Academic Registrar

Academic Hives

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the University as we develop our services with the ambition to provide an outstanding student experience aligned to our strategy. The University of Surrey is focused on providing high quality teaching and an excellent student experience. We are proud that our students rank us in the top 10 in the UK for student satisfaction, and we were shortlisted by the Times for ‘University of the Year 2023’.

We are seeking an Academic Registrar who will be able to provide vision and transformative leadership to ensure our registry function delivers outstanding service excellence to our university community. This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to have a real impact at Surrey.

The role

We are looking for an outstanding leader to join our Registry Service, providing leadership and direction for a number of teams including those who focus on quality assurance and enhancement, educational administration, student complaints and appeals, timetabling, student records, assessment, and awards. The post holder will hold accountability for the ongoing high performance of our registry function, allowing us to deliver our ambitious university strategy to provide exceptional support to our students.

For this role, we are looking someone who:

• Has in depth understanding of the Office for Students (OfS) conditions of registration
• Has experience of developing procedures within a complex environment with a clear focus on stakeholder engagement
• Demonstrates experience in driving a risk-based approach to compliance, quality and standards and rethinking the regulatory status quo
• Reduces complexity in the policy and regulatory environment and leads the University to adopt a streamlined and simplified set of regulations
• Can design and lead a new digitally enhanced registry with automated processes and workflow to reduce the team’s manual tasks
• Uses and promotes data to inform decision making

About you

The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge of educational administration within the Higher Education sector, including good understanding of quality assurance and enhancement, and good knowledge of student regulations and procedures. We are looking for candidate who is flexible, forward-thinking, and open to change, and can create policies and procedures that embrace and support the ongoing evolution of the sector. You will enjoy working at pace and must be comfortable with complexity and uncertainty.

An exceptional leader, you will have experience of leading and managing a service provision, including effective leadership of high impact change projects. You will have excellent communication and influencing skills and must be able to establish credibility with staff and key stakeholders across the organisation. Student experience will be a key driver for you: you must be passionate about the student experience and always put students at the heart of your decision making, inspiring your teams to deliver the best possible support.

What we can offer

The University of Surrey is a top UK University set in a beautiful campus in Guildford, half an hour’s journey from the centre of London. We offer a vibrant and forward-thinking working environment with access to a variety of staff development opportunities to help you fulfil your potential. In addition to salary, you will receive a generous annual leave entitlement, substantial pension, childcare assistance, and access to first-class sports and leisure facilities. We are happy to support blended working, with some time spent on campus and some from home.

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please upload a CV and cover letter detailing how you demonstrate the knowledge and experience required for this role. You will also be asked to answer three brief questions to help us understand your experience and suitability for the role.

Further Information

To arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact Anna Foster, Resourcing Specialist on [email protected]

Please note, you will need to be willing to demonstrate some flexibility in your working hours, as some activities may take place outside of core hours. You will also be required to be part of an out of hours rota, requiring you to be contactable by phone for student emergencies which occur outside of standard University hours.

The University of Surrey is committed to providing an inclusive environment that offers equal opportunities for all. We place great value on diversity and are seeking to increase the diversity within our community. Therefore we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities.