Service and Information Manager

Leading Beds SU’s important contributions to supporting students at the University of Bedfordshire, the role will enhance students’ individual and collective advocacy skills within their educational journey, empowering Members (and their representatives) to speak up for and defend their student rights. Ultimately, the role’s purpose is to realise an environment where the students’ union empowers students and contributes to a fair, equitable and rewarding student experience at every campus for Members.

The role will coordinate the SU’s information and welfare support work across our campuses. They’ll ensure that students receive a warm welcome from Beds SU – however, wherever and whenever they access the Union – be that at Welcome Week or on a satellite campus out of term time. They will also ensure that all data Beds SU collects, holds or processes is held securely and data practices within the Union remain in-line with best practice.

Enabled by effective individual and team management skills of the role-holder, the role will manage the recruitment, training, development, support and goal attainment of teams of permanent and student staff team members. Working with the wider Membership Services team, trends will be identified, representations made and up to date information available to students that prevents problems re-emerging and enhances the student experience.

Successful role-holders will demonstrate our strategic values when achieving in post: being Bold, Student First, Present and Caring.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Duties:

1.      Strategic delivery and team management

2.      Welcoming students to their Union and Member outreach

3.      Member service access and quality (Advice, Enquiries, Helpdesks)

4.      Welfare and Information Champion for the SU – Trends, student matters… Delegated lead: Student data, Safeguarding, Data Protection, Prevent

1.      Strategic delivery and team management

Deliver on the Beds SU strategic plan and other operational plans by devising plans, engaging colleagues and achieving outcomes via effective delivery.

Effective line-management and performance management of reports as necessary to fulfil objectives, the role’s purpose and union strategies and plans.

Provision of good team development and an outcome-focussed culture, ensuring good teamwork and collaboration in and outside of the Service and Information Team.

Build productive and healthy relationships in and outside the students’ union.

Ensure elected student officers and colleagues/departments are effectively engaged in plans, activities and outputs and work dovetails with wider SU activity.

Contribute to wider SU priorities and projects as required by management, such as elections and Awards periods.

Develop and nurture a culture of excellent member/customer service across all areas of the Union’s work.

2.      Welcoming students to their Union

Play a key role in planning and coordination of key Welcome activities throughout the Union and academic year, supporting the Senior Leadership Team and SU objectives as required, ensuring provision reaches all members to build a positive understanding of the Union’s part in each student journey. The role will lead on all on-site SU activity and information-needs for new and returning students.

Recruit and manage staff/student-staff for physical and virtual Help Desk provision.

Oversee and monitor quality training and ongoing support for staff at all levels and all sites, seeking continual development and improvement of entry points to the Union.

Support colleagues across the Union to prepare and create promotional and induction materials for students and relevant stakeholders to support better understanding of the Union’s impact.

Support colleagues across the Union to induct staff and volunteers (e.g. student representatives) to the Union and it’s services, empowering them to effectively and efficiently highlight the most appropriate points of entry to the Union.

Lead on the recruitment, training, safeguarding and coordination of Welcome volunteers across the academic year.

3.      Proactive, impactful and visible SU role in students’ educational journey

Design, deliver, develop and manage the Union’s Project Reach Out ‘phone bank’ work, providing ongoing training and supporting colleagues to proactively seek student opinions, better understand issues affecting the student experience, and provide effective and efficient support to students across the institution.

Use student feedback and insight to develop, deliver and monitor the Union’s “self-help” online Help Desk, proactively seeking and pre-empting information valuable to the student journey and making it accessible to our diverse membership.

Enact and/or initiate strategies to grow and/or develop content and participation with the online Help Desk.

Contribute to Student Voice reporting, ensuring student feedback can be directed to resolution effectively and promoting positive student perceptions of Project Reach Out, Student Voice and their SU’s impact.

Coordinate and champion the creation, maintenance and evolution of welcoming, accessible physical Beds SU spaces, ensuring they are fit for purpose.

Lead and support the development and high performance of a successful student rights education programme, ensuring effective engagement of Members.

Develop effective relationships within the role and team with University colleagues in order to promote the SU’s strategic goals, partnership in advancing student interests.

4.      Delivery of student-centred Advice Service and support for/advancement of student matters

Recruit, manage and support team of Advisors to support student casework and individual advocacy.

Support the development and high performance of a successful information and advice-giving service for our members.

Enact and/or initiate strategies to grow and/or develop participation with the Advice Service, whilst ensuring and protecting quality of provision.

Undertake continuous evaluation of the Service in line with student expectations, sector best practice and strategic goals.

Investigate, engage with and embrace new technologies to grow effective engagement with our diverse and disparate student membership.

Provide briefings for/attend meetings with and on behalf of elected representatives, engaging stakeholders on student matters and SU policy to successfully advance student interests.

Contribute to Student Voice reporting, using trend analysis to inform the Union’s wider representative actions, promoting positive student perceptions of the Advice Service, Student Voice and their SU’s impact.

Develop and manage systems for individual student issues in Advice to inform and feed into the Union’s work and campaigns to engage other students and deliver positive change. Work effectively across the SU to establish and evolve opportunities.

Manage production and availability of reports/research/insight from aforementioned areas of work and SU aims.

Produce and distribute communications content across mediums to promote student awareness and engagement across the role’s responsibility areas and SU plans as required.

As delegated lead, ensure that Beds SU remain compliant and demonstrating best practice in: management and processing of student data; safeguarding; Prevent; other relevant/emergent legislation/regulations/guidelines, as appropriate to the evolving service.

Personal Development

This position will be required to develop institutional knowledge of relevant issues pertaining to Bedfordshire students and student life; and keep abreast of Higher Education policy, building awareness within the Student Voice team and across the union’s staff and officer team of sector developments.

Beds SU is keen to ensure the continuing development of our staff. We will provide ongoing training as required to ensure skills remain up to date and enhance career progression opportunities. Role holders are to identify development needs, aspirations and opportunities, which will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Our Green Impact

All employees at Beds SU are asked to support the Union’s ongoing efforts to improve day to day sustainability practices both internally and in all work undertaken with our stakeholders. This includes – but is not limited to – ethical sourcing, resource, and waste management, highlighting potential environmental impacts of planned activities, and reducing the carbon footprint of business mileage.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Service and Information Manager

Attributes & Requirements:

Knowledge & Experience
Relevant experience and/or qualifications, especially regarding provision of welfare support

Effective people management/line-management

Devising and delivering against plans and agreed objectives

Empowering others, staff and/or volunteers, to shape and deliver successful outcomes

Designing/delivering training and development programmes

An understanding of current issues in Higher Education, those affecting students and universities

An understanding of current welfare issues affecting a diverse range of students

Administering structures and meetings that engage others successfully

An understanding of and commitment to the principles of equal opportunities, diversity & inclusion
Skills
Coaching/mentoring skills, and/or ability to support others to achieve their goals among competing priorities

Ability to adapt style to get the best results from a team

Project management and team/peer coordination skills

Ability to develop and deliver evidence-based influencing or change-making activity to achieve a goal

Excellent organisational skills, and can manage work time effectively, prioritise and manage multiple project briefs

Excellent communication and presentation skills (written & oral)

Good relationship and stakeholder management skills

Computer literacy and IT/internet/app fluency

Familiarity with primary and secondary research

Personal Qualities
Passionate about diverse, peer-led communities changing their environments positively

Patience, enthusiasm, ability to motivate others

Ability to work in a democratic environment, respecting democratic decisions

Flexible and adaptable approach to work and working hours

Member focussed, with the ability to work with a diverse range of people

Ability to work on own initiative, as well as part of a team

Evidence of own Continued Professional Development

Desire to contribute to driving continuous improvement