Location: London

Department: Admissions

Salary: TBC

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Placed On: 14th February 2022

Point Blank is an award-winning music school based in London, Los Angeles, Ibiza, Mumbai, China and online. The School specialises in Higher Education subjects including Music Production and Sound Engineering, DJ Practice and Performance, Singing and Songwriting, Music Industry Management, Radio Production and Broadcasting, and professional courses.

As a specialist music education provider, we take pride in teaching the creative process of making music at the highest level, with expert lecturers and state-of-the-art facilities. We nurture and support students, providing them with a curriculum connected to industry and the tools to succeed in their careers. Consistently awarded high scores by our students through the National Student Survey, we have a reputation for giving our community a unique and high-quality experience.

This is your chance to join a fast-growing company with exciting opportunities for personal development. To find out what makes Point Blank Music School a remarkable place to work, check out our YouTube channel here.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We seek an experienced and enthusiastic Senior Admissions Officer, with international experience, who has a passion for music and education and is driven by supporting prospective students through the various stages of the application and the onboarding process. The ability to engage with applicants (both domestic and international) and understand Point Blank’s courses is key.  

Through the guidance of Point Blank’s Admissions Policy, sector best practice and government law and regulation, you’ll be required to process students from early application to submission, ensuring all the correct processes have been completed and with appropriate documentation for assessment onto a course.

With experience of working within a Higher Education Admissions team, and an in-depth understanding of domestic and international admissions; this role will play an important part in the overall growth of the School.

As a Senior Admissions Officer you will be supporting key application processing activities such as assisting students with visa queries, CAS allocation, student funding and qualification related enquiries. You will be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the team’s Admission Officers and Assistants; as well as reporting on data and contributing to improvements in turn-a-around times and service level agreements with the School’s applicants.

Maintaining quality with prompt applicant response times is vital; attention to detail is a must especially when operating the School’s bespoke applicant system (EMS) and dealing with sensitive applicant data.

We are looking for a motivated, student-centric individual who understands the domestic and international HE admissions landscape. Maintaining an open, professional, articulate and sympathetic approach to admissions is a requirement of this role and will enable the School’s ambitious targets for future growth in recruitment.

This role covers but not limited to:

• Reviewing and assessing applications from domestic and international students adhering to government (Home Office) and sector regulations
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with applicants advising on processes and next steps
• Monitoring application targets, service level agreements and turn-around times during cycles whilst responding to dips and rises in application trends for the School
• Developing communications such as Offer Letters and automated responses for applicants to enable progress on applications and help conversion
• Deputise for the Admissions Manager during periods of leave of absence from the office
• Day-to-day supervision of the junior members of the Admissions team
• Providing training on areas such as Ecctis, international admissions legislation and CAS distribution, UCAS systems and cycles for new team members
• Supporting applicants during the student application and enrolment stages
• Management of the admissions inbox and allocation of enquiries to the Admissions Team
• Assessing student fee status and providing information regarding funding options.
• Reviewing and assessing Scholarship applications
• Helping to meet the School’s targets for its Access and Participation Plan via contextual offer making, signposting and encouraging care leavers to apply for bursaries
• Coordinate the link between the Admissions and Student Services teams for wellbeing and adjustments support, fast-tracking pre-offer applicants with disabilities to the Point Blank Wellbeing team
• Supporting the wider Marketing and Communications department at events such as Open Days and other recruitment events
• Maintaining accurate student records and delivering live reports within the application pipeline
• Upkeep of all agent information with rates and commissions updated

This role is heavily focused on processing applications as well as relating information to new applicants. You will need exceptional inter-personal skills and will need to be comfortable building strong communications with new audiences.

In short, you will be a process driven, experienced admissions professional who knows how to assess and review all manner of HE applications with expertise, and with a view to exceeding the School’s ambitious recruitment targets through quality admissions processes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Take day-to-day responsibility for the provision of the EMS and the various communications and application platforms used to maintain data and deliver communications

Work with colleagues across Point Blank to help onboard students and move them from enquirer to firm accept and finally to enrolled student

Manage the Point Blank agents and develop relationships to enhance international recruitment numbers and aid conversion

Manage data to report on insights on applications and conversion on the applicant/firm accept/enrolled student pipeline – looking at ways to maximise efforts within the recruitment cycle for HE cohorts

Manage the scheduling of English language test, auditions, interviews and other preparations of entry for international students

Collaboration with the Registry department and Support Services team to ensure efficient and effective sharing of information and the efficient execution of the student application and onboarding process

 Ensure that all information and processes relating to the activities is accurately presented, in a student / audience friendly way, in-line with business and regulatory requirements, and that all key stakeholders (internal and external) are kept informed

Undertake any other duties as relevant to the proper execution of the role or as reasonably requested by Head of Department or Senior Managers within the School 

The list above is indicative, not exhaustive.

PERSON SPECIFICATION - Essential

Education:

• Hold a degree level qualification or equivalent.

Experience:

• Solid experience in a similar Admissions role, especially in processing international applications within the UK and within an HE setting
• Excellent understanding of Ecctis, international admissions legislation and CAS distribution, UCAS systems and cycles
• Experience in using third-party platforms such as UCAS to upload tariff information and course descriptions
• Experience in sending communications such as Offer Letters to audiences through an applicant/student management system

Knowledge/Skills:

• Strong communicator and comfortable liaising with internal / external applicants/carers and stakeholders
• Enthusiastic, passionate and solution focused, able to work efficiently and problem solve creatively
• Team-player, can work with people from all disciplines, backgrounds and abilities
• Excellent written English and effective copy writing / proof reading skills
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong reporting and data planning and delivery skills
• Accurate management of student records with conclusions and recommendations
• Thorough and well-organised, able to meet multiple tasks and deadlines effectively and within set service level agreements
• Ability to cope under pressure especially during peak UCAS recruitment periods
• The ability to be patient and discreet when handling applicant information
• Understanding of the domestic and international tariffs and qualifications for entry into Higher Education 

PERSON SPECIFICATION - Desirable

Education:

• N/A

Experience:

• Experience working with applicants in under-represented groups

Knowledge/Skills:

• Ability to work with international agents to onboard students into UK Higher Education
• An understanding of core issues relating to EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion)
• Good knowledge of current music / music trends (techniques, genres, artists)

How to apply

To apply, please send us your CV and detailed cover letter setting out your interest in the role and details of how you match the criteria in the person specification to work@pointblankmusicschool.com.

Point Blank is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of society.