment to ongoing development.
11. A sound understanding of and a commitment to equal opportunities and diversity and also an understanding and empathy with working in a bilingual environment.
12. Experience of working in a hybrid model and communicating remotely.
13. Experience of working within a higher education environment.
14. Experience of working in a multi-channel complex customer services environment and coping with high volume telephone calls, emails and correspondence.
15. Experience of working with a customer relationship management system.
16. The ability to speak Welsh, or a willingness to learn. NVQ level 2 or 3 in Customer Services or Information, Advice and Guidance.

The start date for this role is: 09/06/25

The role will be 12 hours per week during training period and increasing to 37 hours per week from July to September 2025.

Our Team Values

Our values are important to us, and we expect our colleagues to conduct themselves in a way which promotes these:

• Trust - We trust and support each other to do our best work and take personal responsibility for our unique roles within the team.
• Compassion - We act with compassion towards our students, each other, and in the decisions that we make.
• Inclusion - We are inclusive, embrace diversity and celebrate individuality – you do you!
• Development - We are always learning and evolving what we do to create the best experience for our students and our staff.

About The Company

Important information for working through Jobshop:

Please note, this advert may come down early if there are a high volume of applications. If you are interested in this role, we recommend you apply as soon as possible.

All students who undertake work through Jobshop must complete a Right to Work check before starting any paid work or work-related training. We will contact successful candidates regarding this. To find out more about Right to Work please contact jobshopforms@cardiff.ac.uk.

Students are eligible to work through Jobshop for 3-months post their end of studies date (usually noted on their student ID/ proof of enrolment letter), providing all Right to Work documents (such as visas) are still in date. Please only apply if you are eligible to work for the entirety of the role.

If you are on an hours-limited visa, it is your responsibility to ensure you do not exceed the working-hour restriction Monday - Sunday, each week. This is a legal restriction that must be adhered to for work completed both within and outside of Jobshop.