Student support manager

Student Support Manager (South and East)

Location: Brighton, London or Essex

Salary: £39,000 – £50,440 per annum

Our client is more than just an educational institution; they are a vibrant community dedicated to nurturing creativity and empowering students to reach their full potential. With campuses across the UK, Ireland, and Germany, they offer a diverse range of courses in modern music, performing arts, filmmaking and creative technology. Their commitment to excellence in creative arts education sets them apart, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to succeed in their chosen fields.

About the Role

As Student Support Manager for the South and East you will take operational responsibility for the delivery of student support services across your campuses (Brighton, London and Essex), ensuring a consistent, high-quality experience for students. With a focus on wellbeing and pastoral care, the role centres on the effective coordination of support for a wide range of student needs, including mental and physical health, safeguarding, and complex cases.

Working closely with the Associate Director of Student Support and colleagues across the University, you will ensure local delivery aligns with institutional frameworks, systems, and standards. This includes embedding a consistent, digitally enabled approach to case management and support, while maintaining a strong understanding of the student experience at campus level.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of student support services, ensuring consistent and effective provision across the campus.
• Oversee the coordination and management of student wellbeing, safeguarding, and complex cases, ensuring appropriate escalation and follow-up.
• Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead, managing risk, referrals, and external agency engagement in line with statutory requirements.
• Ensure services operate in line with University policies, governance frameworks, and regulatory expectations.
• Manage and develop a team of Student Support Advisors, providing supervision, guidance, and support on complex or high-risk cases.
• Promote a positive and inclusive wellbeing culture, raising awareness of available support and encouraging student engagement.
• Work closely with internal teams including Admissions, Learning Support, and Compliance to ensure joined-up support for students.
• Oversee the effective use of case management systems, supporting a consistent and auditable approach to student support.
• Lead on key student processes, including mitigating circumstances, withdrawals, and fitness to study cases.
• Use data and insight to monitor service performance, inform decision-making, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies, processes, and student support initiatives.
• Ensure services are delivered within budget and resources are used effectively.

What You'll Bring:

• Significant experience in student support or a related role within a higher education setting.
• Strong understanding of student wellbeing, safeguarding, and support frameworks, including current best practice.
• Experience managing complex or sensitive cases, with sound judgement and a structured approach to risk.
• Confidence operating at a senior level, with the ability to build relationships and work collaboratively across teams.
• Experience leading and developing teams, with a focus on performance, capability, and support.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and maintain oversight of service delivery.
• A resilient and thoughtful approach, with the ability to manage a demanding and emotionally complex workload.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders.
• Confidence working in a digital, systems-based environment, using data to support decision-making and service improvement.
• A clear commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and supporting positive outcomes for all students.

The successful candidate can be based at our client’s Brighton, London, or Essex campus. As they will support activity across all three, they may be expected to travel between locations as required.

Why Our Client?

They are a values-led organisation, meaning their core values underpin all that they do:

Believe in Everyone, Challenge the Norm, Grow Together, Do The Right Thing, Own It.

In addition to joining a committed and dedicated team, you will have access to:

• 25 days holiday per year (FTE)
• SMART pension
• A comprehensive benefits package

They continually strive to create a culture of inclusivity so that they truly represent their diverse communities. They particularly welcome applications from people of colour who are underrepresented in their organisation.

They are committed to promoting the safety and welfare of their students therefore, all successful applicants are required to complete a basic DBS disclosure. Depending on the role, you may be required to complete an enhanced check / enhanced check with barred list if required by statute and internal policy.

How To Apply

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