Work with us

Customer Service Adviser (Student Support) x5

£24,044-£26,038 (grade 4)

Permanent, 37 hours per week (willing to consider part time candidates; 30+ per week)

Closing Date: 28 November, 2024 - 12:00

Location: Based within our OU in Wales, Cardiff office, but operating a pattern of hybrid working (with a minimum of 2 days per week in office)

Welsh language: There are 5x vacancies in total; For 4x of these vacancies, the ability to communicate in the medium of Welsh is Desirable. For the remaining vacancy, the ability to communicate in the medium of Welsh is Essential.

Are you looking for a job with a real purpose?

• Passionate about delivering an exceptional level of customer service
• An effective communicator with sufficient IT skills that allow you to support students with a range of enquiries
• A motivated self-starter who can adapt to the needs of the operation
• Able to solve problems using the resources available to you and your initiative
• Able to thrive in a collaborative working environment and enjoy being part of a highly experienced and supportive team
• Able to bring energy to your role and always striving for excellence
• Excited about the prospect of working for a highly established distance learning organisation in which you will be able to make a difference to students’ lives

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. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short Youtube video.

We have several exciting new opportunities for customer service professionals to join our frontline team in our Student Recruitment and Support Contact Centre. This is a busy and varied role, where you’ll help our students – and people who are looking to study with us – make decisions about their learning.

Our Student Advisers are the first point of contact for prospective and current students seeking information about study at the OU.  The team support students by ensuring they have the information they need to make the right study choices for them, and are able to enrol and pay using their chosen method.  The teamwork with colleagues across the University to support students and enquirers.

About the role

The role involves significant telephone work, both inbound and outbound, to provide support to students through their study journey as well as email, letter, webchat and other mediums as necessary. You will need to be confident working with multiple systems, information and databases to maintain student and enquirer details. You will ensure that prospective and current students are given accurate information and you will work with colleagues across the University to provide support.

You will receive full training for the role from our experienced team who will use high quality materials, followed by regular support, coaching and development from your Team Manager and established team members to build your confidence and knowledge within the role.

We currently have posts available at our Cardiff office. Successful candidates will be expected to complete their training and then work in a hybrid style. This means that candidates should be able to work comfortably from home and their appointed OU office. Therefore, candidates will need to live within a reasonable commute to the OU office. Candidates will be supplied with a laptop to work flexibly.

Full job description

Full job description (Welsh essential role)

What you get in return

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role.  This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs.

We also offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Benefits include an attractive pension scheme and 30 days holiday per annum for support staff, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days although this role may require some flexibility to service the needs of the business. 

Dates and key information

This role is full time working 37 hours. Successful candidates will be required to work to a working pattern which will be between the current opening hours of 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday. The current working pattern is between 8:30am – 5:00pm.

Please note that leave will be restricted during the initial training period, and during the months of August, September, October and January each year as this is the peak operational period.

During training, you will be fully supported in a training group. You’ll be able to see and communicate with your group and will also be required to interact with group activities via a webcam, so you’ll need to be comfortable with this.

On the occasions that you are required to work from home, you will need to ensure you have broadband internet speeds of at least 10Mbit/s download and 2Mbit/s upload. You can test your speeds at the below site:

www.speedtest.net

How to apply

If you have any questions about this role, please contact Tom Poultney on 029 20 26 27 16 who will arrange a convenient time for the hiring manager to contact you for a chat.

To apply, send a CV and Supporting Statement (max 2000 words) to wales-recruitment@open.ac.uk, quoting job reference 21897. Your Supporting Statement should clearly address how you meet the essential and desirable criteria listed in the job description.

Please let us know if you would like to use Welsh at an interview or any other form of assessment. We will provide a translation service from Welsh to English if one is needed.

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

Please note: If you have not heard from us within two weeks of the application closing date, please assume that on this occasion you have not been selected for interview. However, we thank you for your interest and encourage you to apply for future career opportunities.

Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.

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.

Practice Based Learning Assistant

£31,387-£32,296 (pro-rata)

Fixed Term Contract until July 2026, 18.5 hours per week

Closing Date: 19 November, 2024 - 12:00

Location: Based within our OU in Wales, Cardiff office, but operating a pattern of hybrid working

Welsh language: For this the role the ability to communicate in the medium of Welsh is desirable

About the role

The Practice-Based Learning Assistant is an academic-related member of the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care (HWSC) in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies (WELS) at the Open University. They are part of a larger regional team of academic, academic-related staff, administrative and student services colleagues involved in delivering health and social care qualifications and professional programmes.

We are seeking a highly organised and enthusiastic individual to develop and co-ordinate practice-based learning activities in accordance with the geographical needs of the area you are supporting to facilitate the delivery of the school’s professional programmes. You will support the relevant professional programme, staff tutors and faculty coordinators and practice tutors (coordination of reports and electronic Practice Assessment Document (ePAD) administration) in supporting student practice and placement systems in line with the requirements of their professional body. You will ensure that efficient systems, processes and procedures are in place to develop and support practice-based learning experiences for students. Working with colleagues from across the University, you will be responsible for administrative processes, data entry, validation and maintenance related to the practice-based learning experience of students.

You will have strongly developed technological, administrative and organisational skills, with a degree or equivalent qualification and demonstrable experience relevant to the role. You will be highly motivated, able to demonstrate flexibility, excellent communication, team working and a commitment to collaborative working across organisational boundaries. You will need to be flexible, adaptable and have the ability to work independently and as part of a team some of which are office based. Those teams that are office based will require you to be an office-based team member.

Key Responsibility/ Skills and Experience

For a full list of the key responsibilities and the skills and experience required to undertake this role, please see attached job description.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be expected to submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (max 1000 words) that demonstrates how you meet the essential/desirable criteria listed above. 

Please send your CV and Supporting Statement to careers@open.ac.uk using the title: Practice Based Learning Assistant (Wales) Application

Please let us know if you would like to use Welsh at an interview or any other form of assessment. We will provide a translation service from Welsh to English if one is needed.

Interview date: TBC 

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Cardiff office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be approximately once per quarter.

Full time starting salary is £31,387 to £32,296 per annum, with potential progression when in post to £36,924 per annum. Internal candidates already within the salary banding will remain on their current spinal point as per policy.

Early closing date notification 

We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications. 

To apply for this role please submit the following;

CV and Supporting Statement, up to 1,000 words. You should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the above essential and desirable criteria.

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.

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.

Curriculum Tutor

£46,485-£47,874

Permanent, 37 hours per week

Closing Date: 21 November, 2024 - 12:00

Location: Based within our OU in Wales, Cardiff office, but operating a pattern of hybrid working

Welsh language: For this the role the ability to communicate in the medium of Welsh is desirable

About the role

We are currently recruiting for a Curriculum Tutor to support the PGCE Programme at the OU, which offers two routes into teaching in Wales via an employment-based approach or through part time study.

The role holder will be part of the Curriculum Tutor team for the PGCE and responsible for the modern foreign languages pathway. The role holder will be responsible for student teaching and assessment across a range of core and professional ITE curriculum areas as well as their own area of expertise in relation to the subject curriculum and should include proficiency in additional languages taught within the school curriculum. 

Additionally, the role holder will support the oversight of students’ assessment in relation to the Welsh Language Competency Framework for Education Practitioners and to design learning materials to support student teachers and their schools. You will work closely with student teachers, school partners and others to ensure the quality and delivery of the programme pan-Wales via online distance education tuition.

Key Responsibility

• Design and deliver online seminars, contribute to maintenance and production of online materials and undertake the assessment for named groups of students.
• To work closely with colleagues in the Academic Production Team based in Milton Keynes and the delivery partners of Regional Consortia/Local Authority and Schools in Wales to ensure the coherence of the programme.
• To mark students’ portfolios at the end of each level of study (3 levels) including reports on their School Practice.
• To feedback to students on their academic work constructively and effectively.
• To teach groups of students directly and interactively via Adobe Connect conferencing tool and communicate asynchronously via online Forums.
• Be the responsible academic lead for their subject in the PGCE programme and be accountable for subject QA from Estyn.
• Be involved in Examination Boards and Quality Assurance via Partnership Committee as required.
• Carry out educational research in Wales – either by continuing current research interests towards potential REF submission or by registering on an EdD programme.
• Be involved in the management and training of Mentors and Practice Tutors across Wales.
• Contribute more broadly to the activities of the Programme, the OU in Wales and the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport as required.

Skills and experience

• An honours degree.
• A higher level post-graduate qualification to at least Masters level in a professional area related to ITE or education or a PhD in a professional area related to ITE or education. Applicants at Masters level will need to demonstrate the commitment to enrol on a taught Doctorate in Education at the Open University. 
• Qualified Teacher Status 
• Experience of teaching languages within the school context. 
• Excellent command of spoken and written English, with the capacity to teach online, communicate clearly and influentially with students and stakeholders.
• Knowledge and experience necessary to contribute to the development and delivery of teaching materials in ITE-related curriculum.
• Knowledge of the field of ITE and understanding of the approaches to ITE within Wales.
• Ability to work effectively and flexibly in a team and collaboratively in a team with others.
• Proven ability to plan and organise workload to agreed deadlines, within resource constraints, and sometimes under pressure.
• Demonstrable evidence of having used ICT for a variety of purposes including learning and teaching, and evidence of understanding of the potential of new and emerging technologies to enhance learning.
• Ability to engage in research and scholarship through activities such as publications and/or widely recognised and disseminated contributions to learning and teaching.
• Knowledge of the new Curriculum for Wales and awareness of changes to teaching in Wales.
• Ability and willingness to travel for work purposes, to live within reasonable commuting distance of the Open University in Cardiff and to be working in Wales for more than 50% of contracted time.
• Commitment to equal opportunities policies and practices.

• The ability to communicate effectively and to teach through the medium of Welsh to a high standard (highly desirable). 
• Experience of HE teaching and module design that engages and retains students or the proven potential to effectively contribute to this process. 
• Higher education teaching experience including creating and marking assessments. 
• Expertise in bilingualism, cultural and ethnic diversity.
• Qualification for teaching in a Higher Education context.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be expected to submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (max 1000 words) that demonstrates how you meet the essential/desirable criteria listed above. 

Please send your CV and Supporting Statement to careers@open.ac.uk using the title: 341 Curriculum Tutor Application

Please let us know if you would like to use Welsh at an interview or any other form of assessment. We will provide a translation service from Welsh to English if one is needed.

Interview date: Thursday 5th December 2024 

Job share and flexible working patterns will be considered. 

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Cardiff office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be approximately once per month.

Full time starting salary is £46,485 to £47,874 per annum, with potential progression when in post to £55,295 per annum. Internal candidates already within the salary banding will remain on their current spinal point as per policy.

Early closing date notification 

We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications. 

To apply for this role please submit the following;

CV and Supporting Statement, up to 1,000 words. You should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the above essential and desirable criteria. 

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.

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.