Dean of Student Experience in Manchester

The College UK Management College (UKMC) is a private, widening-participation higher education provider established in 2016, delivering degree programmes with an integrated Foundation Year in partnership with universities that act as the awarding bodies — the University of Wolverhampton (principal partner), Canterbury Christ Church University, Arts University Bournemouth and HealthSciences University — across campuses in Manchester, Derby, Newcastle and Sunderland. The College serves a predominantly mature, local and first-in-family student community, many of whom balance study with work, caring and financial pressures. Its student-support model is therefore central to its mission: success is measured by retention, continuation, completion and progression, and the College’s support ecosystem exists to deliver those outcomes for every student, at every campus, on equal terms.

The Dean of Student Experience is the College’s senior leader for academic services and the student experience. The post holder holds executive responsibility for the departments and functions that surround and enable course delivery: the Wellbeing Department; the Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) team; student engagement (non-academic); academic language and learning; employability, careers and student outcomes; research and knowledge exchange; and academic integrity. The purpose of the role is to ensure that every student receives consistent, differentiated and effective support to engage, persist, achieve and progress.

The Dean of Student Experience reports to the Associate Provost / Provost and works in close partnership with the Academic Dean, who leads course delivery, and with the Quality and Compliance department, with whom the post holder shares responsibility for evidencing that the College’s support for students meets the requirements of the Office for Students (OfS), partner universities and other regulatory bodies. The two Deans are jointly accountable for the College’s student outcomes: continuation, completion and progression at or above the College’s institutional targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership of the Student Experience: Provide institution-wide leadership for the student experience and academic services, ensuring a coherent support ecosystem across all campuses.
• Wellbeing, Safeguarding and Inclusion: Provide senior oversight of the Wellbeing Department, ensuring the consistent implementation of reasonable adjustments and learning support plans across all campuses.
• Personal Academic Tutoring (PAT): Provide senior oversight of the Personal Academic Tutor model, ensuring every student is assigned a Personal Academic Tutor and receives differentiated support.
• Student Engagement, Belonging and Student Voice: Provide senior oversight of the non-academic engagement function, ensuring a rich programme of activities that build belonging at every campus.
• Academic Language and Learning: Provide senior oversight of the Academic Language and Learning Hub, ensuring effective language and study-skills support for all students.
• Employability, Careers and Student Outcomes: Provide senior oversight of the employability and careers function, ensuring the Career-Ready Framework is delivered across every programme and campus.
• Research and Knowledge Exchange: Provide senior oversight of the Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange, fostering a research and scholarship culture among staff.
• Academic Integrity: Provide senior oversight of the Academic Integrity Office, ensuring academic-misconduct prevention and education operate consistently.
• Quality, Compliance and Regulatory Assurance: Work in partnership with the Head of Quality and Compliance to ensure the student-experience portfolio meets regulatory requirements.
• Governance and Reporting: Present termly assurance reports on the student experience to relevant boards and committees.

The Dean of Student Experience is expected to model the College’s values at all times: to act with integrity, compassion, fairness and transparency; to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in every service and decision; to safeguard the welfare of students and staff; and to maintain confidentiality and comply with the College’s policies.