Head of Planning and Performance

Job Benefits

generous pension + good benefits

A well-known university based in London is seeking to recruit a Head of Planning and Performance on a permanent basis to start ASAP paying up to £72K p.a + generous holiday allowance and good benefits to start ASAP. The role is part of a new bold and ambitious strategy developed in collaboration with colleagues, student groups, partners and stakeholders.

Role will require 3 days on site in London per week – typically Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays but there is some flexibility on this.

Overall purpose of the role

To support the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Performance in delivering the business intelligence and planning approach which underpins the university’s group’s progress towards its 2030 Strategy. The role‑holder will embed an insight‑led approach to performance across the Group, ensuring leaders are equipped with a clear understanding of what is driving results, where risks and opportunities lie, and can make evidence‑based decisions. They will lead a team of business intelligence and planning professionals to deliver high‑quality insight and a clear, consistent approach to planning, performance measurement and risk management across the Group. The role‑holder will work in partnership with senior stakeholders, and alongside the Head of Strategic Change Office. Through oversight of external data returns, the role‑holder will ensure that the relationship between reporting, league tables, regulatory metrics and other reputational and funding measures is clearly understood and actively used to improve performance. They will also co‑ordinate the institutional approach to the Graduate Outcomes and National Student Survey.

Line Management

PP team of Planning and Business Intelligence professionals

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead the definition, reporting and insights‑driven analysis of performance (KPIs) at Group, institutional, Executive area and Academic College levels.
2. Ensure the PP team delivers a valuable, trusted and quality service to stakeholders (including executive and senior leaders).
3. Manage the design, development and continuous improvement of reports and dashboards to be accessed across the University, through PowerBI and written reports.
4. Actively develop a user‑centred culture to dashboard and management information provision; developing excellent working relationships with key stakeholders and supporting staff across the Group with accessing of information and advance data literacy.
5. Design and oversee annual business planning and related processes for the Group, working closely with the Head of Strategic Change.
6. Undertake performance deep‑dives across the Group to identify the drivers of performance and potential areas of improvement.
7. External scanning and analysis of competitor performance.
8. Undertake league table reporting, analysis and optimisation.
9. Manage regulatory reporting assurance and quality metrics across the Group, ensuring submissions are compliant with regulatory requirements.
10. Line‑manage a small team (currently of 6) to support the activities detailed above.
11. Represent the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Performance at meetings and events when required.
12. Support other projects as required by the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Performance.

Person specification / Selection criteria

1. Significant experience leading planning and/or business intelligence within a Higher Education environment (FE experience is desirable).
2. Proven experience of working collaboratively with senior staff, providing data analysis and insights to inform organisational strategy and business planning.
3. Significant experience of leading a high‑performing team, including direct line management.
4. Experience of working with management information software (ideally PowerBI), data warehouses (ideally Alteryx) and reviewing data architecture to provide accurate dashboards and management information.
5. Excellent analytical skills and a proven ability to translate large data sets into meaningful management information in a creative, clear, consistent and concise manner.
6. Proven ability to drive continuous improvement and redesign processes, rapidly responding to changing stakeholder needs to achieve positive results.
7. An excellent understanding of higher education regulatory reporting requirements; an understanding of further education reporting is desirable.
8. Significant evidence of delivering positive impact and change at institutional level, through creative thinking and the influencing of senior staff.
9. Experience of working within a rapidly changing sector, and using data to support an organisation’s strategic response to these changes as well as a detailed knowledge of the issues currently facing higher education institutions.
10. A strong track record of delivering complex and challenging objectives with competing demands.
11. Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing across staff at all levels including excellent presentation and report writing skills.
12. Able to demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, equality and diversity, and its practical application.

Must have some experience of working in Higher Education or the Further Education sectors.

Pay and Benefits

Grade and Salary

This post is Grade 9, the full-time salary range is £63,374 – £72,617 per annum, inclusive of £5,148 London Weighting.

Contract type

Full time, permanent appointment.

Hours of Work and Working Pattern

The basic working week will be 35 hours. The university currently operates hybrid working, with the opportunity to work 40% remotely subject to operational requirements. We are open to conversations about flexible working.

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