Academic Administrator

Job Title – Academic Administrator, Ravensbourne Foundation Faculty

Reports to – Course Leader, Foundation (Ravensbourne)

Location – London, Borough.

Salary – £30,000 per annum

Hours – Monday to Friday (on site)

Overview:

The Academic Administrator provides support to academic and senior administrative staff, playing a key role in the efficient administrative delivery of VCAD’s academic programmes.

The role involves managing daily administrative tasks, including the input, organisation, and dissemination of relevant data. It requires assisting with various academic schedules and promoting effective communication among departments, academic staff, and students.

The position demands exceptional organisational skills, a proactive approach, and the ability to work effectively in a dynamic student-centred environment.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Academic Support Services

Provide administrative support for academic management staff, including arranging and managing meetings, liaising with external Partners and Stakeholders and ensuring VCAD academic operations are efficiently kept up to date.

Assist the academic department with the recording, coordination and dissemination of teaching schedules and academic calendar events.

Supporting the management of various Human Resources related tasks, including recruitment, onboarding and payroll. Specific duties include:

• Recruitment: Regularly communicate with potential candidates, coordinate interview schedule and participate in interviews, ensuring alignment with staffing needs.
• Onboarding: Conduct induction sessions with new hires, coordinate with HR for IT/system access, and allocate classes, ensuring the appropriate setup of academic materials.
• Contracts – Assisting senior academic managers and VCAD Human Resources, as appropriate, in the development, processing and management of a variety of Academic Department employment contracts.
• Payroll: Assist in the preparation, management and distribution of payroll data relevant to the Academic Department.· Recruitment: Regularly communicate with potential candidates, coordinate interview schedule and participate in interviews, ensuring alignment with staffing needs.

Where and when appropriate, facilitate the recording and maintenance of student information and data, including the submission of assignments, grade marks, attendance records, engagement metrics, and other insights as reasonably requested by Academic Staff.

Support the maintenance and distribution of academic course documentation, including programme and module specifications, reading lists, and programme handbooks.

2. Student Records and Data Management

Where required, maintain accurate and confidential student records, ensuring that they follow VCAD and our Partner’s policies and GDPR requirements.

Use data management systems to generate and manage insights regarding timetables, staff reports and other appropriate coordination metrics.

3. Communication and Liaison

Be available as a regular point of contact for academic staff regarding basic academic queries and information.

Liaise between departments, faculty members, and students to facilitate the exchange of information and updates on academic matters.

Assist in the accurate and timely communication of academic policies, deadlines, and announcements to students and staff.

4. Event Coordination

Assist, as appropriate, in organising and delivering academic-related events such as induction sessions, open days, graduation ceremonies, and academic workshops.

Working alongside colleagues, coordinate appropriate operational aspects of VCAD’s academic delivery, such as room bookings, audio-visual requirements and resource management to help ensure the success of VCAD.

5. Policy and Compliance

Assist Academic Management colleagues, in ensuring compliance with VCAD and our Partners’ policies and procedures, particularly regarding academic regulations and other essential regulatory responsibilities.

Support and advise academic staff in implementing and adhering to these quality assurance processes.

6. Daily General Administrative Support

Handle day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining office systems, management of lecturer availability, assist with timetable and classroom provision and liaising with VCAD IT colleagues for technical needs.

Undertake other administrative duties as reasonably requested by Academic Management colleagues.

Qualifications & Experience: Essential (E) Desirable (D)

• Experience in an administrative role, ideally within higher education. (E)
• Confidence and Ability to manage and communicate complex written information. (E)
• Proficiency in the use of appropriate data management systems such as Excel for scheduling, formatting, and report generation. (E)
• Ability to utilise a range of digital programmes, in particular Moodle and similar VLE platforms, and Microsoft Office / 365. (E)
• A willingness to engage in Higher Education focused Professional Development (E)
• Basic familiarity with GDPR and other regulatory and quality assurance policies particularly as they apply to the Higher Education sector. (D)
• Knowledge of the Higher Education sector (D)

Benefits:

• Annual leave (5.6 weeks) + bank holidays.
• Workplace pension scheme.
• Statutory Sick Pay.
• Statutory maternity/paternity pays.
• Career development opportunities
• Training and self-development opportunities.
• Gym membership discounts
• Retail discount schemes
• Cinema discounts
• Grocery discounts
• Cycle to work
• Investing and savings opportunities
• Financial wellbeing – personal debt advise.
• Financial wellbeing education
• My Mind Pal (mental fitness)