Recruitment Adviser supporting Aberystwyth University

Job Purpose

The role of Recruitment Adviser is a critical leadership role that will drive the implementation of Aberystwyth University’s India Student Recruitment Strategy and its ambitions to significantly grow student recruitment from India. Aberystwyth University is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. It has been named as Welsh University of the Year for 2020 by The Times / The Sunday Times Good University Guide.

The position will be central to the recruitment and ongoing leadership of the India team that will be located across 3-4 areas in-country and will drive key activities including developing partnerships that support student recruitment, recruitment campaigns, strategy development and implementation, alumni relationship building, partnerships and government tie ups, budget management, reporting against metrics, provision of market insights and research to support the strategy and extensive stakeholder management in the Indian market.

Primary focus of the role will be to assist in the development and in the implementation of the University’s recruitment strategy in India, alongside the Regional Manager, Aberystwyth University. Other responsibilities will include assisting in the development and support of institutional partnerships, brand development and agency relationship management.

The position involves frequent, sophisticated interaction with international clients and significant travel time is required. The post holder will be expected to travel extensively, including weekends and during out of office hours.

Main Responsibilities

As Recruitment Adviser, you will be required to develop, refine, implement, and, at the conclusion of each recruitment cycle, retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of the India marketing and recruitment strategy. Specifically, you will:
1. Support in the development of marketing and recruitment strategy for each recruitment cycle.
2. Carry out the day-to-day activity required to realize the objectives of marketing and recruitment strategy: attending exhibitions, undertaking school and college visits, visiting agencies, etc.
3. Develop and maintain positive working relationships with key external stakeholders in India: education agents, school and college counsellors, government bodies, sponsorship bodies, accreditation bodies, alumni, etc.
5. Develop and maintain a calendar of recruitment activity for each cycle, this to include agency fair, school and college visits, and other recruitment- oriented activity.
6. Develop and maintain good internal stakeholder relationships with current students, alumni and professional services personnel, in support of recruitment and marketing objectives.
7. Engage in a professional manner with students (and with parents/guardians, etc.) at all stages of the recruitment journey: from first enquiry, through application and offer- holding, to (ideally) enrolment.
8. Maintain a thorough knowledge of relevant standards, legislation and political frameworks
9. Provide regular market feedback to the Regional Manager as and when required.
10. Provide a consistently high standard of customer service.
11. Accompany Institution personnel in India on official visits as needed. Support and plan delegation visits to India. Coordinating with travel vendors and hotels for Venue bookings as per requirement


Student Recruitment

1.Forecast, establish and execute recruitment plans to achieve the University’s student recruitment goals. This will include development of partnerships and business development plans to support at the undergraduate, postgraduate level and will include
a. Agent Management
b. High school and university business development
c. Industry and Sector business relationship building
2.Coordinate annual and long-range business plans, including benchmarking conversion focused schemes and developing recruitment plans that focus on maximizing conversion across the student lifecycle.
3.Support and recommend strategic partnerships with third parties that support the objectives of the recruitment strategy


Partnerships

1.Drive the existing university partnership strategy to support student recruitment including the identification of potential partnerships and leveraging relationships to support this strategy
2.Develop in consultation with Senior team members from the University, educational partnerships and manage stakeholder relationships that support the recruitment strategy
3.Provide in-country logistics, advice and support for all student mobility activity in India.
4.In consultation with key academic or professional, help source industry contacts for the development of student internships or industry site visits that support the overall student recruitment strategy
5.Collaborate with relevant university functions to ensure maximum collaboration and support for activities in India to support the overall student recruitment strategy

Marketing

1.Work in close partnership with the University-based Marketing and Communications team to develop and implement marketing campaigns that support University of (Name of the University)’s reputation and recruitment objectives.
2.Provide market and audience insights to inform the development of marketing campaigns.
3.Ensure that all marketing materials are consistent with the university brand position and visual identity standards.
4.Provide feedback on the effectiveness and ROI of marketing-led recruitment activity and campaigns, ensuring that in-country activities are measured and reported appropriately to the Marketing and Communications team.
5.Engage with India-based third-party agencies to assist with local marketing campaigns.
6.Support the Marketing and Communications and Media and Government Relations teams to maximize reputation building opportunities for the University.

 

Planning

1.Lead on the implementation of the recruitment campaigns for India, including designing and implementing conversion campaigns, target setting and budget allocation in line with the strategy.
2.Work closely with the university’s international team, finance and other relevant functional teams to ensure integration with university budget cycles and processes.
3.Achieve overall fiscal and operating objectives.
4.Management of the overall India recruitment budget including monitoring business results, cost effectiveness of India-based recruitment and marketing activity and all other associated costs.

Reporting

1.Develop and implement a thorough reporting framework, ensuring appropriate and time sensitive reporting by relevant KPIs.
2.Align reporting outputs to university systems and process where possible.
3.Partner with the Head of Admissions to develop and enhance admissions processes to ensure efficient and effective enrolment practices and that admissions policy is in alignment with the recruitment objectives

Alum Networking

1.In consultation with the university alumni team maintain and develop relationships with key Indian alumni.
2.Provide updates to the alumni team to support ensuring the University’s central alumni database is updated appropriately
3.Arrange and attend alumni activities within India, as required, ensuring the events are appropriately reported and communication of event outcomes to the alumni team.
4.Identify and refer selected alumni to the central alumni team for potential award nominations/profiling opportunities.

Analysis

Supporting the university in developing data-led strategy marrying appropriate quantitative analysis with structured qualitative commentary. Implement robust tracking and ROI processes for decision-making.

Process

Leadership in driving recruitment and marketing process review and improvement. Embedding a mindset of continuous process improvement.

Product

Utilize market knowledge to influence the development of new education programs and work with appropriate staff to inform and support decision-making in new program development

Administration

Any other duties as reasonably directed by line managers.