Senior Admissions Officer (6 Months FTC) in Manchester

Department: Admissions

Location: Manchester

Type of Contract: Maternity (6 Months FTC)

Working Pattern: Full-Time, 40hrs per week

Salary Range: £35,000-£38,000pa

GBS is a higher education provider offering a range of sector-relevant courses across ten campuses in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. Working in partnership with several of the UK’s leading higher education providers, we deliver vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in finance, accounting, business, construction, tourism, healthcare, and more.

Our Vision: Changing lives through education.

What We Do: The Admissions Department supports the business by evaluating and enrolling qualified students. It manages processes applications, advising prospective students, and ensures that enrolment targets are met in line with company strategy.

The Role: The Senior Admissions Officer will facilitate the admissions process while ensuring a connected and seamless approach to the service for applicants. You will be expected to contribute to the overall effective service delivery by providing information, advice and guidance to other colleagues to ensure a high-quality admissions service is always provided to applicants and other stakeholders.

What The Role Involves:

• To support the wider admissions team to ensure the provision of an effective and efficient admissions service for GBS.
• Support GBS in meeting its targets for recruitment across all programmes.
• Manage time effectively, prioritising work to meet demands and recruitment deadlines.
• To maintain accurate records in accordance with GBS requirements, ensuring compliance and maintenance of relevant systems.
• Build and maintain good working relationships with all internal and external colleagues.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of the GBS admissions policy, including assessment, selection and entry criteria.
• Ensure accurate input of applicant related data by the team and correction of applicant data to support statutory reporting requirements e.g. HESA Data Futures.
• Provide information, advice and guidance on course options to applicants verbally and in writing.
• Respond to internal and external queries concerning the progress and status of an application.
• Maintain service level agreements for enquiry through to offer acceptance to ensure effective processing to agreed turnaround times and accuracy of data inputted.
• Process applications, verify qualifications, ensure the validity of decisions and authenticity of results in line with GBS admissions/compliance policy across the team.
• Responsible for interviewing applicants and assessing written assessments in fair and consistent manner in line with GBS and partner institution requirements.
• Ensure accuracy when the student records system is updated with the outcome of the assessments/interviews.
• To be involved in additional projects from time to time, which may involve contributions to the wider school administration, as determined by the Line Manager.
• Assisting with monitoring workload for admissions team and adjusting team outputs as needed.
• Assisting Admissions Manager with core tasks during peak periods (for example: completing files for our partners to meet deadlines).
• Assist with the provision of on-the-job training for new staff and be the first point of contact for information, advice and guidance to support Admissions Officers and Admissions Assistants by giving initial support and guidance on admissions policies and procedures.

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Degree-level education, relevant professional qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience in HE admissions, with a strong understanding of the student lifecycle and data integrity.
• Experience supervising or supporting a team, with the ability to inspire confidence and manage change.
• Skilled in using Student Management Systems and Microsoft Office.
• Methodical approach with high accuracy, an eye for detail, and the ability to prioritize a diverse workload under pressure.
• Ability to exercise initiative and sound judgment when making complex recommendations or decisions.
• Excellent customer service skills with the ability to build professional relationships and resolve conflicts calmly.
• A proactive, creative approach to solving problems and improving service delivery.
• High level of honesty and the ability to manage confidential information sensitively.
• Adaptable attitude with a willingness to work occasional evenings/weekends or off-site as required.

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Project Management experience.
• Experience of Zoho CRM system.
• Knowledge of two or more languages.

What We Offer:

• 25 days annual leave, plus 8 public holidays
• 1-day extra leave per year of service, up to a maximum of 5 days
• Workplace pension scheme
• Tuition reimbursement for career development courses
• Flexible Benefits: Cycle to Work, Workplace Nursery, Techscheme and much more
• Perks@Work discounts platform, wellbeing centre and much more
• Reward and recognition programme
• £500 award employee referral scheme
• Discretionary annual performance bonus

One of my proudest achievements at GBS is being part of the Admissions department's growth and improvement. Over the past three years, I've seen the team expand from 30 to 90 employees. Being involved in shaping processes and ensuring admissions are robust and high-quality has been incredibly rewarding. It’s exciting to see how much we’ve accomplished as a team and how far we’ve come. — Barbara Vargas (Professional Services Employee)