Work with us

Educational Adviser (Welsh Language)

Reference: 221
£37,099 to £44,263
Permanent, 37 hours a week
Closing Date: 12 September 2024, 12:00pm noon
The ability to speak Welsh is essential for this role.

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and versatile individual to support our students and enquirers to succeed in achieving their educational goals. This is a general educational guidance role working across the Information, Advice & Guidance (IAG) Service where you will be focusing on the delivery and development of the Student Recruitment and Support team to prospective and current students, providing educational advice and guidance about courses, qualifications, regulations, careers and on course support for preparation, induction and learning skills development, predominantly by telephone and email. You will be required to perform this role fully bilingually so need to be fluent in both English and Welsh.

The post holder will be located within Student Recruitment and Support at the Open University in Wales however you will be expected to work closely with other colleagues in the University.

You will possess a degree and/or appropriate professional guidance qualification, or equivalent skills and experience especially associated with providing educational guidance and student support within adult, further or higher education and distance learning, and be a fluent speaker of English and Welsh.

Skills and Experience

Do you hold a degree or an appropriate professional qualification or equivalent skills and experience in providing educational advice and guidance services?

Can you speak fluent English and Welsh?

Do you have a high level of initiative and willingness to take ownership of issues to resolve them?

Do you have the time management skills needed to ensure that work is carried out effectively and efficiently?

Do you have a sound understanding and commitment to equal opportunities and diversity?

Can you be flexible and calm while maintaining perspective when assisting challenging clients?

Key Responsibilities

• Provide proactive and reactive bilingual guidance and complex educational support to students to support them to make appropriate decisions about their studies, both in relation to their own needs and the Open University’s policies.
• Act as the point of escalation for students and potential students requiring guidance and complex support, using judgement and professional expertise to refer to specialist services where necessary.
• Act as a subject matter expert and contact point for Welsh language in relation to student-facing policies and processes, contributing to the development of other staff and acting as a point if referral where necessary.
• Monitor and evaluate policies and procedures to assure the continuous quality and improvement of Welsh language services to students and enquirers.
• Accurately record and maintain student and enquirer details and discussions on university systems and databases.
• Contribute to the development of the University’s Student Recruitment and Support operations within Wales with a focus on promoting student retention, progression and satisfaction.
• Develop and deliver training to Associate Lecturers and to other academic staff relating to student support, including on Welsh Language legislation, policies and procedures.
• Contribute to the design, development and evaluation of online and written information, materials and systems to meet educational and/or operational needs.
• To continually develop skills and knowledge to maintain and improve personal performance, adopting evolving business practices and procedures.

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please email your CV and a personal statement of no more 2000 words detailing how you meet the Person Specification to wales-recruitment@open.ac.uk. In your statement, you must directly address the essential and desirable criteria.

Please state if you would like to use Welsh in an interview or any other assessment method. We will provide a translation service from Welsh to English if this is needed. 

Job description 

Click here to read the job description (101 KB).

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English

Project Officer (Wales REACH)

Reference: 21737
£30,487 to £36,024
Fixed term until 31 July 2026, part-time (18.5 hours a week)
Closing Date: 11 September 2024, 12:00pm noon
For this the role the ability to communicate in the medium of Welsh is desirable.

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

About the Role

Supporting the ambitions and developing skills of people in Wales is so important now and, in the future, and we are looking for someone who understands the importance of this and is ready for a challenge to make it happen.

We are looking for an organised team player with strong communication skills to join our team. You will work across Wales with our partners primarily in the housing association sector.

The role will support community engagement within the Wales REACH (Residents Engaging in Arts, Culture and Heritage) project; a heritage and creative arts initiative working with a range of communities across Wales. The project is a collaboration between The Open University in Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru and five housing associations. It is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and will run for two years, from summer 2024 to summer 2026.

The overall aims of the Wales REACH project are:

• to run a variety of stimulating events which will connect people from disadvantaged communities across Wales with the heritage that matters to them.
• to use that engagement with heritage as the foundation for programmes of education and activities which will support participants to capture and reflect upon what the history of their area means to them in a diverse range of creative ways.
• to share the outputs produced by participants to amplify voices which tend to be marginal or absent from mainstream narratives of Welsh history.

For this role we are particularly interested in candidates with experience of community engagement. You will work closely with a wider Wales REACH team and connect with those in similar project-dedicated engagement roles based in other housing association partners.

You will be joining The OU in Wales at an exciting time and you will coordinate your work with our faculties and other internal stakeholders to develop a truly collaborative approach to partnership working across Wales.

We’re looking for someone with strong organisational abilities, particularly in relation to a focused and demanding work portfolio. You will also demonstrate a growth mind-set where you are open to ideas and possibilities and can respond positively to challenges and setbacks.

Skills and Experience

Do you have experience of designing and delivering in-person and online creative arts sessions to a range of communities?

Do you have well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, organisational skills and experience in evaluating impacts and outcomes?

Do you have experience of building strong relationships with a range of stakeholders and partners, particularly within social housing?

Do you have a sound understanding and commitment to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion?

Can you demonstrate a history of success, with examples of work that have made a difference/had impact?

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please email your CV and a personal statement of no more 2000 words detailing how you meet the Person Specification to wales-recruitment@open.ac.uk. In your statement, you must directly address the essential and desirable criteria.

Applications are allowed to be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favorably than an application submitted in English.

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks

Job description 

Click here to read the job description (101 KB).

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English