Student Operations Manager in Birmingham

Online Education Services (OES) is a purpose‑driven organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of learners by expanding access to high‑quality online education. We work in close partnership with universities and leading education providers across Australia and the United Kingdom, supporting the development of innovative, student‑centred online programmes that make a genuine difference.

The Role

This is more than an operations management role — it is an opportunity to be the heartbeat of the student experience at OES. As Manager of Student Operations, you will lead a function that touches every stage of the student lifecycle — from the moment a learner enrols to the day they graduate. Your team spans three interconnected areas: Student Administration, Student Support, and Student Funding. Together, they are the operational engine that ensures students feel informed, supported, and set up for success at every turn.

What makes this role compelling is the breadth of the mandate. You will not simply manage processes — you will lead people, shape culture, and drive meaningful improvement across academic administration, retention, wellbeing support, and financial guidance. You will be the person who brings together compliance, care, and operational excellence in a way that makes a real difference to real learners.

The access and influence this role carries is equally significant. You will work closely with the Director of Academic and Operations, contributing to strategic planning and operational readiness for new programme launches and partner onboarding. Your insight will inform how OES develops its services and prioritises investment — because the best thinking about what students need will come from you. You will also be the key operational contact for OES’s university partner — representing the function at senior levels, providing performance insights, and helping to ensure the partnership delivers on its promise to students.

The relationships you build, the capability you develop, and the culture you establish will carry your fingerprints for years to come. This role demands someone who can balance student advocacy with financial governance, manage the peaks and pressures of the academic calendar with composure, and lead a team through complexity with clarity and purpose. Someone who understands that operational excellence and genuine student‑centricity are not in tension — they reinforce each other. If that sounds like the kind of work you do best, we would love to hear from you.

Why Join OES?

• Make a real impact — on learners, on partners, and on the student experience.
• Be part of something bigger — OES is backed by the SEEK Group.
• Grow with us — OES invests in the people who help it grow.
• A workplace that values you — collaborative, inclusive, and genuinely supportive.
• Birmingham City Centre — a great place to be based.

Benefits

• Global organisation focused on growth with lots of opportunities for our employees.
• Engaging and vibrant organisational culture.
• 35 hour working week, within a flexible working environment.
• OES values driven recruitment principles.
• Career‑life fit — health and wellbeing focus.
• 25 days of annual leave + Bank holidays.
• Purchased leave scheme.
• OES strategy reflects respect, honesty and diversity.
• Continuous improvement through challenging and meaningful work.
• Study assistance and leave for eligible employees.
• High growth industry and strong partner/shareholder backing.
• Genuine focus on student success.
• Global mentoring programme.
• We are proud to support the Living Wage movement.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year, you will have established a high‑performing, cohesive Student Operations team with a clear sense of shared purpose. Processes across enrolment, progression, retention, and funding will be running smoothly and compliantly, with SLAs consistently met and performance data regularly reviewed and acted upon. Students will be receiving timely, transparent, and empathetic support at every stage of their journey — and the team will feel confident, capable, and motivated to deliver it.

Over time, success in this role means that Student Operations is recognised — by partners, by senior leadership, and by students themselves — as a function that genuinely sets OES apart. Operational models will be scalable and ready to support growth. Retention outcomes will reflect the quality of the support your team provides. The university partner will view OES as a proactive, trusted operational collaborator — not simply a service provider. And the people in your team will be developing, growing, and delivering at their best because of the culture and capability you have built.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership and Culture
• Lead, develop and cultivate a high‑performing student operations team.
• Drive a student‑first, values‑based culture across the function.
• Build capability across academic administration, student support and funding processes.
• Promote accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
• Develop future leaders within the team.
• Operational Delivery
• Oversee all aspects of Student Operations across the partner and programmes.
• Ensure service delivery meets agreed SLAs and compliance standards.
• Lead lifecycle planning including enrolment, census, progression and completion.
• Monitor operational performance and implement improvements.
• Oversee development and reporting of metrics across enrolment, retention, funding and operational efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with government funding and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor and mitigate financial risk including bad debt exposure.
• Ensure clear, timely and transparent communication of fee and funding information to students.
• Identify opportunities to support retention through proactive financial engagement.
• Strategy and Continuous Improvement
• Contribute to operational strategy in partnership with the Director of Academic and Operations.
• Identify industry trends and regulatory changes impacting student services and funding.
• Lead operational readiness for new partner onboarding.
• Drive process innovation to enhance the student online experience.
• Support growth strategies through scalable operational models.
• Partner and Stakeholder Management
• Act as key operational contact for the partner university.
• Provide performance reporting and insights to partners and the UK Senior Leadership Team.
• Collaborate closely with OES Academic, Admissions and IT teams.
• Collaborate closely with university partner teams to ensure aligned delivery.
• Budget and Performance
• Contribute to annual budget planning for Student Operations.
• Deliver financial, operational and student experience KPIs.
• Monitor cost of delivery and recommend efficiencies.

Essential Skills and Experience

We are looking for an experienced operations leader with a genuine track record in student services, academic administration, or a related operational function — ideally within higher education, further education, or an EdTech environment. You will be comfortable leading teams through complexity, managing competing priorities across a busy academic calendar, and maintaining service quality and compliance under pressure. You will bring the credibility and interpersonal skills to work effectively with both students and senior institutional stakeholders.

You will also bring:

• Demonstrated experience leading or managing a student‑facing operations or services function.
• Strong working knowledge of student lifecycle processes — enrolment, progression, retention and funding.
• A thorough understanding of compliance requirements in higher education or student funding environments.
• The ability to lead, motivate and develop a high‑performing team through periods of cyclical pressure and change.
• Strong analytical skills, with experience using data and metrics to drive performance and continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to engage effectively with students, partners and senior stakeholders.
• Commercial awareness, with experience contributing to budget planning and identifying operational efficiencies.
• A genuine commitment to student success and an instinct for balancing student advocacy with financial governance.
• Experience of working cross‑functionally with academic, IT, admissions or commercial teams is a distinct advantage.

How To Apply

If you are an experienced operations leader who is passionate about student success and ready to bring your skills to a role where they will genuinely matter, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your CV alongside a brief covering letter outlining your relevant experience and, in particular, an example of a student services challenge you have navigated and what your approach made possible. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.