Higher Education Progression Officer

The post holder will develop, organise and evaluate a series of recruitment and outreach events and activities designed to maximise progression to Higher Education and ultimately to aid the achievement of HE recruitment targets at Bradford College. This will also include the development of a programme of activities to support internal progression of Level 3 students within the College.

Priority will be given to the development, organisation and evaluation of activities for students who meet the Widening Participation criteria outlined in Bradford College’s Access Agreement to raise awareness HE and raise aspirations and attainment. Key target audiences for the programme of outreach activities will include white working class males, looked after children, care leavers, students from backgrounds currently underrepresented in higher education, primary school children and key stage 4 & 5 students in secondary schools/colleges.

Other responsibilities will include representing the college at a range of external events and activities designed to raise awareness of the college’s HE provision and maximise student recruitment. An ability to build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders including college Heads of Faculties and Departments, Secondary Schools, Sixth Forms and colleges, careers service and Connexions will be key to the role.

The post holder will effectively account manage the Bradford College Progression Package in partnership with schools and colleges and to contribute to and provide guidance to support the college’s HE student recruitment strategy through activities and events.

Main Responsibilities:

• To take guidance from and work effectively with key academic and resource areas including the Student Engagement & Outreach Team, Registrar Services, Marketing & Communications Team, Heads of Faculties and Departments, Student Services.
• The post holder will be expected to work effectively with suppliers, key stakeholders and intermediaries including Connexions, Careers Service, Colleges, Secondary Schools, Universities, Voluntary Organisations and other networks
• To work in collaboration with other partner institutions through the Go Higher West Yorkshire network, including ensuring complimentary activity alongside the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP)

• Supervision and coordination of Student Ambassadors involved in recruitment to HE
• Supervision and coordination of Student Engagement and Outreach Co-ordinator and to delegate for the Student Engagement and Outreach Team Leader
• To manage staff who require support for specific activities, projects and initiatives coordinated by the team
• Responsible for organisation and prioritisation of own workload, taking guidance from the SE&O Team Leader, Head of Marketing and Communications and Registrar
• Determine what exhibition/promotional materials are required for events
• Explore proactive and innovative ways of promoting the college HE provision
• Manage and monitor the use of college exhibition and promotional materials
• Advising and reporting on the success of events and activities through systematic evaluation of all activities including conversion data and qualitative feedback
• Organise and evaluate events to promote the College’s HE courses to an internal audience, including tasters, presentations and workshops for current College students
• Work with the Student Engagement & Outreach Officers to support the annual Higher Education Student Conference designed to promote the College’s HE provision to Year 12 students from West Yorkshire Sixth Forms and Colleges
• Provide information and give advice about college courses and services at external and internal events
• Develop, manage and evaluate a programme of visits to schools in order to inform and advise prospective students about progression opportunities – e.g. talks, workshops, tasters and mock interviews
• Represent the college at a range of recruitment fairs and provide information and advice about college courses/services, including national UCAS conventions, Skills Yorkshire & Humber, the Careers Guidance Show, etc.
• Deliver presentations, talks and coordinate workshops focussing on the opportunities available at Bradford College University Centre
• Coordinate the college’s attendance at a range of community focussed events e.g. The Great Yorkshire Show, Bradford Festival, World Curry Festival, etc. to promote Higher Education provision
• Work closely with external stakeholders (e.g. Connexions, Youth Offending Team, Leaving Care Service, Careers Service, Advice and Guidance Service, YMCA etc) to develop programmes suitable to the needs of their young people
• Contribute to the maintenance of the Student Engagement stakeholder database
• Organise regular meetings with key contacts at Secondary Schools and Colleges to ensure as much participation in Student Engagement & Outreach activities as possible
• Work closely with the regional Single Point of Contact network, Go Higher West Yorkshire, and with the West Yorkshire Widening Participation groups for collaborative outreach activities
• Develop and maintain a system for tracking progression from events and activities through to HE application and enrolment and reporting on progression rates as required
• Liaise with EBS Team to record and track enquirers and attendees at events through to HE application and enrolment to gauge success of events
• Develop and utilise a variety of evaluative toolkits to gain feedback from events and assess conversion rates
• Make necessary changes to events and activities as a result of constructive feedback and evaluations
• Contribute to the annual review and planning of Student Engagement & Outreach events and activities
• Plan, delegate and oversee the work of student ambassadors or students on work placements within established guidelines
• Collate and analyse data and produce reports
• Liaise with Marketing Team in the production of promotional materials related to events and activities organised
• Produce risk assessments for all HE Engagement & Outreach activities and events
• Cooperate with college management in all Health & Safety matters and take reasonable care for the Health & Safety of yourself and other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work
• Contribute to the organisation and tidiness of the exhibition units

The post holder will normally be based in the Student Engagement & Outreach office but will also be expected to work in other areas of the college or outside college premises (e.g. schools, colleges, exhibitions unit) and outside normal working hours (e.g. evenings and weekends)

The post holder will also be expected to keep abreast of developments in the UK HE educational system and the college’s HE curriculum and policies and to contribute to market research and market intelligence.

Responsible to the Student Engagement & Outreach Team Leader (and ultimately the Head of Marketing and Communications and Registrar) for overall workloads and priorities, but expected to work with minimum supervision