Role Purpose
To lead on day-to-day delivery of the advice centre provision at the Students’ Union and line manage front facing student staff at the information point. The role primarily involves the delivery of a high-quality impartial, independent, advice service to individual student members of the Students’ Union, through information, advice, guidance, signposting and referrals and working with the Head of Student-Led Change and Advice on expanding advice provision. The role-holder will also be expected to work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation as well as the university to identify and recommend solutions to issues and concerns affecting the wider student body to improve the student experience.
Main Responsibilities and Activities
- Develop the advice centre provision ensuring it delivers a service that is appropriate for the needs of University of Salford students.
- Work to maintain and develop the skills and knowledge levels within the student-staff team, through upskilling and training where necessary.
- Assist in the development of evidence-led approaches to understand student priorities and collaborate with the Student-Led Change Lead where trends indicate that collective student action is needed.
- Line management of Student Staff, including Student Advisor and Information Point staff.
- Provide leadership and direction to student staff, ensuring they are supported to provide excellent service delivery.
- Embed a coaching culture within the student staff team to empower staff to thrive.
- To lead on day-to-day delivery of the advice centre provision and work alongside the Head of Student-Led Change and Advice to expand the service where desired.
- To undertake detailed, specialised casework related primarily to academic matters and housing issues, but more broadly on other concerns affecting student experiences.
- This will be on a one-to-one basis delivered via various methods as appropriate including telephone, email, live chat, video calling, and in person.
- To maintain accurate, confidential, and legally compliant records of student client and casework details
- To approach student casework in a holistic manner, recognising that students may require support for a range of issues both academic and non-academic.
- Signposting and referring where appropriate, ensure that students are dealt with in a supportive and wellbeing-focused manner.
- To be familiar with relevant legislation as it affects student issues and respond accordingly.
- To produce information, case studies and feedback related to student issues for the Union’s communication channels, ensuring a pro-active approach to areas of concern for the student body.
- Develop and maintain relationships with colleagues throughout the Union, University and other advice providers.
- Build effective relationships with colleagues at other students’ unions to share best practice.
- Assist with the promotion of the advice service throughout the University and to external organisations.
- Provide support to student-led groups and student leaders that provide information or advice.
- Ensure compliance with the Union’s policies, University policies and all relevant legislation – including Health and Safety, 1992 Education Act and Data Protection.
- Help our Full Time Officers achieve their manifesto commitments.
- Actively engage in student-facing projects and activities of all kinds as required.
- Be an enthusiastic advocate for student leadership and the organisation’s values.
- Maintain your own professional networks and promote the Union on a local and national level.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
- Experience of providing advice and managing casework, including keeping accurate and confidential records.
- Experience of line managing staff and/or volunteers and taking a coaching approach towards their development.
- Demonstrable knowledge of and/or an appreciation of the issues currently impacting students in Higher Education
Skills and Abilities
- Ability to manage difficult or sensitive situations in a calm and empathetic way.
- Ability to demonstrate effective communication skills in a variety of situations and with diverse stakeholders.
- Ability to use Microsoft Office effectively as well as other technology such as case management systems and digital collaboration tools.
- Able to manage own caseload and to prioritise work effectively.
- A demonstrable understanding of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the challenges faced by students from minoritised backgrounds
- Able to demonstrate flexibility and agility in response to changing priorities and challenging situations.
Values and Behaviours
- A demonstrable commitment to Salford SU’s values, mission and purpose.
- A strong commitment to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Comfortable working in a democratic, student-led environment and being an enthusiastic advocate for student voice and representation.
Registered Charity 
101 - 500
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
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Location: Fully remote with flexible working arrangements
Salary: £51,500 FTE
Contract: This role is part time for 3 days a week (0.6FTE).
Closing date for applications: 5th July
Due to high numbers of applications, prior to interview we plan to carry out initial screening calls with prospective candidates before selection for interview. We will be asking about your reasons for applying and how you think your skills and experiences align to the role.
Screening calls: 16th/17th July
Panel interviews: 22nd July
Start Date: ASAP
About the Warm Welcome Campaign
Founded in 2022, the Warm Welcome Campaign wants everyone in the UK to find a place of belonging and reconnection at a Warm Welcome Space near their home. We have a bold ambition to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.
We resource, connect and champion a network of over 6,300 Warm Welcome Spaces and bring together a growing coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy. By working together, we can unlock the power of community spaces made by and for everyone, creating a thriving network of hope and reconnection fueled by human warmth.
We’re working hard to reach everyone with the message that a Warm Welcome is waiting for them just around the corner, all through the year.
Throughout all our work and within our team we live out our values of being inclusive, collaborative and courageous and our personality that is friendly, adventurous and uplifting.
It’s an important moment for us – we are now in our second year of our five year strategy which shows a clear picture of the path we have set ourselves ahead to continue to deliver and deepen our impact. We now have approximately 3.5 million visitors to Warm Welcome Spaces each year. In January we delivered a hugely successful second ever Warm Welcome Week in collaboration with a wide variety of partners.
The Opportunity
This is an exciting opportunity for a purposeful and proactive individual to work within a small (but growing), friendly and dynamic team in a varied role. If you are brilliant at leading and developing complex multi-stakeholder processes and systems, and passionate for your input to shape work that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives, this could be the role for you.
To support ongoing growth and development of the Warm Welcome Campaign, we are looking for a Head of Operations to be responsible for supporting the Senior Leadership Team in the effective and efficient running of the Campaign and the coordination and development of our ambitious 5-year strategy. The role will sit within Warm Welcome’s Senior Leadership Team, which also includes the Campaign Director, Director of Communications, Director of Programmes and Development, and will report directly to the Good Faith Partnership Operations Director.
The purpose of the Warm Welcome Senior Leadership Team is to:
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Own and develop the Warm Welcome strategy, ensuring sustainability and delivery
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Lead, direct, engage and inspire the Warm Welcome team, setting the tone and culture
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Be accountable for significant decisions, challenges and risks.
The Head of Operations role will help to support and co-ordinate the work of the Senior Leadership team to be as effective as possible in achieving this purpose.
We’re looking for someone who thrives on fast-paced and varied work, organisational growth and development and has demonstrable experience of making things happen. The ideal candidate will be highly organised and solutions-oriented, while also bringing a creative, innovative and forward-thinking approach.
At Warm Welcome, we value diversity and we recognise the enormous benefits and the social imperative of bringing together diverse groups of people. We therefore warmly welcome applications from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Responsibilities
The role will be responsible for:
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Supporting and coordinating the Warm Welcome Senior Leadership Team to function as effectively as possible
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Supporting the Warm Welcome team to ensure that our 5-year strategy is delivered on time and to budget, including coordinating our annual workplan of activities against our strategy
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Developing our internal set up, processes and systems during a period of growth
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Overseeing the Warm Welcome financial, compliance and risk management
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Coordinating the Warm Welcome team growth, culture and performance
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Overseeing long term financial planning and forecasting for Warm Welcome
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Supporting the delivery of other Warm Welcome efforts, as appropriate
Person specification
Strategy Oversight and Development
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Experience in coordinating workplans linked to a strategy to ensure that progress is being made and any areas of concern are identified and acted on quickly
Developing internal processes and systems
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Ability to create and develop high functioning, accessible systems for the whole team’s use
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Highly organised with accurate record keeping and ability to prioritise work to ensure deadlines are met and opportunities are maximised
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All candidates will need to be competent with CRM Systems, Google Suite and Microsoft Office
Financial, Risk and Compliance management
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Experience of financial management, including budget setting, owning and developing budgets, and reporting processes
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Experience of overseeing risk management and mitigation within a team
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Experience of overseeing compliance i.e. reporting to the Charity Commission, reporting related to GDPR, developing and reviewing policies etc.
Team growth and performance
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Experience of line management, leading and developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and empowerment.
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A strong team player who is flexible, positive and responds with strong influencing and negotiation skills and a commitment to the organisation and team working
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Experience of leading organisational growth, set up and design
Working Arrangements
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Current members of the team are based across the UK, with some in London, Reading, Bristol, Manchester, York and Northern Ireland. Applicants must be able to travel to Bristol once a month for a Tuesday full team meeting. Given the nature of this role we would also expect the applicant to carry out a reasonable amount of travel to both Warm Welcome Spaces and partners across the UK.
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This role is fully remote, with flexible working arrangements.
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All employees, volunteers, partners, suppliers and consultants working with GFP are expected to adhere to our Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies. GFP’s commitment to safeguarding means we seek to ensure that no harm comes to people as a result of contact with the organisation’s programmes, operations or people.
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You will need to have the right to work in the UK.
Please refer to the attached job description for full details.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.