Head of Management Information Systems in Falkirk

Forth Valley College is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Management Information Systems to lead our management information function and ensure that student, curriculum and funding data are accurate, secure, timely and used effectively. This is an operational leadership role with responsibility for statutory returns, funding assurance, data quality, student information systems, business intelligence and the continuous improvement of MIS services. You will help the College meet its statutory and regulatory obligations, strengthen data-led decision-making and improve outcomes for learners. You will work across the College with the Leadership Management Team, curriculum and quality teams, Student Services, Finance, IT, information governance colleagues and auditors. Externally, you will build effective relationships with the Scottish Funding Council, awarding bodies, sector agencies, system suppliers and other partners.

The role:

• You will provide operational leadership for MIS and act as the College's lead professional adviser on student, curriculum, funding and performance information.
• You will also act as business owner for the core student management information system and associated reporting platforms.
• Your key responsibilities will include:
• Leading the MIS operating plan and continuous improvement programme, aligned with the College's strategic, curriculum and digital transformation priorities.
• Planning, validating, reconciling, certifying and submitting statutory and regulatory returns, including Further Education Statistics and related funding and student-activity returns.
• Ensuring funded activity and credit data are complete, accurate, evidenced and compliant with current Scottish Funding Council guidance, with robust controls and audit trails.
• Coordinating MIS input to internal and external audit, responding to findings and overseeing completion of agreed actions.
• Maintaining an annual compliance calendar and risk register for returns, dependencies, system resilience and key-person risks.
• Establishing effective data-governance and quality controls across the learner journey, from curriculum planning and application through enrolment, attendance, achievement, certification and destination reporting.
• Ensuring MIS processes support compliance with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, Freedom of Information requirements, records management and College information-security policies.
• Leading the functional roadmap, implementation and continuous improvement of the student records system and reporting platforms, including integration, workflow automation, self-service reporting and user experience.
• Ensuring system changes are appropriately specified, tested, documented, communicated and implemented.
• Leading the development of reliable dashboards, management reports and analytical products for the Executive, curriculum teams and service areas.
• Providing clear analysis of recruitment, enrolment, attendance, retention, achievement, credit delivery, learner characteristics and other agreed performance indicators.
• Overseeing MIS support for curriculum set-up, admissions, enrolment, timetabling, attendance, assessment and results processes.
• Ensuring accurate and timely data transfers to awarding bodies, the Student Awards Agency Scotland, Skills Development Scotland and other authorised stakeholders.
• Leading, developing and motivating the MIS team, planning capacity around critical deadlines and maintaining effective resilience and succession arrangements.
• Managing delegated budgets, contracts and supplier relationships, demonstrating value for money and compliance with College procedures.

The post reports to the Director of Operations and has line-management responsibility for the Data Manager and Student Administration Manager.

About you:

You will be an accomplished MIS and data leader with substantial experience of statutory returns, data quality, management reporting and records or information systems in a complex organisation. You will bring:

• A degree or equivalent relevant professional experience, together with evidence of continuing professional development.
• Substantial experience of leading MIS, data records, statutory returns, data quality and management reporting in a complex organisation.
• Evidence of managing high-risk returns, audit trails, reconciliations, controls and internal or external audit activity.
• Successful experience of leading and developing a multidisciplinary team, with clear service standards and accountability.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving capability, including experience developing dashboards, data models or self-service business intelligence.
• Experience of systems implementation, integration, automation or major process redesign.
• Strong project, process-improvement and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to deliver accurately to immovable deadlines.
• The ability to explain complex technical, performance and funding matters clearly to Boards, senior leaders and operational teams.
• High integrity, sound judgement, attention to detail, resilience and a collaborative approach.
• A clear commitment to equality, inclusion, learner success and responsive, customer-focused services.
• Experience as a system or product owner for a student records platform and reporting environment would be advantageous.
• Relevant postgraduate, data, information-systems, audit, project or management qualifications, together with experience of information governance, records management, business continuity, sector networks or cross-college transformation, are also desirable.

Your leadership approach:

You will be a credible, resilient and collaborative leader who can operate confidently across operational delivery, assurance and continuous improvement. You will set clear standards, constructively challenge weak data or controls and take proportionate action where data quality, compliance, funding or learner outcomes are at risk. You will combine strong attention to detail with the ability to see the wider organisational picture. You will promote data literacy, empower colleagues to improve the quality of information at source and build an MIS service that is trusted, responsive and not dependent on any single individual.

Why join Forth Valley College?

Forth Valley College is committed to innovation, excellence and the delivery of high-quality education. Reliable information and effective systems are central to achieving our ambitions and providing an excellent experience for our students. This role offers the opportunity to lead an influential College-wide service, strengthen funding and regulatory assurance, shape the future development of student information and reporting systems, and make a visible contribution to evidence-based decision-making and learner success. Our benefits include membership of a career average revalued earnings pension scheme, generous holiday entitlement, and excellent opportunities for training and continual professional development. We also have free college gym membership at each campus. The college recognises significant periods of employment with long service awards.

How to apply:

To apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role and how you meet the essential requirements. The email address is For recruitment-system enquiries, please contact Forth Valley College is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from suitably qualified candidates from all backgrounds. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. We understand that individuals may have different needs and we are dedicated to providing reasonable adjustments to support candidates throughout the recruitment process. If any adjustments are required to be made, please contact. The college will work with each individual to identify and implement appropriate solutions to ensure you have a fair and equitable opportunity to demonstrate your skills and qualifications.

Closing date: 19 November 2026