Head of Operations

Summary

The Head of Operations is responsible for heading all aspects of the delivery and assessment of Costs Lawyer programmes within the ACLT Registry function to ensure seamless delivery of course operations and student experience across the academic cycle. The Head of Operations will contribute to the management and delivery of Costs Lawyer qualification programmes through provision of high-quality administrative support.

The Head of Operations is the first point of contact for students and academic staff. They are responsible for the essential work of managing delivery of programme, ensuring that all operations across the academic year and student life cycle run efficiently. They will coordinate the design, course material updates and delivery of teaching and learning through the Online Learning Environment (OLE.)

They will ensure the successful implementation of ACLT processes and regulations; utilising strong communication skills, a proactive approach and keen attention to detail to ensure a smooth educational journey for those studying with ACLT. The role involves regular communication and collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders including students, tutors, suppliers and employers within the legal and costs industry sectors. Working with the ACLT Board, the ACL Council and executive and the Hook Tangaza team, the Head of Operations will contribute to the forward planning of ACLT education programmes each year, supporting continuous review and enhancement of existing systems and processes.

Working hours

• Full-time (35 per week) but flexible work patterns or part-time is possible.

Salary

• £40,000 per annum

Travel Requirements

• The role is home-based, with occasional UK business travel.

Responsibilities

Registry and Course Management

• Ensure the continued delivery of Costs Lawyer qualification programmes; with a particular focus upon course planning, quality assurance, managing delivery output and deadlines.
• Plan, oversee and ensure delivery of the necessary course and assessment materials for future courses, and associated design guidance for assignments, as well as other materials which may be defined during course development.
• Manage all aspects of the admissions cycle and decision-making process;
• Manage enrolment processes: updating management information systems with enrolled student data and enrolling students onto relevant modules and tutor groups within the online learning environment, Canvas.
• Supporting academic staff with planning of course delivery e.g., updating academic calendar/timetabling information and planning tutor groups.
• Uploading and maintaining course content on the online learning environment.
• Review of student and staff feedback and participation in quality assurance activities (for example, tutor management, review of pass rates etc).
• Monitor and report on the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the provision on a regular basis and to take action to improve provision where necessary ensuring that all quality assurance processes (including internal and external verification, and self-assessment) are effectively implemented in accordance with ACLT policies.
• Ensuring processes are in place for attendance monitoring and escalation as necessary.
• Dealing effectively and efficiently with enquiries from students, liaising with tutors, examiners and external partners as necessary.
• Providing admissions, enrolments, attendance and completion data as requested to CLSB.
• Quarterly reporting to the ACLT Board and acting as Board Secretary
• Management of periodic reporting to CLSB under its processes for annual monitoring and (re) accreditation; together with reporting other oversight bodies and regulatory authorities as may be required as the provision of ACLT evolves.

Academic Delivery

• Ensure Costs Lawyer Qualification programmes reflect best practice in pedagogy and assessment practices.
• Maintaining accurate records for tutors, assessors and external examiners on ACLT systems.
• Ensuring comprehensive student records and files are maintained and data retention processes are followed on all ACLT systems, observing GDPR.
• Administering the course delivery and assessment processes in accordance with the processes and regulations.
• Managing assessment/examination boards and review appeals requests and ensuring assessment and examinations data is entered into the Management Information System and Canvas in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Distributing assessment and examination results to students within agreed timeframes.
• Ensure that all relevant partners, oversight bodies, and regulatory authorities are kept informed and supplied with accurate data on students and their progression, to support effective monitoring and ensure compliance with applicable regulatory framework.

Communications

• Acting as first point of contact for all prospective and current student queries in a helpful, friendly and timely way.
• Responding to and/or escalating student feedback/complaints, ensuring a high level of customer service.
• Providing guidance on, and processing applications for, relevant procedures and processes including extensions, deferrals and course postponements and withdrawals with reference to the correct regulations.
• Maintaining relationship with external marketing team regarding publicising course content, admissions criteria and application deadlines via social media channels, our website and our partners, including at external events held by ACL or others.

Finance

• Liaising with the Chair of the Board and ACL to ensure all student fees, 3rd party invoices and academic staff fees are authorised and processed in a timely manner.
• Preparing and monitoring of the ACLT budget and providing reports as required

Team Management

• Line management of members of the Operations team including setting objectives and performance management
• Identify training and development needs within the team to ensure ongoing professional growth
• Promote a collaborative work environment to achieve business goals

Person Specification

Education

• Educated to at least Level 3 (A-levels, or equivalent) including GCSEs (or equivalent) at grades A to C in English and Maths
• Possession of a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is preferred or highly desirable.

Essential

• Experience coordinating/managing multiple, concurrent projects, with ability to manage expectations effectively when handling priorities with competing deadlines.
• Proven ability to work in a geographically distributed virtual team environment and build relationships with internal and external organisations.
• Ability to communicate appropriately with students to ensure they achieve the desired outcomes.
• Ability to communicate at a professional level with internal staff and external stakeholders.
• Ability to line effectively manage outsourced course designers and tutors.
• Experience working in university/college or professional education course administration, managing simultaneous courses.
• Understanding of admissions processes and/or assessment administration.
• Awareness of quality assurance procedures in a higher/professional education setting.
• Experience of arranging educational events e.g. examination centres, assessment days.
• Experience of supporting and servicing committee meetings.
• Demonstrable knowledge and use of appropriate IT (particularly Microsoft Office.)
• High level of attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent time-management, ability to prioritise tasks and to work to deadlines.
• Maintaining and developing student information systems to ensure accurate data retention and reporting.
• Able to work independently without close supervision, producing consistently accurate and high-quality work.
• Able to use own initiative to deal with day-to-day tasks, knowing when to escalate to senior staff.
• Able to manage difficult situations and communications with tact and sensitivity
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability and willingness to work flexibly within a small team including working occasional weekends and additional hours when needed, particularly during the admissions and assessment periods.
• Willingness to instigate technological solutions to tasks to increase efficiency.

Desirable

• Experience of forward planning across an academic cycle.
• Knowledge of the legal education sector in England and Wales.
• Knowledge of course and module structures and assessment methods in higher/professional education.
• Understanding of context of professional qualifications or working with professional associations.
• Creating and updating on website content management systems, social media platforms (particularly LinkedIn) and online / virtual learning environments.

How To Apply

Please send your CV together with a short cover letter outlining your motivation and why you are a good fit for this role to [email protected]

Note: The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position.