Quality Manager (Agents and Partnerships)

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 per annum

Employment type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37

Reporting into: Head of Quality (Agents and Partnerships)

Department: Quality and Registry

Full job description is available to read and review. Please note this role operates on a hybrid working arrangement that will require usually one day in the Coventry head office every 2 weeks. This may fluctuate in line with business requirements. Our working model arrangements are a non-contractual benefit so please note that an Arden work location is added to our employment contracts.

About Arden University

We are an aspirational and multi-award-winning university, delivering rapid growth with ambitious plans to disrupt the HE sector through our passion for innovation and digital education. Our vision is to become the first-choice university for career-focused lifelong learners worldwide, ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access higher education.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines, forge worldwide partnerships, and expand our locations.

About our Department

The Quality Manager (Agents and Partnerships) sits within the Academic Registrar’s Office as a part of a wider Quality and Registry team. This is the University’s central administrative hub for our students and the management of the student record. This team is responsible for a wide range of functions, from governance through to student administration, marking and assessment and has responsibility for processing all results and grades for the student’s and produce all certificates that are awarded at the graduation ceremony. The Partnership Team has strong links with the Academic Quality Team and the Centre for Academic Partnerships to focus on the due diligence processes, contractual arrangements, compliance and quality management of our academic and recruitment partners.

About the Opportunity

The Quality Manager (Agents and Partnerships) is responsible for ensuring the integrity, compliance, and continuous improvement of education agent and academic partnership operations. This role leads the analysis and reporting of agent performance, manages quality assurance processes, and oversees risk mitigation strategies. The post holder ensures timely progression of partnership approvals, maintains regulatory compliance through audits and due diligence, and fosters collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, the role manages actions plans that enhance the student recruitment experience, contributes to training and communication with partners, while also managing and developing a team of Quality Officers to uphold a culture of excellence.

About You

Knowledge and experience requirements:

• Skilled in stakeholder engagement, specifically with internal teams, education agents, and academic partners.
• Proactive and solution-focused, with a mindset for continuous improvement.
• Ethical and objective, especially when handling escalated investigations and risk reporting.
• Ability to facilitate meetings, represent the department at events, and influence decision-making.
• Ability to manage multiple feedback channels and ensure timely issue resolution.
• Detail-oriented with a high level of accuracy in reviewing proposals and audit outcomes.
• Resilient and adaptable, able to manage complex and evolving partnership landscapes.
• Knowledge of quality management, compliance and continuous improvement of recruitment agents and collaborative partnerships.
• Clear understanding of the use and interpretation of regulations, and experience of developing policies and procedures.
• Experience with compliance auditing, risk assessment and due diligence processes.
• Strong project management skills to oversee approval processes and action plans.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting using Excel, Power BI or similar tools.
• Ability to interpret and act on survey data and performance metrics.
• Experience in policy development and process documentation.
• Experience of working with database systems, Power BI and excel reporting spreadsheets or data dashboards.

Why Arden

At Arden, you will become part of a passionate and dedicated team who are committed to removing unnecessary barriers to learning and making education more accessible. Our people work hard to ensure our students journeys are the best they can possibly be, and we reward our people with fantastic benefits. Employees benefit from:

• 30 days holiday + bank holidays on top, and even a Christmas closure
• A generous Aviva pension plan, company contributions starting from 7%
• SimplyHealth plan option
• Private Medical Insurance coverage (applies to certain job roles)
• Access to Perkbox benefits
• Study any Arden course for free, with a discount for all family and friends
• Plus, other excellent benefits
• Our Golden Ticket which allows you to gift anyone in your life a free Arden education

Our Values

Stand out, Progressive, Accessible, Resourceful, Kindness, reflect who we are as an institution, a team and as individuals. If they also reflect you and you are excited by the chance to be the driving, creative force within a growing business, we want to hear from you.

There has never been a more exciting time to join Arden University, as we expand into new disciplines and locations.

Closing Date: 30 September

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the specified closing date should we receive sufficient applications or in order to respond to business needs. To avoid missing an opportunity to apply, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you are a current Arden student or have an upcoming course with us, you are not eligible to apply for Student Experience roles due to a conflict of interest related to system access.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Arden University is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. This means that if you have a disability, as defined by the Disability Equality Act 2010, you may be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria for the role.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, you can indicate via the application form below. By doing so, you are also consenting for this information to be shared with the hiring team. For more details on what qualifies as a disability under the Disability Equality Act 2010, please refer to the guidance here.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Therefore, we ensure that our recruitment and selection processes never discriminate based upon people\'s age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances, and actively welcome applications from all groups.

Sponsorship statement: Please be aware that some roles may not meet the points requirement for a sponsored Skilled Worker visa under the points-based immigration system. However, we welcome applications from candidates who do not currently have the right to work in the UK but may be eligible for a visa through an alternative route.