Planning & Performance Manager

Job description

Vision 2029, the overarching strategic roadmap of King’s, articulates a bold ambition for the institution to be a leader in online education by the end of the decade. Building on historic advancements but under a new internal brand and operating model (“King’s Digital”) King’s is seeking a step change in the development and delivery of its distance learning to realise this objective. 

King’s Digital is a newly established professional service of the College that provides centralised support to and oversight of online education activity across King’s. Specifically, the department has three verticals: content production; operations; and student support. Working closely with Faculties, the content production function (previously known as King’s Online) is responsible for the co-design and development of online materials as well as the maintenance of the associated virtual learning environment. The operations function is responsible for the planning, coordination and management of online provision, including portfolio and pipeline oversight; third-party and Faculty coordination; and programme performance management. The student support function is responsible for providing a dedicated non-academic student management service to distance learners at King’s. 

Leading the Data team, the Planning & Performance Manager will have responsibility for all data analysis, research, information governance and planning operations within the operations function of King’s Digital, and  report to the Head of Operations & Strategy. 

The online programmes are flexible by design, with students able to opt in and out of study throughout the year. This requires a student number planning and forecasting model with equal flexibility. You will take the lead in developing this for King’s Digital and ensuring it works in harmony with college-wide planning processes. You’ll then build on this by liaising with Faculty leadership to ensure that programmes are appropriately resourced. Supported by a dedicated Data team, you’ll seek to implement continuous improvements in how we understand our student population. 

You will develop a comprehensive understanding of the data that underpins the operation of King’s Digital and its programmes and use this expertise to play a critical role in negotiating and influencing key stakeholders in Faculties and other professional service departments. 

Part of your role will be to develop business cases for new programmes when they are proposed, and you will be responsible for monitoring the performance of programmes against business case. This will require you to build strong relationships with colleagues in faculties and departments, particularly the Strategy, Planning & Analytics Directorate. 

You will play a key role in data analysis and reporting across King’s Digital; this may include supporting the development of the annual business planning round submission and financial reports at King’s. 

The Planning & Performance Manager will take the lead in using data to transform the operations of King’s Digital. As the development teams adopt a more Agile way of working, you will become intrinsic in our move towards data-led decision-making in all aspects of our operations – from which courses we develop to how we work.  

The role is primarily based at King’s Strand Campus though you may be required to travel to other campuses on occasion. As part of King’s trial of hybrid working, all team members can work remotely for part of the week if they wish.  

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract   

This is a full-time  post - 100% full-time equivalent

Key responsibilities

• Development and maintenance of student number forecasts and other planning tools for all programmes offered by King’s Digital  
• Building relationships with key stakeholders in faculties and departments to aid the development of an accurate student number plan for all programmes offered by King’s Digital 
• Development of business cases for online and professional education programmes 
• Monitoring performance against business cases, developing and improving these wherever possible 
• Produce high-quality reports as requested by internal and external stakeholders, and as required 
• Communicating complex numerical information to a non-specialist audience 
• Analysis of financial and non-financial data relating to programme performance and ways of working within the department 
• Development of a data-led approach to creating efficiencies in the King’s Digital workflows 
• Line management responsibility for Data team members 
• Develop and implement a comprehensive data strategy for King’s Digital 
• Ultimate responsibility for designing databases, forecasts and data models as required 
• Identify possible productivity gains through the use of technology and BI tools such as Power BI; lead on implementation of them and ensure that King’s Digital is following industry best practices for data collection and analysis 
• Represent King’s Digital in appropriate committees, working groups etc., throughout the university  

Developing training plans for other KO/KPED team members as required in terms of GDPR/data collection

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria

1.      1. A degree or recognisable alternatives as evidence of the ability to comprehend and communicate complex ideas and issues with clarity, commissioning and/or producing complex analyses, and to practice skills in critical thinking to support decision-makingHighly numerate with an understanding of planning or forecasting processes, gained in a university or comparable environment 

2.      Experience in managing student number models, budgets or financial reporting 

3.      Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with senior stakeholders, both internal and external 

4.      Ability to communicate complex data to a non-specialist audience, building clear narratives and evidenced recommendations 

5.      Strong demonstrable competence in using Microsoft Excel to accurately analyse and manage large volume data, with excellent attention to detail, including the ability to spot errors and issues. 

6.      Excellent data analysis and data presentation skills (advanced charting and data visualisation using tools such as Power BI, Tableau or similar)  

7.      Experience of planning, prioritising and organising own work and that of others in fulfilling good project management practices, delivering to tight deadlines. 

8.      Experience of using own judgment and initiative when required, working with minimal supervision, and taking responsibility for decisions where appropriate. 

9.      Inclusive and collaborative approach, with a commitment to and understanding of equality issues within a diverse and multicultural environment. 

10.   A proven commitment to ongoing professional development 

Desirable criteria

11.  Evidence of ability to learn advanced use of a range of software tools (such as Alteryx, SQL, Python, R) for data analysis and insight work  

12. Experience using a student records system, e.g. SITS