JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Fixed term for around 10 months (maternity cover), full time. This vacancy is available from mid-November 2026.

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 Alison Ashby, Academic Quality and Governance Manager.

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 overseeing the operational management of the University’s student complaints and appeals process and apprentice employer complaints process. You will be responsible for casework management of complaints and appeals ensuring that all cases are investigated in line with the University’s procedures. You will provide expert guidance to academic and professional services staff on effective complaints and appeals handling.

You will also support the smooth functioning of the student disciplinary procedure by attending disciplinary panels to ensure that the procedure is followed and resulting actions are effectively completed. Outside of peak periods of student complaints and appeals you will also support the work of the team in updating student facing regulations, policies and procedures and in supporting with programme validations and re-validations.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

• Be responsible for overseeing the effective operational management of the University’s student appeals and complaints procedures, ensuring that all complaints and appeals that are escalated beyond the informal stage are effectively responded to in line with University procedures.

• Create case folders, assign complaints and appeals, and ensure that all complaints and appeals are investigated in line with the procedure.

• Arrange stage 2 appeal meetings including taking minutes to capture the points discussed.

• Ensure that completion of procedure letters are issued when cases are closed.

• Act as the point of contact with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

• Provide induction and training for staff on casework matters including holding reviews of complex cases to capture learning.

• Monitor, review and disseminate informal student feedback received.

• Code and theme casework outcomes (complaints/appeals/misconduct) to identify systemic issues to report to Director of Academic Quality and Governance and into governance structures.

• Compile annual reports on complaints and appeals and provide quarterly data to the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Trustees.

• Attend Academic Misconduct Panel meetings as the Academic Quality and Governance Directorate representative, to ensure that procedure is followed and that the minutes accurately reflect the discussions at the meeting.

• Recruit and brief student volunteers to participate in quality events.

• Assist with the maintenance of the University’s higher education academic infrastructure including undertaking audits and reviewing and drafting policies, procedures, regulations and guidance documents.

• Support the team with preparations for programme validation and re-validation events.

• Work with the Director of Academic Quality and Governance in disseminating key quality issues across the University including delivering quality related training.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Students, Apprentice employers, Dean and Deputy Dean of School, Programme Leaders, Heads of School, Academic Registry Team, Members of Senior Leadership Team and managers across the University, External bodies including the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

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

In a similar role (E, A, I).

Within the education sector / built environment / higher education (D, A, I).

Applying policies or regulatory frameworks (D, A, I, T).

Managing sensitive or confidential information (D, A, I).

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

Strong attention to detail (E, A, I, T).

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

General knowledge of higher education complaints and appeals procedures (E, A, I).

Analytical and problem-solving skills (E, A).

Strong planning, co-ordination and organisation skills (E, A, I).

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

Understanding of the importance of confidentiality and data protection (E, I).

A positive, professional, and resilient approach with the ability to remain calm and considered under pressure. (E, I).

Commitment to a growth mindset and to continuing professional development

(E, I).

Knowledge of using SITS, a student information system (D, I).

Familiarity with Higher Education Practices or Protocols (D, A, 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 range £33,000 to £35,000 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 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 Alison Ashby on 0118 4677923 or email a.ashby@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 Tuesday 25 August 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.

As this is a fixed term role, if you were (in the future) to be offered and accept this role, it would mean relinquishing your contractual permanent employment status with the University. Following the expiry of the fixed term period, your employment with the University would cease, unless an alternative role is secured. If instead you would like to apply for this role on the basis of it being a secondment (i.e. not relinquishing your permanent status), please discuss this with your current line manager. Only your line manager can consider and agree to a secondment because this impacts the resourcing in your current team. Please contact HR if you or your line manager need to discuss this further.