Student Recruitment and Conversion Manager

Job Summary

This is an exciting opportunity to play a leadership role in the implementation of a new Conversion and Applicant Experience team within Student Recruitment. 

You will be responsible for the delivery of a consistent and guaranteed level of applicant experience to all market segments, with a focus on improving RGU’s conversion rate from enquiry to application/offer to enrolment.

You will lead the delivery of pre and post applicant enquiry and conversion activities within the University in support of the University’s strategic objectives and goals, and will contribute toward target student intakes.

You will be self-motivated and proactive with a strong ethos for customer service. You will enjoy both face to face interactions with students, academic and support colleagues as much as computer-based campaigns that need attention to detail and creative vision. You will be a creative thinker who can deliver engaging content that is on brand and can create a strong strategic plan with clear objectives derived from a data-driven approach.

Managing members of the Conversion and Applicant Experience team means that we will also be looking for candidates that can demonstrate leadership skills and have a passion for developing and motivating others. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual who enjoys being part of the team, has an eye for detail and can bring others along to meet clear recruitment targets.

In keeping with RGU's commitment to work/life balance you will have the opportunity to work from home for a portion of the working week and also benefit from a generous pension scheme, 46 days annual leave (including statutory days) an onsite nursery and sports centre, as well as a range of voluntary health and travel benefits. 

To apply please submit your CV along with a cover letter detailing your suitability for the role against the requirements set out in the person specification.

Job Description

RESPONSIBLE TO: Head of Student Recruitment  

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Conversion and Applicant Experience team (3 people)

PURPOSE OF POST: Lead the delivery of pre and post applicant enquiry and conversion activities within the University in support of the University’s strategic objectives and goals, and contribute toward target student intakes.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

• Develop a new applicant experience strategy which enables effective engagement with and conversion of prospective students from initial enquiry to enrolment.

• Line-manage a team of staff with dedicated responsibility for the conversion of prospective students to RGU through data and analytics, conversion calling and emailing, communications and campaigns.
• To create, implement, monitor and evaluate the recruitment, conversion and transition CRM plan, ensuring that students are targeted with key information in a timely manner. To generate A/B testing on all emails so that functionality is maximised.
• Develop and implement engagement plans, including ‘Nurture Track’ communication plans for all audiences (Scottish, rUK, International, Online, UG and PG).
• Establish and maintain workflows and processes to ensure efficient and optimised usage of content, communications and events which support the applicant experience.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, including academic Schools, to facilitate efficient coordination of conversion activity across RGU.
• Manage the Conversion and Applicant Experience team budget and work with the Head of Student Recruitment on the setting, allocation and management of budgets.
• Collaborate with appropriate colleagues on development of the externally sourced systems used by the University for relationship marketing, including student engagement and conversion activities (e.g. SITS Campaign Manager, Dot Digital HTML system and UCAS enquirer ID scanning system). Actively research new developments within these systems of these types to maximise their efficacy in student recruitment and conversion.
• To build concise and effective reports that show strengths and areas for development in the recruitment/ conversion plan based on open/ click rates, registrations, events attendance etc and make proactive changes to ensure that plans are regularly reviewed based on these reports.
• Contribute to the operational management of Student Recruitment, including monitoring and reporting on departmental priorities, activities, and outcomes.
• Support the Head of Student Recruitment to deliver the University’s strategic objectives for student recruitment, including regional and international diversification.

Person Specification

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications and Professional Memberships

First degree and/or significant background in a student recruitment / marketing / communications / sales role.

Knowledge and skills

Knowledge of working with CRM systems, databases and web-based systems.

Target driven to achieve ambitious recruitment targets

Experience

Proven line management experience of customer service teams.

Driving teams to deliver to set SLAs and/or targets as set by the business.

Confident in using Microsoft Office e.g. Word, Excel and Outlook

 

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

Experience

Experience of working in a Higher Education Sector.

Providing senior management with MI and reporting/analysis.

Understanding of UCAS and/ or other college and university admissions processes.

Behaviours

Behaviour 1: Communication - Ability to receive, understand and convey information requiring careful explanation and information of a complex or conceptual nature, in a clear and accurate manner

Behaviour 2: Service Delivery - Experience of exploring and adapting a service to meet customers’ expectations and also identifying ways of improving standards 

Behaviour 3: Decision Making - Experience of using own judgement to make decisions, making collaborative decisions with others to reach conclusions and providing advice or information that will influence the decisions of others

Behaviour 4: Team Development - Experience of providing advice or guidance to new starts, delivering training or instruction to others on specific tasks or activities and identifying the training and development needs of the team and carrying out performance appraisals 

Behaviour 5: Liaison and Networking - Experience of  circulating information in an accurate and timely manner,  working across team boundaries to build and strengthen working relationships and leading and developing internal networks to pursue a shared interest

Behaviour 6: Planning and Organising Resources - Experience of planning, prioritising and organising the work of yourself and others (within own area) on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, whilst  ensuring the effective use of resources