Vacancy at Oxford Brookes Students' Union
Student Adviser
Salary
£ 30,726
Oxford, Headington - we ask staff to spend at least 60% of their time on-site and the remainder can be worked from home
Vacancy listed
24/03/2025
Application deadline
14/04/2025
Details
Brookes Union is the Students Union of Oxford Brookes University and we are a small but passionate team of staff, working in support of our elected Sabbatical Officers and also collaboratively with the University as the voice of Oxford Brookes students. The Advice & Advocacy Team play a key part in the work and aims of Brookes Union. The Team’s work is centred on supporting, representing and advocating for students and supporting them to advocate for themselves, both as individuals through our Advice Team and via our Student Representation system.
The Team’s work is informed by the Brookes Union strategy which is centred around community, employability and collaborative change. We would love someone who is passionate about building on our collaborative partnership with the University to create the best experiences for our students.
The Advice & Advocacy Team centres its work with an approach of non-judgemental kindness coupled with a strategic approach to prioritising, identifying and resolving individual and systemic issues, to put things right and to make things better. Our team comes up against the toughest circumstances students face and we communicate with our members with directness and transparency in order to empower students to advocate for themselves, have the best understanding of their case and circumstances, and reassurance about what we can do for them. We continuously strive to build relationships with key staff and departments across the University as part of a bigger picture of working towards the best student experience for our members. We are looking for an empathetic, highly motivated candidate to join our team who has the following qualities:
- empathy with resilience
- tact and discretion, with exceptional communication skills
- an eye for detail
- an enthusiastic team player
- a passion for making things better and working collaboratively
- able to prioritise
- a flexible, cross-functional and agile approach to working, according to individual and wider Team/Union needs
Main Purpose of the role:
- To work as part of the Oxford Brookes Student Union Advice & Advocacy Team in the provision of a confidential, non-judgemental, independent Advice Service, undertaking specialist casework, supporting relevant Union and University policy and strategy development and advocating for Members of Brookes Union.
- To support Brookes Union to deliver its strategic and operational KPIs
- To support the Union to deliver its core function of representing students through effective individual and group advocacy
- To support the elected officers to deliver high-impact and evidence-led campaigns and activities
Key Responsibilities:
- To undertake holistic casework on behalf of students, including:
- supporting students to empower themselves in decision-making and actions
- researching complex issues
- advocating on behalf of students both verbally and in writing
- exploring options and helping students decide on the most appropriate course of action
- accompanying students to university procedural hearings, such as Academic Conduct hearings and Support to Study meetings
- to signpost students as relevant to University services and external third party avenues of information and support
- To provide pastoral support to students whilst acting as adviser and advocate
2. To work with the Head of Advice & Advocacy and the rest of the Advice & Advocacy Team in managing the Advice Service and triaging cases
3. To conduct day-to-day ongoing analysis of casework to identify persistent themes, policies and circumstances that affect Union Members
4. To work with a minimum of supervision, managing your own caseload and maintaining detailed, accurate confidential records on a computerised case management system
3. To conduct day-to-day ongoing analysis of casework to identify persistent themes, policies and circumstances that affect Union Members
4. To work with a minimum of supervision, managing your own caseload and maintaining detailed, accurate confidential records on a computerised case management system
5. To train immediate team colleagues in areas of specialist knowledge and to participate in case conferences on particularly complex cases
6. To lead on the preparation and active delivery of induction activities, talks and awareness-raising events throughout the year, including on any of the University’s campuses as required
7. To give presentations to large groups of the student body on issues related to the Advice & Advocacy Team’s work, or on behalf of the wider Union as required
8. To be responsible for actively engaging students and officers as leaders in your work, raising issues affecting students emerging through the Advice and Advocacy team with the sabbatical officers and staff of Brookes Union, and leading on the resolution of such cases
9. To be responsible for developing and delivering collaborative projects and change-initiatives relevant to the work of the Advice and Advocacy team across Brookes Union
10. To link up issues emerging through the Advice Service with the Advocacy team where relevant, to amplify the Student Voice
11. To support and contribute to the advocacy work of the Advice & Advocacy Team
12. To contribute to the social policy work of the Union by working with colleagues to identify issues and produce briefing reports to elected officers and other Union staff to provide background information and evidence of relevant issues
13. To receive and make appropriate referrals to colleagues and services within the University and to provide consultation to University staff on matters relating to Advice
14. To strategically liaise with staff across the University in supporting and advocating for individual students
15. To lead on maintaining and developing self-help information resources for students and other stakeholders
16. To support, and where necessary lead on, the production of a monthly report on the Advice Service
17. To maintain an up to date knowledge of relevant university regulations, policies and procedures, and to participate in consultations on these
18. To strategically liaise, in conjunction with Union colleagues, with the University and other bodies (eg Oxford City Council) to influence policy and improve the student experience
19. To undertake regular relevant training, continuous education and learning regarding issues that affect students eg wider higher education sector developments, policies and initiatives
20. To attend meetings and conferences on behalf of the Advice Service within and outside of the University, and to actively promote the interests of students, the Advice Service and Brookes Union at these
General Terms:
6. To lead on the preparation and active delivery of induction activities, talks and awareness-raising events throughout the year, including on any of the University’s campuses as required
7. To give presentations to large groups of the student body on issues related to the Advice & Advocacy Team’s work, or on behalf of the wider Union as required
8. To be responsible for actively engaging students and officers as leaders in your work, raising issues affecting students emerging through the Advice and Advocacy team with the sabbatical officers and staff of Brookes Union, and leading on the resolution of such cases
9. To be responsible for developing and delivering collaborative projects and change-initiatives relevant to the work of the Advice and Advocacy team across Brookes Union
10. To link up issues emerging through the Advice Service with the Advocacy team where relevant, to amplify the Student Voice
11. To support and contribute to the advocacy work of the Advice & Advocacy Team
12. To contribute to the social policy work of the Union by working with colleagues to identify issues and produce briefing reports to elected officers and other Union staff to provide background information and evidence of relevant issues
13. To receive and make appropriate referrals to colleagues and services within the University and to provide consultation to University staff on matters relating to Advice
14. To strategically liaise with staff across the University in supporting and advocating for individual students
15. To lead on maintaining and developing self-help information resources for students and other stakeholders
16. To support, and where necessary lead on, the production of a monthly report on the Advice Service
17. To maintain an up to date knowledge of relevant university regulations, policies and procedures, and to participate in consultations on these
18. To strategically liaise, in conjunction with Union colleagues, with the University and other bodies (eg Oxford City Council) to influence policy and improve the student experience
19. To undertake regular relevant training, continuous education and learning regarding issues that affect students eg wider higher education sector developments, policies and initiatives
20. To attend meetings and conferences on behalf of the Advice Service within and outside of the University, and to actively promote the interests of students, the Advice Service and Brookes Union at these
General Terms:
- Lead on, contribute to, or take part in occasional organisation-wide events and activities including Freshers Fair, Awards Ceremonies, Open Days, elections, Officer Campaigns and organisational change projects or similar
- Ensure and role-model a positive organisational culture at all times, living by the Union’s values
- Minimise environmental impact by attending to your duties in a resource efficient manner, and actively support the delivery of the SU's Environmental Policy in the performance of your role.
- Any other duties commensurate with the role, as required
- Support the elected Officers to deliver on their manifesto pledges or other ideas, campaigns and lobbying using whatever means available to you
- Continually streamline services using technology and digital solutions
- Lead on the development of online content related to your area of work including social media and website content
Benefits
A progressive, friendly, and inclusive workplace
Flexible working environment for a great work-life balance - flexible working requests from day 1
28 days annual leave plus 2 ‘duvet days’ a year
13 Bank Holidays and closure days
Staff loans for travel, rental deposits and other necessities up to £1,000
Individual & professional learning and development opportunities
6% employer pension contribution
Allowance for eye checkups and glasses
6 weeks' fully paid parental leave; 13 weeks' fully paid and 13 weeks half pay maternity leave
Volunteering & study days available
3 months' fully paid sickness leave and 3 months half pay within a 12 month period
On-site nursery and subsidised gym provided by the University
Free bike repairs on site weekly (pay for parts only)
If there's a benefit you'd like to see that isn't listed here then we're very open to ideas!
Notes
This role is full-time, we are open to flexible and other part-time requests.