Director of Student Retention

Location: Bolton Campus (inc. Queens and Greater Manchester Business School)

Closing date: 23:59 hours GMT on Monday 4th March 2024

We are proud to put our students and their needs first - it’s what we’re all about. We know what it takes to provide a university experience that students love and that prepares them for employment; that’s why we’ve been ranked 1st in the North West for Student Satisfaction for the past 6 years by The Complete University Guide.

With an unwavering commitment to removing barriers to higher education and to equality of outcomes, we welcome students from the broadest range of backgrounds to take advantage of higher study opportunities. Our students face a complex range of challenges which often impact on their ability to complete their programme successfully.

As part of our continued investment in student outcomes, we are seeking to appoint a visionary Director of Student Retention to develop and lead on an institutional wide approach to student retention and academic support. With responsibility for driving year-on-year improvements in continuation and completion rates you will develop a proactive and evidenced based strategy to achieve step change in these core metrics. 

This new senior role will co-ordinate a virtual team of locally based academics with allocated responsibility for the implementation of strategic plans and delivering specific interventions according student challenges and needs. With a collaborative approach, the key to success will be earning the respect and support of key colleagues across the University. 

With considerable experience and expertise in a similar role, you will have a thorough understanding of strategies and tactics that work and can be adapted to the Bolton setting. You will be willing to roll up your sleeves and hit the ground running with a sense of urgency that comes with the Bolton way of doing things. As a committed team, we support each other, and our pride for doing the best shows in our recent results. We are a Guardian Top 30 University, driven in the main by our outstanding student satisfaction results. To join our driven team, you must have passion for doing things right and a ‘can do’ attitude. We like to challenge, and be different for all the right reasons.  The working environment is friendly, open and transparent and we work as ‘one’ team to achieve our objectives. 

For an informal chat about the role, please email Professor Geoff Baker, University Academic Director at [email protected] with your contact details.

Further details:   

The University of Bolton strives to achieve equality of opportunity