Customer Enquiries Services Manager

About ARU:

ARU is a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. ARU holds a Gold award for the quality of its education, awarded through the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
ARU’s research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields.  We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities.  Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world leading. We are the largest provider of Nursing, Midwifery, Health and Social Care students in the East of England, and we are also among the UK’s leading universities for degree apprenticeship provision, working with hundreds of employers across the UK.

About the Role:

We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused leader to manage our Customer Enquiries Services Team and help deliver a sector-leading experience for prospective students, applicants and offer holders across the globe.

As Customer Enquiries Services Manager, you will lead a high-performing team responsible for responding to enquiries across multiple communication channels, including telephone, email, live chat and AI-powered platforms. You will play a central role in ensuring that every interaction with ARU is professional, informative and supportive, helping prospective students make confident decisions about their future.

This is an exciting opportunity for a customer service professional who combines excellent people management skills with a passion for innovation and digital engagement. You will take responsibility for planning and delivering enquiry services throughout the admissions cycle, including overseeing the University's annual Confirmation and Clearing operation. Working closely with colleagues across student recruitment, admissions and international recruitment, you will ensure services are appropriately resourced, responsive to demand and aligned with ARU's recruitment objectives.

Educated to degree level or holding an equivalent professional qualification, you will bring significant experience of leading customer service or advisory teams. You will be confident managing performance, coaching colleagues and fostering a positive, customer-focused culture. You will also have experience using CRM systems, live chat technology and AI-powered communication tools to improve service delivery and enhance the applicant experience.

Using data and customer insight to drive continuous improvement, you will analyse enquiry trends, identify opportunities to enhance processes and make recommendations that improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Acting as the University's subject matter expert on live chat and AI chatbot systems, you will help shape the future of applicant communications by embedding new technologies, supporting automation initiatives and sharing best practice across the institution.

We are looking for a proactive and organised individual with excellent communication and leadership skills, who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is committed to delivering exceptional customer service. If you are passionate about improving the customer experience, supporting colleagues to succeed and helping prospective students navigate their journey to higher education, we would love to hear from you.

Informal enquiries can be made to Sean Rowlatt, Senior Admissions Manager - Applicant Services, at sean.rowlatt@aru.ac.uk

Find out more about working with us and how we recruit.

We have an agile working culture and offer an extensive range of benefits including generous holiday entitlement, occupational pension schemes, training and development opportunities, travel to work scheme and a competitive relocation package. Visit our benefits page for full details.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that ARU will carry out online searches as part of the due diligence on short listed candidates.

We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We have a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK and will conduct Right to Work checks in line with UKVI’s Right to Work policy and our own institutional policy. Furthermore, we must note: 

• Applicants applying from outside the UK: At this time, ARU is unable to sponsor applicants applying from overseas for a Worker Route visa.
• Applicants already in the UK: ARU is unable to offer Worker Route visa sponsorship to applicants whose salary does not meet our minimum sponsorship threshold, which aligns with roles at Grade 6 and above.

Committed to being inclusive and open to discuss flexible working. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once we have received sufficient applications.

Guidance Notes: 

Please download the Job Description Person Specification for key requirements. To apply, demonstrate how your skills and experience meet the criteria.