Head of Student Success and Experience in Kilmarnock

Grade 9 – £58,225 to £69,488 Full Time (1FTE), Open ended

Location: This role can be based on our Edinburgh or Dubai campuses – minimum 3 days per week on campus, up to 2 days per week home working.

Annual Leave: 33 days, plus 9 building‑closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday).

• Strategic Leadership
  • Develop and execute a student success strategy aligned with the Online Campus objectives.
  • Drive initiatives to enhance student satisfaction, retention, and progression across all programmes and portfolios.
  • Establish KPIs for student success, measuring and improving student outcomes through data‑driven decision‑making.
  • Contribute to annual student number planning and financial planning, updating forecasting based on data insights.
  • Advocate for student experience excellence within the Online Campus Leadership Team and across Heriot‑Watt University.
• Student Experience, Engagement & Retention
  • Lead the Student Success team, ensuring learners receive high‑quality support at scale.
  • Create and oversee a proactive, data‑informed student support model, ensuring effective interventions that drive engagement and retention.
  • Develop and implement strategies for onboarding, induction, and digital skills development for learners.
  • Develop a community‑building strategy and champion initiatives that foster belonging, peer‑to‑peer engagement, and student‑led networks.
  • Collaborate with marketing, academic, and operational teams to enhance student communications and engagement touchpoints.
• Operations and Continuous Improvement
  • Own and refine key student success processes, from enrolment through to graduation, ensuring seamless coordination across teams.
  • Develop a strong collaborative working relationship with the Head of Marketing and Recruitment (Online Campus) and Head of Registry (Online Campus), jointly reviewing and optimizing end‑to‑end student lifecycle processes.
  • Work with the Head of Off‑Campus Students to ensure complaint management and escalation pathways support positive student experiences and timely resolution.
  • Use data analytics to monitor student engagement patterns, identifying and addressing potential risk factors for retention.
  • Drive continuous improvement in student support interventions, faculty‑student interactions, and pastoral care models.
  • Contribute to and hold awareness of student policies related to assessment, curriculum, progression, and student support, ensuring accurate guidance.
  • Use CRM and student records tools, as well as the VLE and other platforms, to monitor and enhance student engagement and communications.
• CRM and Systems
  • Establish ownership and manage the ideal Student Success tech‑stack (CRM, SRS, emailing platform, etc.) to ensure the scale and quality of the student success offering.
  • Draw up business cases and secure buy‑in for systems and tech developments or enhancements needed to deliver on Student Success initiatives and KPIs.
  • Ensure the team is properly trained in the use of relevant systems and platforms.
  • Document processes and monitor use of relevant systems to ensure correct and optimal use.
  • Work in partnership with the Head of Registry (Online Campus) to ensure CRM, student records and other systems align with academic operations requirements.
• Teamwork and Collaboration
  • Work closely with Recruitment, Marketing, Digital Education and Registry & Academic Services (RAS) teams to align student success efforts with strategies aimed at improving student recruitment and learning experiences.
  • Ensure alignment between Student Recruitment, Registry & Academic Services (RAS) and Student Success processes.
  • Provide insights into student behaviour and success metrics to inform marketing, programme design and institutional strategy.
  • Support key institutional initiatives, including B2B/Employer partnerships and scholarship programmes.
  • Lead the approach to tracking and reporting on student progression and satisfaction metrics.
• People Management and Team Leadership
  • Recruit, develop and lead a high‑performing Student Success team, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary skills and resources.
  • Foster a student‑first culture and continuously adopt best practices in online student support.
  • Set and manage the Student Success budget, optimising resources while achieving strategic objectives.

• Knowledge of best practices in student lifecycle and experience management.
• Knowledge of or experience in a higher education setting, preferably in an online learning environment.
• Proven ability to drive measurable improvements in student retention, engagement, belonging and satisfaction.
• Expertise in data‑driven decision‑making.
• Strong team leadership experience with a track record of managing and growing successful teams.
• Demonstrated success in cross‑functional collaboration to enhance student outcomes.
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, problem‑solving and influencing skills.
• Demonstrable experience of managing resources, workloads and changing priorities.
• Ability to work within a fast‑changing environment.
• Project management skills including resource management, project reporting and budgeting.

• Demonstrable experience leading and managing change.
• Track record of achieving results in a high‑growth environment with a commercial focus.
• Experience with CRM tools and student success platforms to monitor and enhance student engagement.
• Understanding of global online education trends and challenges faced by diverse, international student populations.
• Familiarity with B2B student engagement and employer‑sponsored learning models.

Heriot‑Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. Heriot‑Watt University values diversity across our community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from under‑represented groups. We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns such as part‑time work and job‑share options.