Pastoral and Student Engagement Lead

Location: Remote/Home based in the UK (With some UK Travel)

Dates: ASAP

Job purpose

This is an important time for OIEG as we develop and grow the University Partnerships division. As part of our development, we are creating a new, dynamic and central team in our division to support our teaching teams in the UK colleges and London sites.

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and motivated Pastoral and Student Engagement Lead to join our new and exciting Academic Student Support Team (ASST) within our University Partnerships division. This team will support international students in across all our colleges and a combination of domestic and international students in London campus sites in three main areas: academic skills; employability; pastoral support.

The Pastoral and Student Engagement team will provide tutorials for students, signpost to specialist and academic support and monitor the engagement as well as intervene when attendance issues are raised. They will build a strong rapport with students from the induction onwards to produce a welcoming and supportive service that encourages students to have a positive experience and communicate any challenges/issues during study.

The Pastoral and Student Engagement Lead will have responsibility for establishing and delivering the pastoral and engagement service across our division and managing the day-to-day operation. This includes: recruiting and managing the team, designing and implementing approaches to achieve high levels of attendance, establishing the attendance response initiative to get students back on-track, developing creative initiatives to keep students engaged and focused on studies, building and maintaining strong relationships with the college teams and university partners as well as central stakeholders, providing data and monitoring effectiveness of the service.

The postholder will recruit and manage a team who are spread throughout the UK and based in current / future

colleges. This role is remote/home-based with the expectation of travel to the colleges during the year to engage with the college teams and the Pastoral and Student Engagement team.

For full details please see the job description and the person specification.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Main Duties

• Develop, lead and co-ordinate the delivery of the pastoral and student engagement service across the University Partnerships division
• Develop suitable policies for the areas of the pastoral and student engagement service with the Academic Student Support Director
• Develop and manage suitable responses for ‘at risk’ students to ensure they are contacted, supported and the Pastoral team engage with the academic and other student support teams to create an action plan that is monitored and seen through to student re-engagement
• Develop and manage the pastoral and student engagement offering for across the University Partnerships division, bringing in best practice from the main campus to ensure compliance where required (e.g. number of tutorials, etc.)
• Design and implement approaches to achieve high levels of attendance across the various sites
• Develop creative initiatives and activities to keep students engaged and focused on studies across the various sites
• Ensure that the team build strong relationships with the students through a wide range of activities from induction and throughout each term, including meet & greets in the mornings
• Build and foster strong relationships with the other teams across the University Partnerships division in order to maintain effectiveness of the pastoral care team to deliver key parts of the service (e.g. the action plans for students)
• Contribute to internal reviews, validation and accreditation processes
• Manage annual and more regular reporting of progression, attendance, etc. as required
• Schedule and staff to ensure the delivery of the pastoral care provision over daytime, evenings and weekend hours
• Contribute to the delivery of the service, providing role model behaviour for the team
• Build a supportive culture based on student-centred approach
• Ensure your knowledge of all areas of the team is constantly updated to know about relevant policies and procedures key to running the successful delivery of the performance coaches and pastoral care
• Attend all key meetings and boards to ensure service levels are operating at best capacity
• Be responsible, in part, for the retention and progression of students across the University Partnerships division
• Provide cover where needed and ensure cover plans are in place across the team
• Contribute to Assessment Boards as required

Resources

• Encourage the development and use of the VLE and other learning technologies
• Ensure the quality of physical and digital resources are at a high standard
• Manage the development and quality of digital resources to support tutorials, communications, events, workshops and meetings

Team Management

• Lead, inspire and motivate staff to deliver high quality performance in all areas
• Support and develop teaching staff as appropriate in best pedagogical practice
• Lead the recruitment, induction, and development and performance management of staff, as appropriate

  Relationship management

• Develop and maintain a strong working relationship with the Academic Student Support Director and other central OIEG stakeholders
• Build strong working relationships with the college teams, such as College Managers and Academic Directors
• Ensure a strong relationship with the Academic Student Support Team is developed and maintained
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key university partners

General

• Where required, deputise for the Academic Student Support Director or one of the other Leads in the team
• Participate in and support any reviews or audits, including QAA, UKVI, etc.
• Provide regular reports to the Academic Student Support Director
• Attend meetings and participate in boards (such as joint academic boards or the OIEG academic board)
• Any other duties linked to the remit of the role allocated by the Academic Student Support Director

Application Process

To apply for the role please submit the following documents to Azza El-Dahshan, Academic Student Support Director: aeldahshan@OxfordInternational.com by midnight Wednesday 15^th February.

1. Your full CV
2. A 1 page covering letter outlining your reasons for application and interest in the role
3. A PowerPoint needs to be submitted when applying for this role (How would you support students pastorally on their courses? What services and support can you provide students to help them engage in their studies/college/university life?)

****The PowerPoint will need to be submitted prior to shortlisting. Please allow for the PPT to cover a 10 minute presentation which will be delivered on the day****

Please note that only full applications with CVs, covering letters and the PowerPoint task will be considered for shortlisting.

Interviews

The process will involve 2 parts to focus on different aspects of the role – all interviews are online via Teams:

Interview 1: Wednesday 22^nd or Thursday 23^rd February via Teams for 1-1.5hrs (will include your PowerPoint presentation)

Interview 2: Wednesday 1^st or Thursday 2^nd March via Teams for 1-1.5hrs

Oxford International is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Oxford International is an equal opportunity employer. Every applicant and employee has the same opportunities regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status.

This job description is provided as a guide to the role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive description of duties and responsibilities and may be subject to periodic revision.