Academic Support Manager

MANCOSA; Durban; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

MANCOSA, a DHET registered private higher education provider, seeks an Academic Support Manager in Durban to lead the Academic Support team and ensure a seamless online student learning journey. You will oversee coordinators, manage at-risk interventions and coordinate readiness and onboarding for all intakes.

The role requires strong LMS administration, data analysis, reporting, and excellent communication skills to connect Managers, Programme Leaders and support staff in a student-centered

Qualifications

• 3 years' experience management, online teaching, student support or academic administration in higher education or distance learning.
• Proven experience leading or supervising a team.
• Strong LMS administration, data analysis and reporting skills.
• Excellent communication, conflict-resolution and time-management skills.
• A genuine passion for student success and support.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and evaluate a team of Academic Support Coordinators.
• Manage rosters and coverage across omnichannel platforms (e.g. HubSpot, OneStream) and walk-in consultations.
• Drive training and adherence to SOPs for the Online Student Learning Journey (OSLJ).
• Proactively monitor low-, medium- and high-risk students and drive timely interventions.
• Partner with Academic Managers, School Managers and Academic Programme Leaders on intervention plans, escalations and referrals.
• Report on at-risk trends and outcomes to inform institutional improvement.
• Oversee delivery of pre-induction communication, institutional and School/Programme orientation, and readiness checklists across all intakes.
• Identify non-completers and unresolved readiness concerns and refer for support.
• Support intake review and feed lessons learned into future onboarding cycles.
• Oversee quality assurance of digital academic content and recorded webinars.
• Ensure compliance with POPIA and relevant regulatory and quality frameworks.
• Generate management reports and analytics for the Academic Directorate and institutional committees.
• Technical approval of online readiness, as part of quality assurance for every intake.

Skills

Team leadership

Online teaching

Student support

Academic administration

LMS administration

Data analysis

Reporting

Communication

Tools

HubSpot

OneStream

Job description

Job category: Others: Education and Training

Location: Durban

Contract: Permanent

EE position: Yes

Introduction

MANCOSA, a DHET registered and CHE accredited private higher education distance education provider, offering undergraduate and postgraduate business qualifications, has the following vacancy available:Academic Support Manager - Durban

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced, student-centred Academic Support Manager to lead our Academic Support team. Reporting to Academic Managers, you will drive the seamless delivery of the online student learning journey, oversee a team of Academic Support Coordinators, and take ownership of two of the most critical drivers of student success at MANCOSA: proactive Student At-Risk management and Student Readiness, Induction and Onboarding. You will be a central connector between School Managers, Academic Programme Leaders, Academics and functional departments, ensuring students are supported, engaged and set up to succeed from day one.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Operations

• Lead, coach and evaluate a team of Academic Support Coordinators.
• Manage rosters and coverage across omnichannel platforms (e.g. HubSpot, OneStream) and walk-in consultations.
• Drive training and adherence to standard operating procedures for the Online Student Learning Journey (OSLJ).
• Proactively monitor low-, medium- and high-risk students and drive timely, documented interventions in line with the Student At-Risk Policy and Plan.
• Partner with Academic Managers, School Managers and Academic Programme Leaders on intervention plans, escalations and referrals.
• Report on at-risk trends and outcomes to inform institutional improvement.

Student Readiness, Induction & Onboarding

• Oversee delivery of pre-induction communication, institutional and School/Programme orientation, and readiness checklists across all intakes.
• Ensure non-completers and students with unresolved readiness concerns are identified and referred for support.
• Support intake review and close-off, feeding lessons learned into future onboarding cycles.

Quality, Compliance & Reporting

• Oversee quality assurance of digital academic content and recorded webinars.
• Ensure compliance with POPIA and relevant regulatory and quality frameworks.
• Generate management reports and analytics for the Academic Directorate and institutional committees.
• Technical approval of online readiness, as part of quality assurance for every intake

QUALIFICATION

ESSENTIAL

• 3 years' experience Management, online teaching, student support or academic administration in higher education or distance learning.
• Proven experience leading or supervising a team.
• Strong LMS administration, data analysis and reporting skills.
• Excellent communication, conflict-resolution and time-management skills.
• A genuine passion for student success and support.