Academic Development Officer (Degree Apprentice) Candidate Information Pack

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 1 of 10

JOB DESCRIPTION

Contents Page 2 Advert and How to Apply Page 3 About NCUK Page 4 Job Description Page 6 Person Specification Page 8 NCUK Values Page 10

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 2 of 10 ADVERT AND HOW TO APPLY

Job Advert

Role: Academic Development Officer (Degree Apprentice) Starting Salary: £14,000 Location: Manchester (currently home-working)

Can you succeed in a busy administrative role in a global academic organisation, combining work with study towards a Degree Apprenticeship?

NCUK is seeking an Academic Development Officer to play a key role in delivering our business internationally. Your excellent administrative skills, interpersonal skills and attention to detail will make you ideally suited to provide administrative support to the Academic Development Team to assist them in the provision of a professional, proactive and effective service focusing on teaching and learning support.

We are delighted to be offering this post as a Degree Apprenticeship and intend to enrol the successful candidate onto the Chartered Manager Degree Apprentice programme at Manchester Metropolitan University for a January 2021 intake.

Our ideal candidate will be hardworking, an effective teamworker, keen to learn and with a great eye for detail. Candidates should have a minimum 104-112 UCAS points (A level grades BCC) or equivalent, eg. BTEC grades DMM.

NCUK is a unique organisation, founded by UK universities to provide overseas students with guaranteed access to universities through our pathway programmes. More than 30,000 students have successfully progressed to UK Universities by completing NCUK programmes. Our qualifications combine the highest of academic standards with exceptional language, study and cultural skills, and are currently delivered in 19 different countries across four continents. NCUK is a trading subsidiary of the Northern Consortium, a registered educational charity.

We offer a friendly working environment and excellent benefits, including at least 35 days’ holiday and pension contributions of up to 8% of salary. This role will generally be based in our Head Office in central Manchester and may involve occasional domestic travel.

How to apply

Please apply by submitting your CV to [email protected] as soon as possible along with a Personal Statement highlighting how your experience and skills meet the requirements of the job description and person specification and why you think you would be suitable for the role. Your CV and Personal Statement should be in Microsoft Word or PDF Format.

Applications will close once the post has been filled – please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment but no later than Thursday 31st December 2020. We aim to hold interviews via Zoom during week commencing 5th January with the successful candidate starting in their role and enrolling on the Degree Apprenticeship programme on 14th January.

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 3 of 10

ABOUT NCUK

What we do NCUK develops and maintains academic qualifications that prepare students for entry to university. The company also provides university application support services which assists NCUK students in progressing to university following the completion of their course. NCUK franchises delivery of its academic qualifications to delivery partners, and we currently have over 80 delivery partners across 34 countries. NCUK’s Delivery Partners have an average of around 30 students and our largest partnership, the Sino British College (SBC) in Shanghai, has over 1500 students registered on NCUK pathway programmes. NCUK currently has delivery partners in the following countries:

 Algeria  Kenya  South Africa  Azerbaijan  Kuwait  South Korea  China  Madagascar  Taiwan  Colombia  Malaysia  Thailand  Cyprus  Malta  Turkey  Ghana  Mexico  Ukraine  Hong Kong  Morocco  United Kingdom  Hungary  Myanmar  Uzbekistan  India  Nigeria  Vietnam  Indonesia  Pakistan  Zimbabwe  Peru  Ireland  Japan  Qatar

Academic Pathway Programmes NCUK currently offers three pathway programmes:

• The NCUK International Foundation Year (IFY) is a modular qualification that prepares students for first- year entry to a wide range of bachelor degree courses. Students take a combination of three modules appropriate for their intended degree course and one of NCUK English for Academic Purposes for proof of English where needed. • The NCUK International Year One programmes (IYOne) in Business, Engineering and Law are first year undergraduate degree level equivalent programmes that articulate into the second year of selected undergraduate degree courses at NCUK Universities. The IYOne can be combined with the IFY to form a 2+2 study programme. • The NCUK Pre Masters Programme (PMP) provides specialised English for Academic Purposes (EAP) training and an introduction to the research skills needed for success at Masters level.

History of the Northern Consortium and current group structure The Northern Consortium was created in 1987 by a set of northern UK universities to collaborate in the delivery of educational programmes on a transnational basis, and to support the progression or ‘placement’ of students from those programmes into UK universities. The Consortium operated initially as a department of UMIST, and was active predominantly in Malaysia. The founding universities established a Charity in 1993 with the charitable purpose of the advancement of education. In 1999 the Northern Consortium became active in China and, in 2003, established a wholly-owned operating subsidiary, NCUK, to support its commercial operations.

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 4 of 10

ABOUT NCUK

That structure: a Charity founded by UK universities, with a wholly-owned operating subsidiary, remains today. Within the Group:

• The Northern Consortium is responsible for fulfilling its charitable objects and public interest obligations. It does this both directly (through, for example, the provision of scholarships) and indirectly (through the operation of NCUK in delivering educational programmes); • NCUK operates commercially both to fulfil the charitable objects and public interest obligations of the Northern Consortium, and to raise funds for the Northern Consortium. Since 1987, the Northern Consortium and NCUK have supported over 35,000 students in their progression to a UK university. NCUK Universities NCUK has developed strong relationships with a number of universities, including 10 founder members of the Northern Consortium as well as additional universities in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. These NCUK Universities are the primary progression destinations for students completing NCUK qualifications:

 Adelphi University   University of Alberta   Liverpool Hope University  The University of Auckland  Liverpool John Moores University   The  Manchester Metropolitan University   The University of Newcastle, Australia  Brunel University London  Queen Mary University of London  California State University, Monterey Bay  RMIT University  Cardiff University  Robert Gordon University  UCLan – University of Central Lancashire   University of Exeter  The  University of Huddersfield  University of South Australia  Keele University  Sheffield Hallam University   St. George’s University  London  Swinburne University of Technology  Lancaster University  The University of Western Australia

In addition to these universities further agreements are in place with other international universities. NCUK Staff NCUK employs a team of approximately 40 permanent staff and buys in services from around 75 external contractors, particularly for academic development and examination activities. Most of the staff team is based in the UK, predominantly in Manchester, with a small team based in a representative office in Beijing, China.

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 5 of 10

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title Academic Development Officer (Degree Apprentice)

Location Manchester Office / Home-based

Directorate Academic

Reports To Academic Development Manager

Job Purpose

To provide excellent administrative support for the Academic Development (AD) team and aid the provision of a professional, proactive and effective service focusing on teaching and learning support.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1 To provide administrative support to all areas of responsibility for the Academic Development (AD) team

To input and maintain data relating to activities required by all areas of the AD team ensuring records are 2 maintained accurately and completely. To make practical arrangements for virtual meetings and business travel where appropriate, including 3 booking webinars, rooms, equipment, accommodation, and travel.

4 To maintain systems and processes as required.

5 To format, proofread and edit documents and digital content.

6 To produce accurate minutes of meetings.

7 Manage shared AD email accounts e.g. Non-Standard Entry (NSE) requests

To administer the NCUK Teachers Hub and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) e.g. user registrations and 8 create and support content upload and maintenance

9 To work within the Company’s systems and processes and adhere to all operating standards.

To undertake learning and professional development activity suitable for the role, including achieving 10 suitable standards and progress in apprenticeship learning and assessments. Undertake any other duties commensurate with the status of the post, as deemed necessary by the ADMs 11 and Academic Division Heads of Department where required.

12 To uphold NCUK’s Values (appended).

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 6 of 10

JOB DESCRIPTION

Your job description does not define or limit your duties and you may be required to carry out other work within your abilities, either for your professional development or the business needs.

Review Arrangements Over time the nature of the job may change. Consequently, NCUK will expect to revise this job description from time to time and will consult with the job holder at the appropriate time.

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 7 of 10 PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications Essential () Desirable ()

GCSE Maths, C grade or above 

GCSE English, C grade or above 

A Levels BCC (104-112 UCAS points) or equivalent 

Experience Essential () Desirable ()

Previous work experience 

Experience of servicing meetings 

Skills/Knowledge Essential () Desirable ()

An excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages 

Strong communication skills, both oral and written 

Administrative skills 

Excellent standard of English language 

Personal Styles or Qualities Essential () Desirable ()

Hard-working and hands on approach for all aspects of the business 

The ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team 

Comfortable working under pressure, with good organisational skills and  the ability to manage a complex and varied workload

Accurate with excellent attention to detail 

A commitment to personal and professional development 

Your job description does not define or limit your duties and you may be required to carry out other work within your abilities, either for your professional development or the business needs.

Review Arrangements

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 8 of 10

JOB DESCRIPTION

Over time the nature of the job may change. Consequently, NCUK will expect to revise this job description from time to time and will consult with the job holder at the appropriate time.

Candidate Pack – Academic Development Officer (Jan 2021) Page 9 of 10 VISION, MISSION, VALUES