Skills and Apprenticeships Systems Lead

About the University

We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region. We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

About the College/Department

The Registry supports the whole student journey, from initial enquiry and admission through to final award and beyond. We work as an integrated, student-focused service, using our expertise, insight and technology to deliver excellent services and support student success. Our teams work collaboratively across the University, fostering an inclusive, high-performing culture that promotes wellbeing, development and opportunity for all.

About the Skills and Apprenticeships Team

The Skills and Apprenticeships team plays a critical role in supporting the delivery of the University's Further Education, Skills and Apprenticeship provision. The team is responsible for ensuring the integrity of learner records, compliance with funding and regulatory requirements, management information reporting, and the effective operation of specialist FE and Skills systems.

Working closely with academic departments, curriculum teams, employers, external agencies and Digital Solutions & Services (DS&S), the team supports the University's commitment to delivering a high-quality, compliant and data-driven apprenticeship and skills service. As the University continues to grow and transform its Skills and Apprenticeship provision, the team is increasingly focused on improving systems, enhancing data quality, streamlining processes and maximising the value of digital technologies.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to take a leading role in the management and development of the University's FE and Skills systems landscape.

As Skills and Apprenticeships Systems Lead, you will act as the business owner for FE and Skills systems, providing oversight of systems, processes, data quality and compliance. You will work closely with Digital Solutions & Services (DS&S) and key stakeholders across the University to ensure systems are fit for purpose, support regulatory and funding requirements and deliver high-quality management information.

Key responsibilities include leading the strategic development, enhancement and continuous improvement of the University's FE and Skills systems to ensure they remain effective, efficient and aligned with organisational priorities. The postholder will oversee data integrity, quality assurance and compliance, ensuring that systems support accurate reporting and meet all regulatory and funding requirements. Acting as the key business lead for system changes, integrations and developments, you will work closely with stakeholders to identify opportunities for improvement and deliver impactful solutions.

The role will also involve leading business impact assessments and supporting the successful implementation of change initiatives, helping teams adapt to new processes and technologies. You will drive process improvement, standardisation and automation to enhance operational efficiency and service delivery, while coordinating activities linked to critical regulatory and operational cycles. In addition, you will provide functional leadership and direction across FE and Skills systems support activities, ensuring a high-quality, responsive and customer-focused systems environment.

This role can be primarily based at either our Buxton campus or Derby campus.

Principal Accountabilities

FE Systems Business Ownership & Assurance:
- Act as the Registry's senior business owner for FE & Skills systems as a connected service landscape.
- Ensure systems and processes support regulatory, funding and operational requirements.
- Own business risk related to system use, data quality and process design.

Data Integrity, Compliance & Reporting:
- Provide oversight of data quality, integrity and assurance across FE & Skills systems.
- Interpret regulatory and funding requirements (e.g. ILR) and ensure systems are used appropriately to meet them.
- Design, specify and assure management information and reporting outputs.

Stakeholder & Service Leadership:
- Act as the primary escalation point for complex or high-risk system and data issues.
- Work with Registry, curriculum, apprenticeships and other stakeholders to translate business needs into system and process requirements.
- Provide professional advice and guidance on FE & Skills systems capability and limitations.

Coordination with Digital Solutions & Services:
- Act as the senior business interface with DS&S on incidents, system changes, integrations and release impacts.
- Lead business impact assessment and readiness for technical changes.
- Ensure business sign-off and communication around system developments.

Continuous Improvement & Sustainability:
- Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise or automate processes.
- Reduce reliance on manual, person-dependent activities.
- Ensure key processes are documented, owned and resilient.
- Plan and coordinate Registry activity around annual and peak cycles (e.g. enrolment, compliance windows).

Leadership & Oversight:
- Provide functional oversight and direction to FE & Skills systems support roles.
- Set priorities, standards and expectations for operational delivery.
- Contribute to service planning and development.

General:
- Promote good governance, data protection and University values.
- Comply with the requirements of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults, Prevent, Health and Safety, Quality and other University policies including Equal Opportunities, Risk Management and Equality and Diversity.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications:
- Undergraduate degree or equivalent work-based experience.

Experience:
- Significant experience of working with FE, Skills, Apprenticeship or Student Records systems within a Higher Education, Further Education or Skills environment.
- Experience of managing or leading activities relating to data quality, compliance, regulatory reporting or systems governance.
- Experience managing, developing or improving complex business systems.
- Experience designing or overseeing processes and reporting.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:
- Strong understanding of data integrity and quality, governance and compliance and regulatory impact.
- Ability to assess risk, impact and priorities across a service area.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Ability to operate with autonomy and professional judgement, managing competing priorities.
- Ability to coordinate activities across multiple teams and stakeholders.

Business Requirements:
- Ability to work outside of normal working hours (including some evenings and weekends) to support the business during key University events such as Graduation, Clearing and Open Days.
- Completed DBS check.

Desirable Criteria:

Experience:
- Detailed experience with Educational MIS (e.g. ProSolution or equivalent).
- Experience working with IT or digital teams on system changes or integrations.
- Experience leading service improvement or change initiatives.

Benefits

- Generous annual leave entitlement of 38 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata).
- Local Government Pension Scheme.
- Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.
- Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers.
- Discounted onsite gym.
- Cycle to Work scheme.
- A flexible working environment.
- A commitment to personal and professional development.