Head of Student Number Planning and Reporting (042020-147-R)

Are you a skilled student data professional, looking to develop your skills in leadership and play a key role in taking a large organisation forward to reach its strategic goals?  Do you enjoy deriving insights from data to form evidence-based decisions?  Are you fascinated by how to effectively scenario plan at a time of pandemic and major Government policy shifts?  This role at Birmingham City University might be just for you. 

In the brand new role of Head of Student Number Planning and Reporting at BCU, you will be responsible for student number planning and modelling activity for an ever-changing student population, working closely with Finance, Student Records and with academic areas.  You will also oversee crucial, high-impact annual student data reporting to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Office for Students, and other regulators.   As head of a skilled team, you will co-create, together with our Head of Performance and Intelligence and their team, a centre of excellence for data insight, helping to achieve BCU’s strategic goals.  

Duties include:  

Developing annual and five year student number forecasts and scenarios, using appropriate modelling techniques Delivering flexible and appropriate in-year student number reports to stakeholders across the UniversityManaging process and systems enhancement projects as required Overseeing key Statutory Returns, including the annual HESA Student ReturnEnhancing the University’s wider capacity to plan through joined up data in relation to students and related resource Contributing to innovative Business Intelligence solutions Leading, training and developing a small team of analysts

You will need: 

A numerate degree (Essential)Experience of student number reporting in a Higher Education environment, including HESA and HESES  (Essential)Knowledge of relevant applications for data analysis and modelling, including advanced Excel  (Essential)Experience of BI tools such as Tableau and Power BI (Desirable)Ideally knowledge of SQL, R; other extraction and forecasting applications (Desirable )Curiosity and creativity to look for new ways to gain insights for the business from student numbers and scenario planning (Essential)Great inter-personal and communication skills (Essential)Line management experience (Desirable)

With over 25,000 students on campus, BCU is the university for Birmingham – about 70% of our students come from Birmingham or the West Midlands.  We are embarking on a new five-year strategy to grow to respond to Birmingham’s increasing population and to meet the City’s needs for highly-skilled, flexible and competent graduates in a wide variety of career areas, ranging from musicians, artists and designers to engineers, lawyers and health professionals.  

The Planning and Performance Department delivers business insights, forecasting and essential management information and business intelligence to the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors and Faculty Deans, as well as stakeholders across the University.  We inform decision making and help the University thrive in the changing policy environment of English Higher Education.  Our remit includes policy insight, student data reporting and analysis, forecasting, performance and trend monitoring, statutory reporting, surveys, and regulatory compliance work.   

Interview Date; Thursday 03 December or Friday 04 December 2020.

Closing Date: 15 Nov 2020
Category: Management