Salary: £73,000 – circa £90,000 per annum 

 Based at the York Campus

Relocation package available

About York St John University

Our campuses in York and London are home to 9,100 students and 1,100 staff members. We are proud to be ranked among the top 20 Universities in the UK for overall positivity rate. Analysis by Times Higher Education also shows that York St John is top in the Northeast and 13th of all English higher education institutions for students’ overall positivity about their studies. Our student community is diverse, with 77% of students coming from underrepresented backgrounds in English higher education.

York St John University can draw on a proud history of innovating and modernising to meet contemporary needs and challenges.

About the Role

The Director of Student Success and Learning Services will provide strategic leadership to deliver strategic KPIs by supporting students to build a strong sense of belonging, be fully included in the life of the University community and fulfil their potential to succeed personally and academically and progress on to highly skilled employment or further study.

You will ensure excellent performance, and management of finances and people across direct reports with a clear focus on student outcomes; cost control; equality, diversity, inclusion, well-being, and strategic direction. Hold people accountable for delivery and instil a culture of robust yet supportive performance management.

You will build and maintain strong partnerships across the University community, working as a pivotal member of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure an integrated approach to excellent student experience and outcomes.

This is very important:

Before you start getting into the details of the role, covered below and in the candidate briefing pack, we want to assure you that we are very comfortable that you may not yet have detailed working knowledge of all the services/support functions the role covers.

What you will have is a passion for making a difference in peoples’ lives and be excited about building expertise in new areas.

We have excellent subject matter experts who will help you learn and we will give you the time, as well as the support you need to succeed.

Your positive mindset, effective relationship-building skills and willingness to learn, will be key to your success.

Specifically, the role is accountable for:

• Development and delivery of the strategic vision for student support services so that YSJ KPIs for student success and graduate outcomes are met.
• Establish and direct plans to achieve a University Mental Health Charter Award
• Creation and implementation of a whole university approach to mental health and inclusion, through the provision of pro-active, high-quality access, wellbeing and support services which, where appropriate, are integrated with the academic offer to students.

• Pursue a data-led approach to maximise student opportunities through an unstinting focus on future employability for all YSJ graduates.
• An integrated approach to service delivery across all areas of supervisory responsibility, contributing to the elimination of negative differentials of experience and outcome for students from marginalised groups.
• Ensuring a holistic and joined-up approach is taken across the University to improve the student experience overall, irrespective of reporting line and hierarchy.

About You

PLEASE REMEMBER, YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE CURRENT WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THE SERVICE/SUPPORT FUNCTIONS, and we would love to hear from you if you have the skills, capability, knowledge or track record in:

• Leading people-facing services, delivering high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Providing strategic leadership in a complex organisation with good experience in at least one area and broad experience of the full portfolio.
• Initiating and implementing continuous improvement and change in a complex environment.
• Personal and demonstrable commitment to equality and diversity and the provision of an inclusive experience for everyone.

• Appreciating the diverse needs of the student body and the ability to use this to drive better outcomes.
• Working in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to develop operational arrangements that deliver strategic needs.
• Effective leadership and management skills with the ability to motivate and inspire others, to deal with challenging situations and to lead by example.
• Incorporating ideas, turning strategy into reality and driving sustained improvements in performance.

To find out more about York St John and this role as well as how to apply, please click on the following link: 

Director of Student Success & Learning Services - RECRUITMENT PACK LINK  

Director of Student Success & Learning Services - Accessible PDF Recruitment Pack 

The closing date for applications is Sunday 15th October at 11:59 pm

If you would like to discuss the role before applying, please feel free to contact Andrew & Jo from Diversifying Group at andrew@diversifying.com and Jo@Diversifying.com 

Inclusivity 

York St John University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from people from all sections of the community. We would like to encourage applicants from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities.

If you would like to discuss the role before applying and explore if you have the right capabilities, please feel free to contact - Andrew from Diversifying Group at andrew@diversifying.com

Accessibility and Adjustments 

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we will always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible. If you would like to discuss any specific requirements,