Head of Operations

University of Bedfordshire; Wilstead; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 59,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading higher education institution in the UK is looking for a Head of Operations. This role involves leading and managing student and course administration while continuously improving policies and processes to enhance the student experience. The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader with a proactive and adaptable approach, excellent problem-solving skills, and significant experience in higher education. This full-time, permanent position offers the opportunity to make impactful contributions to the university's objectives.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering change and navigating complexity.
• Proactive, innovative, and adaptable individual.
• Ability to plan and organize work for teams.
• Good understanding of policies and sector debates.
• Experience in development and implementation of policies.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage and support student and course administration.
• Develop and manage operations for assigned team.
• Ensure continuous improvement of policies and processes.
• Enhance student experience through effective service delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

Problem-solving

IT skills

Collaboration

Education

Higher education professional

Tools

Complex student systems (e.g., SITs)

Job description

Job titleHead of Operations Job referenceBEDS2910 Date posted18 / 12 / 2025 Application closing date18 / 01 / 2026 LocationLuton & Bedford SalaryGrade 8 : £48,822 - £58,225 ContractPermanent Contractual hours37 BasisFull time Job category / typeProfessional services Attachments

Blank Job information

The University of Bedfordshire’s Student Registry Services is responsible for supporting all aspects of the student journey, from the point of registration through to graduation. We are seeking a Head of Operations to join our team, and to lead, manage and support student and course administration throughout the student life cycle for assigned provision.

This post is one of three Heads of Operations, working closely together to deliver high-quality and effective services to enhance the student experience and to support academic and professional services teams through digitally enabled, streamlined registry and academic services.

The post holder will develop, lead and manage the operations for their assigned team that will ensure the continuous improvement of policies, regulations, processes and systems it supports, aligned to institutional strategic priorities.

In line with the university’s strategic objectives, our aim is to deliver :

• Sector-leading and flexible student services, processes and systems to support our strategy and an improved student experience.
• High quality, efficient, tailored and accessible service delivery for our staff and external partners.
• Continuous improvement, sustainable operations and enhanced services.
• A distinctive professional service based on creative partnership and excellent service quality for colleagues and students.
• High levels of staff satisfaction through a positive and open culture and investment in people and skills.

To help us achieve our priorities we are looking for a higher education professional who is :

• a competent leader with experience delivering change and the ability to navigatecomplexity and ambiguity.
• a proactive, innovative, adaptable individual, with the ability to plan, prioritise and organise the work of themselves and others.
• a problem solver who can think on their feet, and have the willingness to engage in projects effectively, whilst supporting collaboration across teams.
• a knowledgeable professional with a good understanding of key polices and current sector debates.
• an individual with a good understanding of the development, implementation and operation of policy and regulation to support processes.
• An individual with well-developed IT skills and considerable experience of complex student systems such as SITs.

This post will provide the right candidate with the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the university as it continues to deliver on its programme of change.