Job Title: Senior Data Administrator
Grade: G6
Department: Registry and Academic Support (RAS)
Location: Dubai Campus
FTE and Working Pattern: 1 FTE, Fulltime
About our School/Directorate and Team
The Global Registry and Academic Support Directorate supports our students and staff across the full student life-cycle from enrolment to graduation.
The Directorate has responsibility as the definitive record-keeper of all student information, programme and course details, as well as leading services that help students settle and stay at the University. This includes providing professional help and advice through a range of support and wellbeing services.
The Directorate supports academic and professional services staff across the University in a number of areas, including: academic, institutional and student-related Regulations and Policies, and global, national and institutional quality matters.
It delivers these services through five Divisions, each managed by a Global Head, and two Heads of Campus Registry and Student Services:
- Student Life
- Online Students
- Academic Operations
- Academic Quality
- Academic Secretariat, Regulation and Policy
- Head of Registry & Student Services Dubai Campus
- Head of Registry & Student Services - Malaysia Campus
The Academic Quality Division is made up of three Teams:
- Quality Assurance: Has management and oversight of all processes related to approval, annual monitoring and periodic review. Delivers an integrated approach to the assurance of quality and academic standards
- Academic Enhancement: Overseeing enhancement of learning and teaching and of the student learning experience (incl. PGR students), and delivers strategic change in learning and teaching and in the student learning experience
- Accreditation and Academic Partnerships: Has management and oversight of all academic partnerships and external accreditations (government and professional bodies) and delivers a consistent approach to external accreditation and the assurance of partnerships
In Dubai and Malaysia the Academic Quality divisions run as single teams, which liaise with the three central teams for professional support, and are managed locally by the Academic Quality Manager.
Purpose of Role
The Senior Data Administrator will have lead responsibility for supporting Registry & Academic Services (RAS) data requirements, with particular emphasis on regulatory compliance datasets and institutional performance reporting. This includes the management, analysis and assurance of annual retention and progression data, statutory data returns to external regulators, and complex ad hoc data requests that support institutional decision-making.
The role will provide specialist expertise in regulatory and student data, ensuring accuracy, consistency and alignment across university systems. Acting with a high degree of autonomy, the postholder will support regulatory compliance obligations, mitigate data-related risk, and enable evidence-based initiatives that enhance the student experience, retention and progression outcomes.
Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Working closely with the Academic Quality Manager and Deputy Head of Registry (Dubai) and wider Registry, Academic Quality and Professional Services teams, the postholder will:
Regulatory and Compliance Data Management
- Take operational responsibility for the collation, validation, reconciliation and assurance of data submissions to:
- Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR)
- Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA)
- Other regulatory bodies as required
- Interpret evolving regulatory data requirements, ensuring that institutional datasets remain compliant, accurate and submission ready.
- Act as a key point of contact for regulator-driven ad hoc data requests, exercising judgement in prioritisation and risk management.
Institutional Reporting and Analysis
- Lead the production and quality assurance of retention and progression datasets for the Dubai campus, ensuring data integrity.
- Support the development of analytical outputs that inform student experience initiatives, performance monitoring and compliance KPIs.
- Identify data anomalies, trends and risks, escalating issues and proposing solutions where appropriate.
Systems, Processes and Documentation
- Maintain and enhance data definitions, processes, and documentation to ensure transparency, consistency and audit readiness.
- Work with University systems (e.g. Banner and associated reporting tools), applying specialist system knowledge to improve data accuracy and reporting efficiency.
- Proactively keep abreast of developments in data systems, regulatory platforms and reporting tools relevant to the role.
Stakeholder Engagement and Influence
- Collaborate with academic and professional service departments requiring complex or sensitive data support, providing expert guidance and interpretation.
- Communicate effectively with colleagues across the global institution, particularly teams based in Dubai and Edinburgh, to ensure alignment of data standards and reporting expectations.
- Attend and contribute to regulatory data workshops, briefings and training, disseminating key updates and implications to relevant stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement and Project Work
- Contribute to process improvement initiatives that strengthen data governance, reduce compliance risk and improve reporting efficiency.
- Undertake complex data-related projects as agreed, requiring independent planning, analytical judgement and stakeholder coordination.
Education, Qualifications & Experience:
Essential
- The role-holder should have a first degree or equivalent featuring significant relevant numerical and analytical content, with experience of working with dashboards in MS Power BI and submission portals
- Excellent IT skills with experience across the MS Office suite and, in particular, advanced working knowledge of PowerBI (or similar BI and visual analytics platform) and Excel
- Demonstrable experience of extracting, analysing and interpreting data to produce reports and dashboards in support of management activities
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including data visualisation and presentation skills, with the ability to present complex management information in an accessible way for a diverse audience
- Analytical problem-solving skills
- Well-developed interpersonal skills
- Demonstrable excellent customer service, with a professional and proactive approach
- Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
Desirable
- At least two years experience working with a medium level of autonomy and responsibility in a management information role
- Experience of working in Higher Education in a similar management information / planning environment as outlined above
