HE Admissions Officer

Main Purpose of Job

A 0.6 FTE Higher Education (HE) admissions post responsible for accurate, timely and applicant-centred management of formal applications from the point an applicant opens an application through to the agreed handover to Academic Office. Working within the marketing and recruitment team, closely collaborating with Academic Office to oversee and coordinate the entire application process, managing hand-offs and arranging input from the right people at the right time. The post holder administers applications, coordinates and assists in conducting interviews, presents cases to the admissions panel, communicates authorised decisions and offers, supports applicants through questions and setbacks, and maintains reliable records and handovers.

Role Boundaries and Hand-offs

This post works closely with the Marketing, Communications and Recruitment Manager, the Recruitment Officer and the Academic Office team, but has a distinct operational remit:

Marketing, Communications and Recruitment Manager —leads the team and manages performance oversight. This post contributes frontline insight and updates on applications.

Recruitment Officer — owns general and pre-application enquiries and personal engagement with prospective students. Non-applicant enquiries reach Recruitment through a documented Zoho handover.

Admissions Officer (this post) — owns the formal application from the point it is opened: application-specific communication and case management, interview and decision workflows, offers issued once authorised, and confirmed handover to Academic Office.

Academic Office — receives the confirmed handover once an offer is accepted, to begin enrolment and, where applicable, issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

Main Duties

Responsibilities

To manage the formal higher education admissions process from the opening of an application through to confirmed handover to Academic Office, ensuring an efficient, compliant and applicant-centred service. The Registrar provides academic oversight and escalation.

The Admissions Officer works collaboratively with the Recruitment Officer, the Marketing, Communications and Recruitment Manager, academic decision-makers and the wider Academic Office team to ensure that prospective students and applicants all receive excellent service and care.

The post holder will:

Respond promptly to application-specific questions, concerns, setbacks and withdrawals, redirecting non-applicant enquiries to Recruitment with a documented Zoho handover

Administer applications, ensuring completeness and accuracy at every stage and communicating clearly and promptly with the applicant

Maintain accurate Zoho applicant stages and case notes, preserving pre-application history and recording ownership changes without duplicating authoritative student records

Coordinate the interview process and assist in conducting interviews in collaboration with Academic Office

Support the administration of entry requirements, assessments and entrance exams where applicable

Coordinate admissions decision workflows with the Registrar, academic admissions committee and relevant academic staff, presenting cases accurately and impartially, and recording and communicating decisions without independently determining academic eligibility or exceptional entry

Prepare and issue offer letters, conditions and related documents only after the required academic or Registrar authorisation

Monitor progress from the opening of an application through authorised decisions, offers, acceptance and handover to Academic Office, coordinating with Recruitment on exceptional cases and unresponsive applicants

Collect visa-related documents within delegated procedures and promptly refer eligibility, sponsorship and compliance decisions to the Registrar or Director of Academic Services

Escalate complex or stalled cases to the appropriate colleague, such as the Registrar or academic decision-makers, so that applications progress without delay

Produce a weekly pipeline report covering volumes, application stages, overdue cases and decisions, flagging individual cases that need attention, so the College can report across departments and externally

Identify and implement improvements to the admissions process to enhance the applicant experience and the efficiency of the service

Performance Measures

Measures and service-level targets will be agreed by the Marketing, Communications and Recruitment Manager with the post holder, reflecting the 0.6 FTE working pattern, institutional dependencies, peak periods and approved decision-making timelines. Report results weekly; distinguish matters within the post holder’s control from delays awaiting academic or external decisions.

Application acknowledgement: percentage of newly opened applications acknowledged within the agreed number of working days; monitor outstanding acknowledgements and exceptions

Completeness checks and processing timeliness: percentage of applications checked for required information within the agreed working-day standard; median and overdue time from complete file to referral for decision, separating academic decision time from administrative processing time

Communication of authorised decisions: percentage of approved offers, conditions, refusals and other decisions communicated within the agreed working-day standard after authorisation; monitor acceptance and withdrawal patterns with Recruitment without making conversion the sole measure of Admissions performance

CRM and record accuracy: proportion of sampled applicant records complete, current and correctly staged in Zoho and the authoritative admissions record; corrections, consent/data-handling exceptions and referrals to the authorised UKVI lead recorded and resolved promptly

Applicant feedback: monitor the quality and timeliness of responses to applicants, complaints, concerns, withdrawals and available feedback; record actions taken to address recurring barriers and improve applicant experience

Overdue and unresponsive cases: weekly review of applications awaiting documents, decisions or responses; flag cases requiring escalation. After approximately three weeks without applicant response, request one relationship-based follow-up by Recruitment, subject to case circumstances; Admissions retains ownership and decides next status under agreed procedure

Escalation and handovers: percentage of cases needing Registrar, admissions-panel, academic or specialist input referred with complete information; timely documented transfer to Academic Office and appropriate Recruitment involvement in exceptional cases