Advert Reference Number: 1254
Job Location: Milton Keynes
Department: Student Support Services
Salary: £38,784 to £46,049
Closing Date: 17 December 2025
Weekly Working Hours: 37
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract for 2 years
Change your career, change lives
The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).
About the Role
This role plays a central part in supporting the delivery of the University’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for students and staff. While data analysis remains a key component, the role goes far beyond numbers—bringing together people, insights, and actions to drive meaningful change.
You’ll coordinate activity across departments, encourage engagement, and ensure contributions to the strategy are captured, analysed, and communicated effectively. You’ll be the person who nudges, reminds, and brings people together creating a shared sense of purpose and progress working with the Strategic Mental Health Lead and university colleagues.
Working across Student Support and Data & Student Analytics, you’ll help shape how we measure success, tell the story of our impact, and build communities of practice that foster collaboration and innovation.
Key Responsibilities
* Coordinate contributions to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy across teams, ensuring timely updates, shared learning, recommendations and consistent messaging.
* Analyse and interpret data (quantitative and qualitative) to assess progress, identify gaps, and inform future priorities.
* Write clear, engaging reports and updates for internal and external audiences, including senior leadership.
* Develop dashboards and visual tools that communicate insights and support decision-making.
* Build and support communities of practice around mental health and wellbeing, encouraging cross-functional collaboration.
* Encourage and support staff to engage with the strategy—whether through submitting updates, attending events, or sharing good practice.
* Manage requests for data and reporting, ensuring quality, relevance, and timeliness.
* Provide training and guidance on using data tools and interpreting insights.
* Maintain a strong focus on equity, inclusion, and accessibility in all aspects of the role.
About You
Essential:
* Demonstrable understanding of both data analysis and mental health in a higher education context.
* Proven ability to work collaboratively across teams and departments to deliver shared goals.
* Evidence of meaningful contribution to cross-functional projects, particularly those involving wellbeing, strategy, or student/staff support.
* Skilled in aligning strategic initiatives with measurable outcomes, particularly in student welfare and mental health contexts.
* Able to monitor and assess the impact of initiatives as well as identifying areas for further improvement.
* Active involvement in the development and reporting of KPIs and success measures aligned to the MHWB strategic plan and tracking delivery milestones, short-term outcomes, and long-term institutional impact.
* Able to prioritise effectively, meeting deadlines and dealing with competing demands.
* Experience of working in a support role that required independence and initiative to drive momentum and delivery across multiple teams.
* Ability to interpret complex data (quantitative and qualitative) and translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
* A genuine commitment to enhancing the University’s approach to mental health and wellbeing for both students and staff.
* Proficiency in using data analysis and visualisation tools (e.g. SQL, Power BI, Tableau) to communicate insights effectively.
* A strong commitment to working inclusively and equitably with a diverse student and staff population.
* A track record of research, evaluation, or knowledge exchange relevant to mental health, wellbeing, or strategic development, commensurate with the level of the role.
Desirable:
* Experience with impact frameworks, logic models, or theory of change.
* Familiarity with frameworks such as UUK StepChange, Student Mental Health Charter.
* Knowledgeable in ensuring compliance with Office for Students conditions, including access and participation plans, student outcomes, and mental health support.
* Experience working within regulatory frameworks such as Office for Students.
* Growing Knowledge and/or demonstratable experience in Artificial Intelligence.
What's in it for you?
At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).
Flexible working
We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.
It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be approximately once per week.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for this position, please click the 'Apply' link above where you will be directed to our Careers webpage.
We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.
The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.