Job Related Information

This document includes information about the role for which you are applying and the information you will need to provide with your application. 1. Role Details

Vacancy reference 13451

Job title: Academic Services Manager (Customer Relationship Management)

VOICE (Customer Relationship Management System) Manager Reports to:

Salary: £32,004 - £38,183

Terms and conditions: Academic Related

Grade 7

Duration of post: Temporary contract to 5 March 2019

Working hours: 37 hours, Monday to Friday

Location: Milton Keynes

Closing date: 6 April 2017

Type of application form accepted: Full version and covering letter of no more than 1,000 words on how you meet the person specification in the Job Related Information

Number of referees required: Three

Unit recruitment contact: Staffing & Recruitment Support (ACTS)

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2. Summary of duties

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this role is to manage the day to day support for the Open University’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System. The role holder will also act as delegated product owner and therefore liaise with IT and system users on prioritising system improvements. They will also manage all system parameter changes to ensure that BAU and new activities are effectively supported, manage BAU enhancements and defect analysis and management, and manage helpdesk user support. This role is pivotal in ensuring day to day support of the University’s most important tool for supporting students. The role holder will also be responsible for the management of staff providing direct user support.

Although the role holder is based in Academic Services, support for CRM will operate across other areas of the University.

Main Responsibilities This is not intended as a comprehensive list of duties or a restrictive definition of the post, but is rather a guide to the current main priorities for the incumbent

Day to day management

This involves working within the Business System Support team to ensure that student-facing staff are fully supported in their use of VOICE and that the system is efficiently configured to serve their needs.

 Act as day-to-day CRM product owner, this involves prioritisation of IT development work, liaising with operational managers to negotiate and agree system changes and representing business needs with IT.

 Manage the analysis, specification and delivery of system enhancements.

 Work with operational mangers to develop and enhance system settings to improve support to students, eg activity plans, categorisation, queue/position structures etc.

 Manage the helpdesk function to ensure user queries are effectively supported with high quality advice and prompt action of requests and that resources are adequately aligned.

 Line management of CRM support co-ordinators.

 Manage the CRM Liaison practitioners group to promote efficient CRM use.

 Close working with the Academic Services Manager (Customer Relationship Management System Change Acceptance, Training and Quality) in areas of best practice, training, support of the advocate (superuser) network, acceptance testing and so on.

 Manage the CRM user permissions policy, ensuring that it is compliant with audit requirements.

 Develop a CRM support contingency plan in case of disaster.

Managing change:

Working with IT and business areas seeking to make process changes and improvements to improve efficiency and support new business or legal requirements. This includes undertaking analysis of the requirements, creating process maps, specifying system or parameter changes required to support any business change or new process.

 Working with the Academic Services Manager (Customer Relationship Management System Change Acceptance, Training and Quality) to develop and maintain an understanding of the main business

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processes that CRM supports, to ensure that system configuration best matches business practice.

 Manage the development of systems or parameter changes required to support business changes.

 Manage any system upgrades/regular releases to ensure that business needs are fully supported in terms of functionality, timing and testing resources. Ensure that a communications plan is implemented and work with the Academic Services Manager (Customer Relationship Management System Change Acceptance, Training and Quality) to develop briefings for advocates, training and materials.

 Provide CRM expertise to relevant projects to demonstrate how to use CRM most effectively to best support staff supporting students for both strategic and tactical changes.

Monitoring and improving the student experience

 Ensuring CRM is set up in such a way as to most effectively provide useful MI on student behaviour while at the same time ensuring operational efficiency and hence the best student experience.

 Ensure that the student experience is considered when making system changes or developing new processes.

 Support business areas seeking to understand how they can use CRM to improve the student experience from the point of initial contact to the completion of their request, including interfaces to other systems.

All staff are expected:

 To undertake any other duties which may reasonably be required;  To take reasonable care of the Health and Safety of themselves and that of any other person who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work;  To demonstrate a strong commitment to the principles and practice of equality and diversity.

3. Person specification

Requirements (E = Essential/ D = Desirable)

Education, qualifications and training

Essential  A first degree or equivalent education, or work experience at a comparable level.

Knowledge, work and other relevant experience

Essential:  Experience of working in a customer focussed environment.  Experience of working with a customer relationship management or similar systems.

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 Experience of using systems to support business processes.  Experience of analysing user needs, developing a specification, and making system changes to support the requirements.

 Staff management.

 Experience working as part of a large cross unit team.

Desirable:  Knowledge of OU Student Systems.

 Understanding of the Higher Education sector, current issues and developments.  Knowledge of data protection and audit requirements

Skills &  Effective communication skills and the ability to express views and ideas both verbally and Capabilities in writing.

 Experience of writing reports, plans or proposals and presenting these in public.

 Expertise in negotiating and the proven ability to influence outcomes.

 Demonstrable organisational, planning, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

 Team-working capabilities in collaborating with colleagues, managers and staff across the organisation to ensure service excellence.

 Ability to identify skills within the team and allocate resource accordingly.

 Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and partners to deliver campaign objectives.

 Ability to lead, without authority, cross-University teams.

 Ability to influence peer groups and senior stakeholder groups.

 Ability to deliver a customer-focused approach, considering impact on our students.

 High level of numeracy, attention to detail and analytical approach to problem solving.

 Ability to meet challenging deadlines whilst remaining calm under pressure.

 Ability to deal with ambiguity in managing multiple activities and deliver actions whilst working in number of different teams.

 Self-confident, resilient and ability to deal with obstacles and challenges with minimal supervision.

4. Role specific requirements e.g. Shift working

Willingness to work occasional weekends and evening events. Occasional travel to other locations or Nation Offices

5. About the unit/department

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ACADEMIC SERVICES

The most crucial interactions and relationships with registered students are managed through Academic Services, working in collaboration with colleagues in the University, and in particular those in central academic units. More than 900 staff are employed by the unit at or through:

 Four central sub-units based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes:  Access, Careers and Teaching Support  Assessment, Credit and Qualifications  Student Support  Office of the Director, Academic Services  Three National Centres based in Scotland, Wales, Ireland  Nine English locations (soon to transition to four Student Recruitment and Support Centres) Academic Services is led by the Director of Academic Services who reports to the University Secretary.

Student Support

These roles will be based in the Student Support sub-unit which offers strategic and operational leadership in student support. It is led by Pat Atkins, Director of Student Support, and encompasses the management of the Learner Support and Regional Services functions in each of the English locations (each hosting Student Support Teams (SSTs) aligned to each Faculty and Central Academic Unit), the SST Hub based in Milton Keynes and a distributed Directorate Team.

6. How to obtain more information about the role or application process

If you would like to discuss the particulars of this role before making an application please contact Rachel Hawkins on (0)1908 654078 or email: [email protected] or Audrey Mulholland on (0) 1908 655601 or email: [email protected]

If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact Cheryl-Anne O’Toole on (0)1908 653516 or email: [email protected]

7. The application process and where to send completed applications

Please ensure that your application 6 April 2017 (12:00 noon) reaches the University by:

Post it to:

Name/Job title: Cheryl -Anne O’Toole Staffing & Recruitment Support Assistant

Department/Unit: Academic Services

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The Open University Address: Frank Henshaw Building Hammerwood Gate Kents Hill Milton Keynes

Post Code: MK7 6BY

Or e-mail your application to: [email protected]

8. Selection process and date of interview

The interview panel will be Rachel Hawkins chaired by: Assistant Director, Business and Online Student Support

The other members of the Audrey Mulholland and Matt Jones (IT).) interview panel will be:

The interviews will take place W/C 24 April 2017 on: The selection process for this Further details on the selection process will also be sent to post will include shortlisted candidates.

We will let you know as soon as possible after the closing date whether you have been shortlisted for interview. Further details on the selection process will also be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.

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