Exams & Awards Team Leader (Awards)

Newcastle University; England; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Newcastle University seeks a Team Leader for the Examinations & Awards Team to coordinate graduation and verification work. The role involves managing team tasks, ensuring service quality for students and stakeholders, and supporting continuous improvement in processes. Ideal candidates should possess strong management and organizational skills, with relevant higher education experience.

Benefits

Generous holiday package

Great pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in student administration processes in higher education.
• Proven ability to manage and coordinate a team.
• Excellent IT skills for manipulating datasets.

Responsibilities

• Support the planning and delivery of graduation events.
• Manage workloads and support colleagues.
• Implement procedures for effective delivery of services.

Skills

Management

Communication Skills

Organizational Skills

Stakeholder Engagement

Team Coordination

Education

A Level / NVQ Level 3

First degree (desirable)

Tools

Spreadsheets

Databases

Job description

Press Tab to Move to Skip to Content Link

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Salary:£30,805 to £31,637 with progression to £34,132 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 23 July 2025

The Role

The Examinations & Awards Team are looking for an enthusiastic and committed Team Leader to support the Examinations & Awards Manager/Officer with the planning, coordination and delivery of the University’s graduation and award verification work to ensure that an effective service is provided for students/graduates, Schools and third parties. You will provide line management and supervision of 3 other colleagues, managing workload allocations in line with priorities and targets.

In order to be successful in this position you will have previous experience of student administration processes gained within higher education along with a solid understanding of the student lifecycle. You will be a competent people manager, who can both coordinate, manage and support your team in a collaborative manner. You should have demonstrable skillset in stakeholder communications both written, and in person, with ability to build solid, respectful relationships. All in all, you should be highly organised with solid attention to detail and an eye for continual improvements.

The role is fixed term (to provide maternity cover) for 12 months from early September. Flexible working may be required at peak times and blended working (typically 2 days per week working from home) is available during the majority of the year.

To apply please upload CV and covering letter, ensuring to evidence how your skills and experiences meet the person specification within the job description.

• To assist the Examinations & Awards Manager/Officer with the coordination and management of the graduation and award verification work to ensure that an effective service is provided for students/graduates, Schools and third parties. Line management and supervision of colleagues, managing workload allocations in line with priorities and targets
• Take the lead and be the first point of contact within the Examinations & Awards Team for the management, delivery and development of the University’s electronic documents service, award verification processes and the production of official award documentation
• Implementing appropriate procedures to ensure the effective delivery of the graduation/awards/verifications enquiry services including the provision of advice and guidance to students, graduates and colleagues on matters relating to awards policy and procedure, and to ensure that queries/requests are dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner
• Support the Examinations & Awards Officer with the planning and formulation of the schedules for the Summer and Winter Congregation Periods and the planning and successful delivery of all graduation events, including any held at overseas campuses or other locations
• Support and instigate the development of optimum working practices, policy and process, and encourage the adoption of improved ways to working in order to provide a continuously improving service to students, graduates, and other University departments
• Build and manage relationships with the external suppliers that provide services during graduation periods (e.g. gown hire, photography, filming etc.) as well as those providing year-round services (e.g. electronic documents) to further develop and enhance the services provided
• To deputise for the Examinations & Awards Manager/Officer as required, taking decisions relating to awards policy and procedure on a regular basis
• Provide support to the examination functions of the team as required and assist with other Registry & Education Services events/activities (as required) including examination periods and registration

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience of student administration processes within a higher education institution and an understanding of the main activities within the student life-cycle
• Experience of effectively managing others and coordinating and overseeing the work of a team.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, including the ability to liaise effectively and confidently with a wide range of academic and professional services colleagues as well as students and external suppliers
• Excellent IT skills across a wide range of applications, including the ability to manipulate datasets in spreadsheets or databases
• Experience of supporting change and improvements particularly in relation to business processes and improving customer service
• Experience of assisting with the organisation and running of large-scale or high profile events

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work and remain calm under pressure, manage conflicting priorities and meet strict deadlines
• You project enthusiasm and gain the trust and cooperation of colleagues
• Confidence to advise students and staff on matters of regulation and procedure, train others, lead workshops and present to an audience
• Comes forward with new ideas and concepts and is enterprising in approach
• Plans workload and tasks in a structured way
• Works effectively within a team and actively seek to assist team members with pressing or raised workloads
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to data accuracy and integrity
• Ability to work independently and be proactive and positive in problem solving and issue-resolution
• Committed to delivering an effective and efficient service

Qualifications

Educated to ‘A’ Level / NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) or significant experience in a relevant role. (A first degree or significant experience in a similar role would be desirable)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.