Posts Tagged “Head of Careers and Graduate Futures at Heriot Watt University”
Head of Careers and Graduate Futures at Heriot Watt University
Full Job Description
Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry.
Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business and languages. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort.
About our Team
The Careers and Graduate Futures Service supports Heriot-Watt University students and recent graduates to make informed career choices by providing a professional, high quality careers guidance and information service. The role holder will lead a team of 14 professional staff, and will develop strong relationships with stakeholders from across the University, including academic Schools at all Campus locations, professional services staff, employers and professional bodies. Providing inspiring professional leadership to a team based across all of our campus locations is a key requirement of the role. The role holder will also be expected to contribute to the delivery of Careers events and to manage an appropriate level of student case work.
Detailed Description
The appointment will be at Grade 9, Salary: £53,353 : £61,823.
The Head of the Careers and Graduate Futures Service will lead the strategic development of the Service across all campus locations at Heriot-Watt University. The Head will play a central role in the development and implementation of the University’s Careers and Employability strategy and operational plan, working in partnership with key internal and external stakeholders.
The role holder will proactively support and lead on developments across the University relating to careers and employability, ensuring the offering to Heriot Watt students is sector leading and reflects the global nature of the University’s activities. They will also provide dynamic leadership to drive the service forward and ensure that employability, and the Heriot Watt Graduate Attributes, are embedded throughout the curriculum and play a central role in the student experience.
As a key member of the University’s Student Life Division (part of Registry & Academic Support Directorate) the Head of Careers and Employability will play an important role in contributing to the wider student experience at Heriot Watt University.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
This section details the main responsibilities of the job. Other duties, commensurate with the grading of the post, may also be assigned from time to time.
1. Lead on the provision of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance across the University’s five Campus locations:
- Regularly meet with academic Schools to devise and monitor plans for curriculum development and to incorporate Careers and Employability topics, including the development of University’s Graduate Attributes.
- Manage the Careers and Employability Service, ensuring appropriate provision is in place to meet the needs of students and that the service is configured to meet the institution’s developing needs.
- Coordinate across all Campus Locations to ensure complementary/consistent advice is provided across the institution by staff involved in Careers and Employability activity.
- Plan and strategically review resource and delivery to ensure service requirements are met or exceeded.
- Lead on developing, with key academic stakeholders, the Key Performance indicators that will measure the effectiveness of the Careers and Employability Service, including development and implementation of a Careers Readiness Survey for all new students.
- The role holder will also be expected to contribute to the delivery of Careers events and to manage an appropriate level of student case work.
2. Provide strategic leadership to staff across the University in the areas of student employability and graduate outcomes:
- Lead on the development and implementation of the Careers and Graduate Futures strategy and operational plan.
- Play a leading role embedding the University’s Graduate Attributes within the curriculum and in co-curricular activities.
- Lead on setting and achieving agreed service standards and performance indicators.
- Work with key contacts in Development and Alumni to ensure that the new Graduate Outcomes exercise delivers the best possible return.
- Develop approaches to increase student awareness and engagement with placements, work experience and volunteering opportunities.
3. Enhance the student experience through the provision of targeted activities and interventions relating to careers and employability:
- Lead staff to ensure the delivery of major, institution-wide events (for example Careers Fairs) meet the needs of students and external employers.
- Work with colleagues from across the institution to develop opportunities for students to access experiences of work as part of their degree.
- Lead on the introduction and development of a Unitemps internal recruitment service franchise for Heriot Watt Students.
4. Responsible for ensuring that the Careers and Graduate Futures Service and, where appropriate, the wider University, develops strong, and mutually beneficial relationships with key external stakeholders concerned with careers and employability:
- Lead the work with employers and professional bodies to develop careers and employability options for students.
- Maintain relationships with business, professional and public-sector organisations, to ensure Heriot Watt graduates are sought after by employers of all sizes.
- Develop key strategic relationships with alumni to help nurture support networks for students and avenues for relationship building with organisations.
- Work with academic Schools and relevant professional services to develop a coherent message and offering to industry and to ensure communication across the institution is effective.
5. Effectively manage the Careers and Graduate Futures Service and its staff, maximising the impact for students in terms of student experience and graduate outcomes:
- Ensure that all staff are equipped to meet the needs of key stakeholders, identifying training and support requirements where required.
- Effective management and use of service resources including budgets, physical resources, web content and staffing.
- Line management of Service staff and providing a professional lead to other institutional staff involved in careers and employability activity.
- Communication with senior University staff on matters of employability and employability metrics, including input into school, campus and institutional reports on employability.
- Strategic planning of activities, ensuring close alignment with the University Strategy. Identify and follow up on potential collaborative and externally funded projects.
Education, Qualifications and Experience
Qualifications / training
Essential
- A first degree and/or substantial experience in similar or related role.
- Appropriate professional qualification.
Knowledge, skills and experience
- Significant experience of working in a Higher Education Careers Service and an in-depth knowledge of current developments and challenges
- Comprehensive knowledge of graduate employability, the graduate labour market and the needs of local and national employers
- Understanding of current issues and trends in careers education and employability in higher education
- Experience of supporting students on a 1:1 basis, in the specific area of careers and employability
- Experience and understanding of the differing needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds
- Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to achieve results through the positive motivation and management of others
- Strategic insight, and the ability to plan at a strategic level
- Ability to summarise complex ideas or highly detailed, technical or specialist information
- Adaptable to change with a positive attitude in a constantly evolving HE environment, in which the employability agenda is assuming ever greater importance.
- Ability to successfully manage and address competing work demands
Additional attributes
- Ability to set and monitor service standards and delivery to achieve results
- Student focussed
- Team player : ability to share information and involve others in finding solutions and able to work with people at all levels of the University, and in all campus locations
- Strong commitment to the University Values
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Sunday 11th December 2022. Please note, interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 16th January 2023.
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 University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University
Location :Edinburgh
Closing Date :12/11/2022
HOW TO APPLY
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