Head of International Admissions Centre (IAC, Maternity Cover)

Job Title: Head of International Admissions Centre (IAC, Maternity Cover)

Reports to: Global Head of Sales

Location: London or Cambridge (Hybrid)

Contract Type: Fixed Term, From January 2025 – December 2025                                                                                          

Salary: Competitive

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Closing date: Wednesday, 13th November 2024 (Interviews will take place as we receive applications; you are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible)

Holiday Entitlement: Your holiday entitlement of 25 days per annum and bank holidays.

The Company

Abbey DLD Colleges consists of three high-quality sixth form colleges in the UK. DLD has been synonymous with quality education provision in an international setting since 1931. Today, thousands of students from over 50 countries apply to join Abbey DLD in Cambridge, Manchester or London. Our three colleges offer a vibrant, international setting, modern boarding provision and above all a Gold Standard sixth form education.

Our colleges offer a range of programmes including GCSEs, A Levels, Foundation and BTEC courses. Full details can be found on the Abbey DLD website http://www.abbeycolleges.co.uk/.

Job Purpose

The IAC processes international student applications from all over the world for the Abbey DLD Group of Colleges. The Head of Admissions is a key senior position and is responsible for leading the International Admissions Centre (IAC) team, which consists of three business critical functions: international admissions, agent contract, remuneration and visa support. There is a focus on efficiency and accuracy, ensuring that all data is processed within agreed SLAs, with 100% accuracy and in accordance with compliance requirements.

There is also a strong customer service focus, as the IAC spend a significant amount of time communicating with parents, students, and agents, as well as liaising with the Abbey DLD global sales team and colleges. As such the position demands superior attention to detail.

Key Responsibilities

·       Manage three sub-units within the International Admissions Centre (admissions, agent remuneration and visa teams) across all functions

·       Lead the teams to deliver industry leading customer service to key stakeholders including parents, students and agents

·       Ensure effective and efficient functioning of the IAC team through constant development and implementation of documented standard procedures for all

·       Review and improve existing admissions procedures and implement changes to improve efficiencies and customer service whenever possible

·       Overall responsibility for the quality of output, ensuring accuracy of admissions data and agreed service levels

·       Able to step in and support admissions, agent remuneration and visa teams with workload as when needed

·       Knowledge management, ensuring all policies and process are documented, up to date and readily available

·       Build effective and collaborative relationships with internal teams including Sales, IT and colleges

·       Work effectively with the sales team to achieve recruitment targets

·       Providing regular management information and reporting to track the application process and support the sales team

·       Ensure adherence to UKVI compliance regulations across teams

·       Lead the IAC team, developing their skills and improving their performance through performance management. Conduct regular one to ones, team meetings as well as end of year appraisal

·       Create an empowered and productive working environment through positive and timely feedback and by ensuring appropriate involvement, delegation and monitoring of staff and their performance

·       Ensure staff are appropriately trained to perform their job. This includes ongoing training on compliance, academic assessment and product (location, course, subjects, accommodation)

·       Manage the IAC budget and any systems (Calendly, DocuSign, SIMS, PowerBI)

·       Undertake other duties as determined by the Global Head of Sales

·       This role requires the ability to manage the following positions and as such the Head of International Admissions is expected to be able to step in and support any of these positions as required:

Senior Admissions and Data Specialist, Visa Support Manager, and International Admissions Officer.

Skills and Attributes

·      Proactive, able to identify and prevent issues before they arise, to work autonomously and to successfully manage business critical functions

·      Excellent attention to detail and accurate data input are essential.

·      Good organizational and time management skills; adept at scheduling and prioritizing multiple projects and tasks with varying deadlines.

·      Excellent customer service ethos to deliver effective services to internal and external stakeholders at all levels, managing information confidentially and sensitively.

·      Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with motivation to find end-to-end solutions.

·      Adaptability to manage change and respond positively to new challenges.

·      Strong cross-cultural interpersonal skills, able to provide clear information in written and spoken English, often to people communicating in English as a second language. 

·      An ability to deal with and manage a wide range of demanding individuals and to resolve problems quickly and calmly.

·      An ability to work using one’s own initiative, to be a good team player and to lead by example.

Experience

·      Experience of managing a remote team

·      Experience of using SIMS, advanced excel skills and experience of using other systems

·      Experience in general office, clerical, or admissions environment preferred.

·      Experience in a customer service role.

·      Experience of using a CRM or database experience preferred.