The successful candidate will be the first in a new role created within Team Education. You will work across both Student Voice Team and the Advice & Policy Team.
Work within our Student Voice Team includes helping to support our representation structures and through them our work on student consultation, feedback and co-production of the University experience. To support a network of over 1,000 student representatives at programme, department and faculty level who work with programme leaders and faculty management to identify and implement improvements to the delivery of teaching and learning. As well as supporting reps to raise issues directly with the University, the team play a key role in the ability of the Union to represent students by helping quantify and analyse the feedback and experience of student reps and identify cross cutting and systemic issues affecting students. This information helps drive organisational change and is at the core of our annual Quality Report, the Union’s assessment of learning and teaching at the University against the Office for Students Conditions of Registration.
Work within Advice and Policy Team provides free, confidential, non-judgemental, and independent advice to students, specialising in academic and housing. The union assess its ability to offer this as a key part of the diverse range of services it provides which enhance the student experience.
The team’s current caseload covers Personal Extenuating Circumstances, Extensions, Complaints against the University and/or students, Academic Appeals, Academic Misconduct and Professional Suitability. As Northumbria is one of the leading providers of higher education training in nursing, education, and social services our education caseload extends beyond academic issues to consider issues of professional standards. We also run yearly education campaigns that target students who may accidentally breach University regulations, in particular international students who come from different academic backgrounds to those of Northumbria.
Over the past few years, the Union has also developed its capacity to deliver housing advice to students. This is an area of the student experience which directly impacts their academic achievement, and now more than ever with the cost-of-living crisis. Poor quality housing and breaches of tenancy contribute to anxiety, issues attending University and financial stress.
The Union also provides a diverse range of student activities with media, volunteering, societies and student fundraising and we look to draw on these different elements of the student experience to inform representation work.
Participation by students has increased annually with the past few years seeing record election turnouts, a key measure of student engagement. When a student joins Northumbria University, they automatically become a member of the Union.
To succeed, the post holder must be organised, efficient and enthusiastic about working within a busy environment that serves a diverse student body and passionate about the importance of student led representation as a means for students to develop their skills and character and bring about change within the University to make a difference to the lives of others.