Head of Registry

About the Opportunity

The overall purpose of the role is to provide management and leadership of the College’s Registry. The role holder is responsible for the delivery of Registry services efficiently and to a high standard including: student records, registration and enrolment, assessments, transcripts, student complaints and student disciplinary processes, and statutory reporting. Building and maintaining strong working relationships with faculty and other professional service staff to ensure College administration operates efficiently, effectively and delivers excellent service to all stakeholders. Responsible for the line management of two Deputy Heads of Registry and the Student Conduct and Complaints Officer.

The College is developing rapidly and is seeking to more closely align and integrate with Northeastern University in Boston and its global network. The delivery of this strategy will impact all areas of professional services and the Head of Registry will need to take ownership for ensuring that Registry positively responds to this work, effectively implements required changes and proactively responds to challenges when they arise.

The role holder reports to the Academic Registrar, Assistant Director of Academic Services.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for the management, and related staff, processes and systems, of the following areas of the College’s work:
  • student registration processes, including Quercus the College’s student information system and any successor system;
  • student assessments;
  • individual student academic records;
  • formal student procedures, including complaints, appeals, disciplinary matters, change of programme, breaks in study, withdrawals, progression and awards;
  • liaison with the Student Loan Company in relation to student registration and fees;
  • student and graduate statistical reporting, analysis and statutory returns;
  • production of confirmation of enrolment, council tax and bank letters for students;
  • production of transcripts and diplomas
• Provide overall management of Registry to ensure that systems and processes are reliable and efficient while meeting the needs and expectations of students and staff.
• To actively manage Registry processes to deliver excellent, efficient and timely services, leading change where necessary to adapt to institutional development and the delivery of its strategy.
• To actively contribute to the development of wider College policies, processes, and procedures to ensure that the College is compliant with the OfS, QAA, OIA, HEFCE and other regulatory bodies’ standards and achieves high rankings in the National Student Survey and other student surveys as relevant for the College.
• Lead, develop and manage staff within Registry, providing a professional working environment that promotes a culture of continuous improvement and enables staff to perform to their full potential, and to ensure staff are supported and encouraged to upskill, change and adapt to keep pace with institutional developments.
• Oversight and management of the Registry staffing structure and resources in support of the College’s strategy and ensure that service objectives are successfully met.
• Propose a budget for Registry and then oversee financial planning and management for Registry to ensure it operates efficiently within budget.
• To support the Assistant Director of Academic Services in delivery of College strategies in relation to the student experience and specific aspects of student life in London.
• To support the Director and Assistant Director of Academic Services with the ongoing integration of the College with Northeastern University Boston and its global network and in particular managing aspects of integration work related to the responsibilities of the Registry.
• Participate in various College committees, steering groups and working groups.
• To maintain a working knowledge of higher education sector developments and good practice in relation to the Registry’s areas of responsibility.

Other Duties

• Occasional travel and work in unsociable hours will be required.
• To familiarise, keep updated and comply with all College policies and regulations (e.g. Health and Safety, Data Protection, Staff Handbook, etc.)
• Any other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the necessary experience and/or training and as instructed by the Assistant Director of Academic Services, or member of the Executive Committee.

Personal Specification

Education, Qualifications and Training

• Undergraduate degree (Essential)
• Graduate qualification/degree (Desirable)
• Management qualification (Desirable)

Experience and knowledge

• Experience of managing a student information system in a higher education setting (Essential)
• Good experience of staff line management, including staff induction, staff development and management of performance (Essential)
• Significant experience of Registry role(s) within the higher education sector (Essential)
• Management experience of at least two of the following areas: student registration, student assessment, statutory reporting, student appeals, complaints and/or discipline (Essential)
• Experience of delivering reports and documentation with high levels of accuracy to tight deadlines (Essential)
• A good understanding of GDPR, the Equality Act and other legislation relevant to the delivery of Registry services (Essential)
• Significant experience of understanding and appropriately applying and explaining regulations, policies and procedures (Essential)
• Experience of the Quercus or Banner student information systems (Desirable)
• Experience in the development of processes, procedures and internal guidance (Desirable)
• Experience of managing change and/or adapting and developing systems and processes to support delivery of institutional strategy (Desirable)

Skills and aptitudes

• Ability to effectively manage staff and delegate appropriately to meet deadlines and key performance indicators (Essential)

• Ability to make decisions while under pressure in a fast moving 

  environment (Essential)

• Strong interpersonal skills to work with students and staff at all levels, including senior academic colleagues (Essential)

• Excellent oral communication skills and high level of technical accuracy in written English (Essential)
• Ability to work with tact, diplomacy and discretion, particularly when dealing with sensitive or confidential matters (Essential)
• Ability to pay close attention to detail (Essential)
• Excellent IT skills, using Word, Excel, email, Internet, and Zoom (Essential)

Other

• A DBS check will be required (Essential)
• Available to occasionally work outside of normal office hours (Essential)

Position Type

Academic Administration

Additional Information

Paul Richards

They can be reached at the following:

p.richards@northeastern.edu