Position Details Dubai Operations Discipline: Student Experience and Wellbeing University of Birmingham, Dubai campus Salary: Competitive Grade: 8 No. of positions: 1 Full time Location: Dubai, UAE Closing date: 11th March 2024
University of Birmingham Dubai Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in 2018 we have now moved to our new state-of-the-art campus which opened in Sept 2021. These posts represent an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai. Professional Services Ethos Our ethos as a Professional Services team has been developed in line with the principles of being a Birmingham Professional . In particular here in Dubai this means that all Professional Services colleagues seek to collaborate effectively to ensure the needs of the whole campus community and our stakeholders are met. It also means that we work constructively together to provide a flexible range of service and support that adapt to the changing needs of the Campus as we grow. There are specific focal points in the academic cycle when all Professional Services team members will be expected to contribute regardless of their primary role, for example Welcome or Graduation. In addition, the duties listed below are illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of this post which is likely to change over time in response to the needs of the Campus and as you develop your experience and skills. You will have the opportunity to develop and may also need to specialise your duties further, over time, in agreement with your manager. In order to contribute to the success of the team and the University\xe2\x80\x99s vision for the Dubai Campus the Professional Services team will be seeking to continue to recruit and develop colleagues who display:

• a high level of intellectual aptitude ;
• strong agility and a portfolio of skills that can adapt to meet changing circumstances;
• an innovative and creative mind-set; and
• both an enterprising and entrepreneurial nature to support our growth and pursuit of excellence.

Role Summary The post holder will lead on strategy and high-quality delivery of a range of services that promote and support student wellbeing, student development and an excellent student experience for all University of Birmingham Dubai students. They will be an experienced professional in a relevant discipline that will help to embed our approach to wellbeing throughout the student experience. The post holder will report to the Deputy Director of Operations and is a member of the Professional Services Senior Management Team on campus. The post holder is responsible for the leadership and delivery of innovative, high quality, efficient, professional services ensuring that the service follows best professional practice, is compliant with legislative requirements, and other authority or professional regulatory body regulations. The post holder will be responsible for promoting integration and collaboration between Dubai service areas and the wider University of Birmingham. They will also lead on specific service projects and initiatives for the wider Professional Services team in support of the campus development agenda. The post holder will be responsible for continuing development and implementation of the Dubai Professional Services Enabling Strategy as relates to student experience and will lead and line manage a team of people in student experience and support related roles, ensuring the successful delivery of the agreed strategy. In addition, this post holder will develop and implement a plan for a range of partnerships and collaborations externally to enhance the co-curricular, extracurricular and graduate experiences and outcomes for students. The Head of Student Experience and Wellbeing is responsible for the leadership and management of a range of functions which support the overall student experience and include:

• Welcome/Induction
• Wellbeing and welfare support
• Careers, Employability and Employer Relationship Management
• Library service delivery, digital resources development and academic skills delivery
• Liaison with the Student Association and Guild of Students to ensure collaboration in key University student experience operations, strategy, and partnerships, including UoB Sport and Student Leadership and Representation.

Main Duties Strategic Leadership and Management

• Line manage and provide professional leadership to staff responsible for supporting student wellbeing and experience services. This will involve supporting their professional development, focusing on delivery of objectives and on providing excellent customer service.
• Provide advice and guidance on new developments, significant staffing and structural issues and on budgetary matters.
• Develop strategies for the coordination and future development of experience and wellbeing services in line with sector best practice, changing student needs, advances in technology etc.
• Planning, prioritising, and allocating student wellbeing and experience support against agreed targets, and campus wide operations, collaborating closely with all other Heads of Service.
• Ensure effective service delivery to students, develop appropriate tools to evaluate service quality and provide key performance and management data, and ensure effective oversight of outsourced services and suppliers.
• Ensure that the teams effectively utilise digital tools to administer and manage casework and that service-based systems are integrated with university systems with appropriate safeguards for confidentiality.
• Ensure that policies and processes meet statutory and regulatory requirements and lead on the development of new policies and processes to meet changing requirements at university, sector and UAE level.
• Establish effective relationships with staff across the campus, including academic staff, Student Association Leadership Team, and academic colleagues, liaising on services provided by the Student Experience and Wellbeing Teams, building partnerships to facilitate closer links, and resolving significant issues associated with service delivery.
• Determine service priorities when faced with competing demands or resource constraints, basing decisions on an understanding of service data, University priorities, compliance requirements, risks etc and work with staff to deliver activities in creative and innovative ways that meet student wants and needs.
• Provide reports for university committees as appropriate on the work of the Student Experience and Wellbeing Team.
• Leading with agility and resilience to enable reshaping of services as the university continues to grow and develop and to keep up with the changing academic context and learning frameworks.
• Facilitating appropriate collaboration between the relevant Dubai team and Edgbaston colleagues, and ensuring alignment with key University policies, objectives and governance
• Cultivate a network of external contacts and resources to enable observation of trends, and facilitate horizon scanning, helping to inform the University of developments of the Student Experience and Wellbeing service portfolio.

Student Wellbeing Services

• Support the Wellbeing and Experience Officers in assessing student cases, identifying and managing risk and safeguarding issues as needed.
• Supporting the management of relationships with external support partners and agencies in delivering wellbeing and experience services to students.
• To lead the work of the team in developing proactive and preventative wellbeing initiatives for delivery to students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, based on data driven decision making.
• To support the management of critical incidents.
• Lead the Extenuating Circumstance and Extension processes and to support with other processes which impact and support students\xe2\x80\x99 wellbeing.
• To liaise closely with the Student Wellbeing Team at the University of Birmingham Edgbaston campus, ensuring the ongoing monitoring and analysis of trends, looking at service demands and resources and striving to keep them relevant and appropriate for our student population.
• To offer professional consultancy to staff of the University in relation to their pastoral role with students, and provide advice on how to manage the impact an individual student\xe2\x80\x99s academic participation and performance.
• To remain up to date on local UAE legislation and development of regionally based support in the wellbeing space.
• Lead on the Reasonable Adjustment Process on campus and working closely with the relevant teams in Edgbaston and Dubai to ensure support is available and implemented for students of determination.
• Working with academic colleagues and other key staff to ensure that the campus and its learning environment and activities are inclusive and accessible.

Student Experience and Students Association

• Project management of key student experience events, including Welcome, festive celebrations and Student Leader Elections.
• Development and ownership of the student experience calendar, alongside other key stakeholders.
• Input into social media and other student facing communication channels to ensure engagement with events and key university information.
• Providing oversight and enabling the Student Leadership Team to act as a key part of the university infrastructure and figureheads of the student community.
• Supporting the Student Experience and Engagement Officer to work alongside academic staff in the recruitment, facilitation and delivery of the Student Representation system.
• Working with the Students Association, Guild of Students and UoB Sport to deliver an extensive and responsive network of student led clubs and groups.
• Encouraging students to participate in community engagement and community impact through volunteering and collaborative activities.
• Overseeing the deliver and facilitation of programme led social activity.
• Working with the Equality Diversity and Inclusion lead to ensure that the students are engaged in activities and opportunities that foster and environment of diversity and inclusion.
• Working closely with campus operations to ensure that events and activities are delivered in line with health and safety requirements and in line with external partners and contractors\xe2\x80\x99 requirements whilst also delivering an optimal student experience.

Careers and Employability

• Working closely with the academic teams to understand the potential careers and employability needs of their industries to develop aligned services and opportunities.
• Building relationships within the UAE labour market to bring in employability opportunities for students.
• Working closely with other key roles within the university to ensure cross university collaboration and alignment, including DARO, Relationships Manager, Business Development Manager, Careers Network UK.
• Act as a key point of contact for the Careers Network UK to ensure the teams remain aligned in their strategic vision and in the sharing of resources and opportunities.
• Understanding local labour market trends as relates to employability and graduate market.
• Enabling the team to build and deliver a calendar of targeted careers and employability events that will upskill and develop the student body and delivers in line with the Birmingham 2030 strategy.
• Leading in the development and facilitation of graduate support.
• Monitoring and reporting on relevant careers and employability targets and performance indicators, in line with quality assurance requirements and strategic objectives.

Library and Academic Study Skills

• Supporting the team to deliver library services that respond to the relevant needs of students and academic colleagues.
• Alongside the Academic and Digital Skills Officer, develop an innovative programme of workshops and extracurricular activity that develops students\xe2\x80\x99 academic skills.
• Ensuring that the library space enables and delivers an environment conducive to learning and innovation.
• Working with the library and academic skills team to ensure that the physical and digital resources available to students are responsive to the needs of the programme portfolio.
• Providing accurate data and information about library services to required quality assurance processes.
• Working closely with colleagues in Edgbaston to ensure that campus libraries are aligned, and that Dubai remains strategically and operationally included.

Additional responsibilities

• To undertake such other duties as may be required from time to time, to further the work of the wellbeing services and the development of the student experience, or the University.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to at least degree level, and significant relevant experience.
• Previous experience of working in a Higher Education institution within related roles.
• Evidence of ongoing training and development (CPD) relevant to the role.
• Ability to think strategically and formulate operational plans to deliver the University\xe2\x80\x99s strategic objectives.
• Experience of estimating priorities and allocating available resources to fulfil defined targets.
• Experience of coordinating work between different teams, departments, or organisations.
• Demonstrable experience of using initiative and creativity to resolve problems.
• Experience of fostering partnerships with stakeholders to enable collaborative working.
• Excellent documentation and report writing skills, with experience of authoring documents to the high standard expected of University committees.
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills together with the ability to work with and influence senior managers.
• Proven ability to work on multiple projects and/or workstreams concurrently, managing workloads appropriately, to achieve specific deliverables within required timeframes and to required quality standards.
• Proven ability in managing, motivating, and developing a team of Professional Services staff.
• Has, and is able to demonstrate, the ability to work independently, accurately, and to deadlines within a team environment.
• Actively promotes and demonstrates a commitment towards equality, diversity and inclusion.

Internal and External relationships

• Campus Director
• Deputy Director of Operations
• Student Experience team (Dubai)
• Student and Programme Administration team (Dubai)
• Colleagues across Dubai campus \xe2\x80\x93 Professional Services and Academic
• Colleagues in UK campus \xe2\x80\x93 including Academic Services, Colleges and central PS teams
• External partners \xe2\x80\x93 including regional government agencies, regulatory bodies, educational and health-related organisations.

DBS required The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
We believe there is no such thing as a \'typical\' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is one of our values. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .