Senior Student Returns Officer
| Posting date: | 10 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 24 March 2026 |
| Location: | Preston, Lancashire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | University of Lancashire |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 0161-26 |
Summary
We are seeking a highly skilled and detail-oriented Senior Student Returns Officer to join within Academic Registry. This role supports the preparation and submission of the University’s external statutory student data returns, ensuring all submissions meet strict deadlines and high standards of accuracy and quality.
You will play a leading role in the preparation and submission of key statutory returns, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record, HESA Aggregate Offshore Record, Health Education England returns, Graduate Outcomes, and Discover Uni. Acting as an operational lead in data validation, you will safeguard the integrity, accuracy, and quality of institutional data submitted externally.
About you:
This is a great opportunity to contribute to the development of statutory reporting processes within a collaborative environment. If you are passionate about data integrity, compliance, and improving student outcomes, we would love to hear from you. Your expertise will directly support institutional performance and enhance the student experience.
The postholder will have an Undergraduate degree in a relevant area, alongside substantial experience working with large, complex datasets and preparing them to precise technical standards. You will demonstrate strong analytical skills, a methodical approach to maintaining data integrity, and the ability to communicate complex information clearly to non-technical audiences.
You will have advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (including pivot tables and complex functions), experience using SQL for data extraction, and familiarity with databases and reporting tools, alongside a strong understanding of data quality, governance, and integrity.
Use of AI in applications:
We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience and the written elements of your application should accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
You will play a leading role in the preparation and submission of key statutory returns, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record, HESA Aggregate Offshore Record, Health Education England returns, Graduate Outcomes, and Discover Uni. Acting as an operational lead in data validation, you will safeguard the integrity, accuracy, and quality of institutional data submitted externally.
About you:
This is a great opportunity to contribute to the development of statutory reporting processes within a collaborative environment. If you are passionate about data integrity, compliance, and improving student outcomes, we would love to hear from you. Your expertise will directly support institutional performance and enhance the student experience.
The postholder will have an Undergraduate degree in a relevant area, alongside substantial experience working with large, complex datasets and preparing them to precise technical standards. You will demonstrate strong analytical skills, a methodical approach to maintaining data integrity, and the ability to communicate complex information clearly to non-technical audiences.
You will have advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (including pivot tables and complex functions), experience using SQL for data extraction, and familiarity with databases and reporting tools, alongside a strong understanding of data quality, governance, and integrity.
Use of AI in applications:
We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience and the written elements of your application should accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
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