Associate Dean - Student Support

Scholars School System; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £70,000-£75,000

28 days annual leave

Workplace pension

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Scholars School System invites applications for the role of Associate Dean - Student Support, Experience, Engagement, and Activity. The appointee will lead student support across Birmingham, Manchester, London, Bradford, and Leicester campuses, upholding the university’s mission and values while driving quality improvement.

The ideal candidate will possess extensive higher education leadership experience, a track record in curriculum development, inclusion, and student success initiatives, and

Qualifications

• Must have 15 years of higher education experience preferably in public or private universities.
• PhD in Higher Education or related field.
• Leadership or management level 5 qualification (CMI/ILM) / MA/ MSc.
• Higher Education teaching qualification PGCert/SFHEA.
• Proven track record of evolving the regulatory landscape (OFS, DfE) and its impact on quality assurance, enhancement, and compliance with professional standards.
• Proven success in designing effective learning programmes, teaching support, assessment, student engagement, and innovative student support initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire academic teams across multi-campus environments Strong track record in curriculum development, quality assurance, and student success initiatives Excellent interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills A commitment to research-informed teaching, staff development, and inclusion Experience managing budgets, resources, and academic planning in a higher education setting Capacity to represent the institution externally and strengthen academic-industry linkages

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to Academic Support staff across campuses.
• Achieve OfS, Partners and internal benchmarks with minimum 90% in each segment.
• Develop a platform for celebrating and promoting student support through extra-curricular activities.
• Lead academic support staff in improving induction through to post-graduation.
• Promote the highest quality student experience on collaborative programmes.
• Ensure efficient use of resources and access to learning resources across campuses.
• Address student issues promptly using established policies and procedures.
• Lead orientation and inclusion initiatives and coordinate student leadership development.
• Oversee equality, diversity and inclusion planning and metrics.
• Create an inclusive education environment empowering teaching and learning.
• Collaborate with senior management to monitor teaching and pastoral support quality.
• Ensure high and improving student learning experiences; address underperformance.
• Oversee wider student life and support across campuses.
• Provide leadership and performance management for staff.
• Liaise with colleagues across SSS and share best practices to improve performance.
• Conduct regular appraisals and support professional development.

Skills

Leadership

Management

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Curriculum development

Quality assurance

Student success initiatives

Inclusion

Team leadership

Education

PhD in Higher Education

MA/MSc

CMI/ILM Level 5 qualification

PGCert/SFHEA

Job description

Associate Dean - Student Support Job Description.

Scholars School System is a project of the UK CURRICULUM & ACCREDITATION BODY (UKCAB, a registered charity founded in 2006) has campuses across the United Kingdom, is looking for an Associate Dean- Student Support across all campuses which includes Birmingham, Manchester, London, Bradford, Leicester based in the Birmingham campus.

Scholars School System is a national independent higher education provider, offering world-class education. Taught programs, ranging from Foundation Year through to Level 7, delivered in partnership with institutions such as Leeds Trinity University. Over 5000 (UK and EU) learners have completed their learning journey in the last five years with the current student population being over 3000.

Our core values are very important because

• We share a common set of values across everything we do which helps to define who we are and how we behave.
• We put our students and our community at the heart of all that we do.
• We foster excellence, innovation, and creativity.
• We celebratediversity,inclusion,equality, and the breaking down of barriers to success.
• We have high expectations of ourselves, our students, and our partners.

Purpose:

Scholars School System invites applications for the position of Associate Dean - Student Support, Experience, Engagement, and Activity. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional leadership skills and will play a pivotal role in upholding the mission, vision, and values of the university through strategic initiatives. The appointee will be expected to liaise, cooperate, collaborate, and communicate effectively to enhance performance and foster a culture of quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• The Associate Dean Student Support plays a key role in supporting the Mission, Vision, and Values of Scholars School with strategic leadership and the enhancement of students' experience and support mechanism
• Must Achieve the Ofs, Partners and internal benchmark with minimum 90% in each segment.
• Developing a platform for the celebration and promotion of student support, by providing innovation through extra-curricular and team-building activities for the achievement of best practice
• Provides leadership to Academic Support staff at all campuses, focusing on improvements to student’s learning experience from induction through to post-graduation. This includes managing the day-to-day basis operation of the student support and experiences delivered across all campuses ensuring that students experience the highest pastoral support and career advice
• Promoting and further enhance the highest quality student experience for students on collaborative programmes including enhancing the development of student skills
• Contributing towards the efficient and effective use of resources provided across the campuses and ensure that Academic Support Staff and students make full use of the learning resources provided by the institution collaborative partners
• Dealing with student issues in a timely and professional manner using the appropriate policies and procedures, developing effective student voice mechanisms, and maintaining effective student complaints procedures
• Lead a comprehensive orientation and transition to advance equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives across all campuses and coordination of all student leadership development programs
• Oversee the strategic planning for equality, diversity and inclusion, including data-driven development of plan goals, implementation of plan initiatives, monitoring of key indicators, and assessment
• Create and sustain a high-driven and inclusive education and student learning environment, which empowers the development of academic teachers; enables high quality learning opportunity; and supports the conduct of excellent teaching and student learning in line with expectations and strategic plans
• Work with senior management and their leadership teams to ensure that the quality of teaching pastoral support in the university is monitored and reviewed, that good practice is shared and unsatisfactory performance addressed
• Work with senior management and their leadership teams to ensure students receive a learning experience of high and improving quality and to address unsatisfactory performance
• Responsible for overseeing the wider student experience in all aspects of student life and support
• Provide leadership and management to specific staff as defined by the role and any other staff as agreed with the Executive Dean, including the setting of objectives, performance management, and review
• Liaise, co-operate, collaborate, and communicate effectively with colleagues within SSS including central and professional service functions, and share good practices, innovation, and improve performance to create a culture of continuous quality enhancement with the faculty
• Take regular appraisal reviews of staff as appropriate, ensuring clear performance expectations supporting personal development plans are agreed, as well as encouraging the continuous professional development of staff within area of responsibility

Requirements: Essential Criteria

• Must have 15 years of higher education experience preferably in public or private universities
• PHD in Higher Education or related field
• Must have leadership or management level 5 qualification (CMI/ILM) / MA/ MSc
• Higher Education teaching qualification PGCert/SFHEA
• Proven track record of evolving the regulatory landscape (OFS, DfE) and its impact on quality assurance, enhancement, and compliance with professional standards.
• Proven success in designing effective learning programmes, teaching support, assessment, student engagement, and innovative student support initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire academic teams across multi-campus environments Strong track record in curriculum development, quality assurance, and student success initiatives Excellent interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills A commitment to research-informed teaching, staff development, and inclusion Experience managing budgets, resources, and academic planning in a higher education setting Capacity to represent the institution externally and strengthen academic-industry linkages

Salaries and Benefits

• Salary Range is £70,000 - £75,000.
• Holiday entitlement is 28 days annual leave, excluding bank holidays.
• Up to £5k annual incentives pro-rata given quarterly on meeting KPIs after successful probationary period.
• Workplace pension scheme.
• Reward and recognition programme.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• 3% annual increase per year on completion from your start date of service and on meeting KPIs.
• Complimentary lunch provided on working days.
• A supportive academic environment committed to quality and continuous improvement
• Opportunities for professional development aligned with academic support practice

Job Type

Full-time, Permanent

Basic hours are 9am to 6pm onsite.

Evening and weekend work required as appropriate

Trips away from the office are often required

We take pride in being members of professional institutions and are dedicated to working hard for the betterment of our students.