Senior Future Student Coordinator

University of Canterbury; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 96,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave + holidays

Superannuation up to 6.75%

Flexible working

Supportive working environment

Retail discounts

Live in Christchurch

UC facilities access

Job summary

The University of Canterbury invites an accomplished senior administrator to lead the Future Students coordination function in Ōtautahi Christchurch. You will line-manage three coordinators, shape processes across recruitment, conversion, engagement and international activities, and ensure policy-driven workflows with risk controls.

As part of the Future Students leadership team, you will drive service excellence, use data to improve outcomes, and mentor staff to build capability while

Qualifications

• Five+ years of senior admin or operations experience.
• Experience leading teams and coordinating workloads.
• Ability to apply policy, procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Experience improving processes with practical innovations.
• Proficient with CRM systems and MS Office.
• Experience in recruitment, international education operations or stakeholder programs.
• Strong relationship-building and clear communication.
• Alignment with UC values and inclusive culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day Future Students coordination and manage three coordinators.
• Provide structure and prioritisation across team to meet deadlines.
• Oversee operational administration spanning recruitment, conversion, CRM, events and engagement.
• Ensure policy-driven processes with controls and risk management.
• Maintain service continuity with workflows and cross-training.
• Coordinate international recruitment support, including agent processes.
• Coach and develop coordinators and monitor capability.
• Use data and reporting to identify problems and improve customer experience.

Skills

People leadership

Operations coordination

CRM systems

Data reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Process improvement

Tools

CRM platforms

Databases

Microsoft Office

Job description

• $95,784 - $116,911p.a.
• 5 weeks annual leave + 5 days university holidays
• Generous employer contribution to superannuation (up to 6.75%)

This is a varied senior operational role for an accomplished administration leader who can organise people, processes and information to help UC deliver an excellent experience for future students in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do

You will provide day‑to‑day leadership of the Future Students coordination function and line‑manage three Future Students Coordinators. You will bring structure, pace and consistency to a broad portfolio of operational administration supporting student recruitment, conversion and engagement, including international recruitment activity.

You will be part of the Future Students leadership team, working alongside peer leaders in a collaborative structure. This role combines people leadership with hands‑on operational expertise:

• Lead the daily coordination function, allocating and prioritising work across the team to meet changing demands, deadlines and service expectations.
• Oversee a varied programme of operational administration spanning recruitment activities, conversion, CRM, communications, events, visits and stakeholder engagement.
• Ensure processes are policy‑driven, well documented and applied consistently, with appropriate controls, records, escalation pathways and attention to risk.
• Maintain service continuity and quality through clear workflows, cross‑training, shared coverage and practical performance standards.
• Coordinate operational support for international recruitment, including education agent agreements and commissions, partner records, communications and programme administration.
• Support prospective‑student enquiry, conversion and engagement activity, including shared inboxes, campaigns, offer‑acceptance initiatives and outsourced services.
• Coach and develop coordinators, create role clarity, monitor capability and provide constructive guidance on complex or high‑priority work.
• Use data, reporting and frontline insight to identify problems, improve customer experience and introduce more efficient, innovative ways of working.

You are a highly organised and adaptable senior administration or operations professional who enjoys making complex services work well. Detailed and policy‑minded, you can move confidently between people leadership, workflow management and hands‑on delivery. You bring ideas for improvement, but also the discipline to implement them effectively.

You will be able to demonstrate experience in:

• At least five years’ senior experience in administration, operational coordination, student recruitment, customer service, relationship management, marketing, communications or a related field.
• Managing or leading people, including allocating work, balancing capacity, setting expectations, coaching performance and building team capability.
• Applying high‑level administrative and coordination skills across multiple operational functions, projects or workstreams simultaneously.
• Working within policies, procedures and regulatory requirements while maintaining accurate records, documentation, data quality and operational controls.
• Identifying process improvements and introducing practical innovations, efficiencies, automation or better ways of delivering services.
• Using CRM systems, databases, digital communication tools and Microsoft Office applications to support workflows, reporting and decision‑making.
• Supporting student recruitment or international education operations, including prospective‑student communications, conversion activity, agent processes or stakeholder programmes.
• Building trusted relationships and communicating clearly with colleagues, students, agents, partners and other internal and external stakeholders.
• An alignment with our organisation's values and culture, promoting a positive and inclusive work environment.

Future Students includes domestic student recruitment and international student recruitment. Together the team successfully builds the profile and reputation of UC as an outstanding, world‑class learning environment that supports the pursuit of excellence, attracts a diversity of talent and investment and continuously reinforces the value of UC qualifications and experience. For more information about our team, please visit us here .

At UC, being part of our team means more than just a job. We are committed to supporting our kaimahi | staff’s career and wellbeing with benefits designed to help our kaimahi grow and feel connected, supported and valued.

• 5 weeks annual leave + 5 days university holidays
• generous employer contribution to superannuation (up to 6.75%)
• flexible working arrangements
• supportive working environment
• a wide range of retail discounts across shopping, entertainment and travel
• living in revitalised Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
• a unique working environment on a beautiful campus, with access to UC facilities such as the UC RecCentre and Staff Club at discounted rates, plus onsite cafés and eateries.

For more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/work-at-uc/benefits-working-uc

The closing date for this position is: Friday16 October 2026 (midnight, NZ time)

Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place before the close date.

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency, or hold a valid New Zealand work visa, to be considered for this role.

Please note, this role is based in Ōtautahi Christchurch.