JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with some flexibility in start/finish times.

Organisation structure

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Quality and Governance Directorate.

Your line manager will be Kate Greenway, Quality Assurance Officer.

Place of work flexibility

Your time will be split between the Horizons, Reading office and your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but must include a minimum of two working days each week in Horizons only on the core days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable – please see the ‘Working from home’ section on our Careers Site for further information.

High level summary of job role

Working within the Academic Quality and Governance Directorate, you will be responsible for supporting the University’s key quality assurance and academic governance processes. You will play a central part in administering programme approval, monitoring and reviewing activities; supporting accreditation visits and collaborative provision oversight; and managing essential external examiner processes. You will also be responsible for servicing committees by acting as secretary for assigned committees, maintaining high quality documentation and ensuring that governance records are robust.

You will provide expert guidance to academic and professional services staff, contribute to policy development, and support internal and external audits and regulatory submissions. Alongside this, a key aspect of the role is to enhance quality processes through the effective use of digital tools, promoting efficiency, best practice, and a positive user experience.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

Quality assurance

• Administration of programme approval (validation and periodic review and re-validation), modification, monitoring and review processes.

• Arrange and coordinate visits associated with institutional and programme accreditation, monitoring and operation of collaborative links.

• Coordinate the appointment and induction of external examiners.

• Provide guidance to academic and professional services staff on QA procedures.

• Contribute to the development and review of academic policies and procedures embedding best practice and sector developments.

• Prepare papers and reports for committees and meetings and attend as appropriate to present these items.

• Contribute to evidence packs for internal and external audits, review, and regulatory submissions.

• Compile annual quality reports as required.

• Monitor compliance with consumer protection law and OIA good practice.

• Champion the use of digital tools for quality processes and streamlining QA processes to improve efficiency and improved user experience.

• Assist with collating documentation to support the investigation of student complaints and appeals.

• In the Student Casework Officer’s absence, act as University Complaints and Appeals Officer.

• Attend and represent the Academic Quality and Governance Directorate on student academic misconduct panel hearings.

Academic governance

• Support the servicing of academic committees and working groups including acting as secretary for assigned committees.

• Prepare high quality agendas, papers, minutes and follow-up actions.

• Support the meeting Chairs by compiling a script and meeting with them in advance of the meeting.

• Ensure committee documentation is accurate, timely and compliant with institutional regulations.

• Support the induction of new committee members and promote the committee mentoring programme.

• Support the recruitment of new student representatives in collaboration with the Student Community team.

• Support student committee representatives for assigned committees and arrange to meet with them before committee meetings.

• Maintain governance records and support reporting requirements.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Head of Schools, Dean and Deputy Dean of School, Programme Leaders, Academic Governance Lead, Student and Registry Services teams, Committee chairs and members.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed: This is not a heading

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of safer recruitment and onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure unless specified otherwise), and three years employment history. This is all part of our commitment to safeguarding our students. Keeping our students safe is a responsibility shared by everyone within the University.

Qualifications and training

GCSE Maths and English language Grade C or 4 or above (E, A).

Further education level qualifications (D, A).

Degree level qualification (D, A).

Previous experience

Experience in academic administration or quality assurance within higher education (E, A).

Experience of committee servicing and policy development (E, A).

Project or event management experience (D, A).

Behaviours and attitudes

Alignment to the University’s core values and growth mindset approach, which reflect our culture. Refer to the specific behaviours within the Competency Framework (E, I) – summarised within the careers site.

Skills, knowledge, other requirements

Understanding of UK higher education regulatory frameworks and governance structures (E, I).

Strong organisational and communication skills (E, I).

Ability to interact and build relationships with various stakeholders (E, I).

Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines (E, I).

Ability to write clearly and concisely (E, I).

Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy (E, I).

Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students regardless of your area of work within the University; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed. The University is regulated by the Office for Students and Ofsted, and we have specific requirements and expectations around safeguarding, Prevent, and anti-harassment and bullying. This is all part of our Competency Framework requirements (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Salary up to £30,000 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.

• You will have access to Microsoft Office 365 applications for personal use.

• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.

• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact either Kate Greenway on 0118 467 7939 or email k.greenway@ube.ac.uk, or Helen Edwards on 0118 921 4678 or h.edwards@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Monday 15 June 2026 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.