Student Support Services Manager

The Purpose of the Role

Trinity Business School seeks to recruit a proactive, enthusiastic and experienced individual to lead our Student Support Services team which is responsible for providing a comprehensive support service to TBS students and those who deliver our programmes. Enhancing the student experience is a key part of the School’s strategy and this role will be critical to ensuring we offer a distinctive, high quality student support service.

The post-holder will provide leadership to the Student Support Services team and will be expected to deliver high student satisfaction levels and accreditation/ranking scores commensurate with an eminent international business school. The successful candidate will report to the School Administrative Manager and will work closely with Programme Directors and the Directors of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching & Learning.

Context

Trinity Business School is at an advanced stage of a transformative high growth strategy which began in 2016. Since then it has been one of the fastest growing Business Schools in the developed world and has grown by 150%. It has AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditations, placing it amongst a select 0.6% of business schools in the World who are triple accredited. The delivery of the Trinity Business School strategy involves growth driven primarily through the development of new degree programmes and the expansion of executive education activity.

Business Schools operate in a very competitive marketplace and it is critical that Trinity Business School provides a student experience that is in line with international standards. Additionally, the delivery of a highly flexible, responsive and effective service is critical to the implementation of the School’s Rankings and Accreditation strategies.

The Student Support Services Manager role is a varied and challenging role demanding initiative, attention to detail, a strong service focus and excellent interpersonal, communication and

organisational skills. The successful candidate will have the enthusiasm and capacity to grow in this role and will work closely with the Programme Directors and other professional staff teams to ensure TBS provides an excellent student experience across its undergraduate and postgraduate portfolios.

Main Responsibilities

• Develop an understanding of the School’s vision of the student learning experience and manage policy development and execution that enriches the TBS student experience.
• Keep abreast of the international business education market to benchmark against key competitors and work with colleagues to develop and maintain common standards for student support, based on best practice.
• Manage the TBS student experience by delivering operational excellence in terms of programme management. Develop and implement a set of common core business processes, standardised on best practice, and undertake regular reviews to ensure continuous improvement.
• Meet regularly with Programme Directors to report and review the performance of programmes and continuously strive to amend practices across the portfolio to ensure continued improvement to service delivery.
• Line-manage the Programme Administrators (Undergraduate and Postgraduate), developing their skills so that they can provide the best service for the School’s students and those delivering our programmes.
• Be responsible for the achievement of the Student Support Services Team student satisfaction level and quality goals.
• Take an overview of the results of student evaluations, highlight important issues and take any necessary follow-up action.
• Respond quickly to operational challenges and arising needs or concerns.
• Co-ordinate activities with other professional staff teams, including Recruitment, Careers and Alumni, to ensure an effective integrated support system for students throughout the student life-cycle.
• Co-ordinate and maintain relationships with student representatives and help them to develop strategies for supporting other students who raise queries, concerns or indicate problems.
• Lead on the development and organisation of School-based welcome activities, orientation activities and social programme activities and conduct post-event analysis to identify and incorporate enhancements into future events.
• Handle and resolve complex and escalated student cases by developing protocols and working collaboratively with other School teams and College offices.
• Take the lead in developing student-led enhancement activities, for example student engagement groups.
• Develop a communications plan for students that directly informs them in relation to
• student support and social events/activities.
• Contribute to the accreditations process by overseeing the gathering, reviewing and maintaining of accreditation data and producing related statistics for inclusion in accreditation submissions.
• Act as Committee Secretary for School Committees as required and implement actions arising from the decisions of the Committees.
• Deputise for the School Administrative Manager when required and represent the School at College-level meetings and events.
• Perform other duties that will arise from time to time and as directed by the Dean of the School and Business Development & Operations Manager.

Person Requirements

The role-holder will require the following knowledge, skills and attributes for successful performance in the role.

Qualifications

• Hold a third level qualification at degree level

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the business education sector (desirable).
• A thorough knowledge of College regulations, in particular, academic programmes and student- related regulations (desirable).

Experience

• At least five years’ professional administrative experience (essential) preferably in an international Business School environment (desirable);
• Significant experience of managing and developing a professional / administrative team in a university or similar organization (essential);
• Demonstrated experience in process development and improvement (essential);
• Experience in the provision of high caliber customer support (essential);
• Excellent IT skills (essential) including experience using CMIS and SITS (desirable);
• Experience fostering collaborative working relationships acrtoss a diverse range of stakeholders (essential);
• Ability to think creatively to develop initiatives that will enhance the student experience (essential)
• Experience of working to tight deadlines, multi-tasking and managing different and conflicting demands (essential).

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal skills and service-mindedness with the ability to interface collegially and effectively with others and foster good working relationships (essential).
• Proficient computer skills with a high-level of competency in MS Office packages (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) (essential) as well as experience using CMIS and SITS (desirable).
• Ability to operate flexibly within a busy work environment and be able to shift focus when required (essential).
• Has a ‘can-do’ attitude and is committed to the aspirations of TBS (essential).

At Trinity, we are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Trinity welcomes applications from all individuals, including those applicants with disabilities, those who may have had non-traditional career paths, those who have taken time out for reasons including family or caring responsibilities. We also welcome international applicants including those whom have been displaced due to war.

We are ranked 3rd in the world for gender equality (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2020) and we hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award, recognising our work to advance gender equality. The University is actively pursuing a Silver level award, which it has committed to achieving by 2025. Trinity is committed to supporting the work-life balance and to creating a family-friendly working environment.