About the Role

The Open University in Scotland is looking for 2 Senior Advisers (1 permanent role and 1 fixed-term contract (ending 27 February 2026).

The role holder will work as part of a wider Student Recruitment and Support Team and will help students and prospective students make choices about their studies that meet their needs and support retention, progression, and student satisfaction. 

Candidates need to be available Monday 14th July – Wednesday 16th July for face to face interviews.

Flexible working
We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.  

Work location
This role is contractually based in the Edinburgh office. Attendance in the office is required twice a month with both the cost and travel time being the responsibility of the employee and not compensated by the University.

Key Responsibilities

• To provide support across all areas of the curriculum, through the provision of complex advice to students and prospective students on a wide range of queries to maximise student success. To also act as a point of contact for queries and requests for advice and support received via a variety of channels.
• Where necessary refer to other staff with specialist expertise, as part of the Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) model, making interactions with The Open University as effortless and seamless as possible.
• Delivery of a specific area of work/areas of work, such as supporting students in secure environments, and providing expert advice related to disability support.

The full summary of duties and person specification can be found within the Job Description

Skills and Experience

Essential:

Education, qualifications and training

A good standard of general education including Standard Grade Maths and English at Grade C or above, or equivalent.

Knowledge, work and other relevant experience

• Experience of answering and actioning complex and diverse queries, using a wide range of information sources.
• Experience of providing information and advice and the ability to transfer this experience to a higher education context.
• Ability to maintain own knowledge bank in a coherent and systematic way and carry out research as necessary.
• Ability to identify deficiencies in information sources and take proactive measures to improve and enhance clarity and accuracy for service delivery.

Personal abilities and qualities

• Fully engage and participate in supporting our team culture – demonstrating the highest levels of accountability, ownership and leadership
• Good communication skills: both oral and written, with effective telephone techniques and the ability to explain policies and processes in plain English as well as to write clearly, succinctly, and correctly in plain English.
• Good interpersonal skills: including active listening skills and the ability to respond to identified needs using varied questioning techniques.
• Flexibility: including adaptability to changing circumstances, duties, work practices and systems and a commitment to ongoing development with the ability to demonstrate a rapid understanding of newly presented information.
• Good planning and organisational skills: including the ability to cope with heavy workloads and to meet deadlines, working productively and accurately in a dynamic environment.
• Good negotiating skills.
• An ability to deal with and follow complex information and procedures: using initiative and judgement in problem-solving, whilst recognising boundaries.
• Strong IT skills: including use of standard Microsoft Office packages, and the ability to learn to use a range of in-house and commercial systems.
• An understanding of team working and the ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• An understanding of Equal Opportunities (EO) issues and a commitment to equal opportunities and diversity.
• Commitment to excellent customer service and continuous improvement.

Support with your application

If you need support or have any questions or requests for adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process or the role, please contact Scotland-Recruitment@open.ac.uk, quoting the vacancy reference number (843).
If you would like to discuss the particulars of this role before making an application, please contact Alasdair Roache on alasdair.roache@open.ac.uk. 

To apply for this role please submit the following  document/s;
•    CV 
•    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 job and person specification.