Further Particulars
This document includes information about the role for which you are applying and the
information you will need to provide with the application.
1. Role details
Vacancy reference:
10475
Job title:
Senior Manager (Statistical Modelling)
Reports to:
Director of Information Office
Salary:
£38,511 - £45,954 per annum depending on
experience and qualifications
Terms and conditions:
Academic-Related
Grade:
Grade 8
Duration of post:
Permanent
Working hours:
37 hours – Monday to Friday
Location:
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes
Closing date:
Noon 9th October 2014
Type of application form accepted:
Full version and covering letter
Number of referees required:
3
Unit recruitment contact:
Univ-Sec-Recruitment@open.ac.uk
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2. Summary of duties
Purpose Statement
The Senior Manager (Statistical Modelling) will work closely with staff in the Information Office
and other units to develop and implement new statistical modelling and reporting tools relating
to the Office’s work on student numbers. Current developments relate in particular to
improving the forecasting, monitoring and reporting of student retention and progression.
The post holder will report to the Director of the Information Office and will manage a small
team of analysts. Close liaison will be required with the Senior Information Manager who
leads the Forecasting Team and who is responsible for the annual student number planning
exercise and for routine forecasting and reporting of student numbers.
Main responsibilities
1. Work closely with the Director of Information Office, Senior Information Manager and
stakeholders across the University to develop and apply new statistical analyses and
techniques in managing student numbers. This will involve:
 Reviewing and, if necessary, redeveloping existing student number forecasting models
and monitoring tools to ensure they remain fit for purpose, establishing a process for
continual improvement.
 Developing and implementing statistical analytical methods for a range of business
applications.
 Developing reports and visualisations setting out the result of analysis in the context of
specific business requirements.
 Engaging with stakeholders and users to ensure that analysis is used and interpreted
appropriately.
 Providing quality control of all statistical models and analysis produced.
2. Complete work on a new student-based predictive student number model, act as its
champion and apply it to business uses as a routine and reliable tool. Establish a
process for continual improvement of the model, including necessary monitoring,
maintenance and updating changes.
3. Work together with the Infrastructure and Specialist Analytics team in the Information
Office to ensure measurements defined in estimation models are in line with Information
Office and data warehouse standards.
4. Act as the source of expert knowledge within the Information Office on the modelling and
reporting of student numbers relating to student retention and progression. Engage with
stakeholders to identify new business opportunities for using analytics based on retention
and progression data and work to achieve a common approach to reporting this work, for
instance with the Institutional Dashboard and in monitoring progress towards meeting
institutional qualification completion targets.
5. Provide the main Information Office point of contact for learning analytics, a major
development elsewhere in the University to which the Information Office makes a large
contribution. Ensure that the Information Office’s contribution is accounted for in project
plans and manage deliverables in learning analytics for which the Information Office is
responsible.
6. Contribute to developments within the Information Office to ensure that the best methods
of data and statistical analysis are applied across the range of the Office’s work.
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3. Person specification
Criteria
Essential
Education,
qualifications and
training
A first degree or
equivalent and a record
of continual personal
development
demonstrating substantial
facility with analysis of
numerical data
Knowledge, work
and other relevant
experience
Relevant experience in
higher education or a
comparable environment,
including the preparation,
analysis and presentation
of numeric data
Desirable
Measured by
A Application
B Test
C Interview
A
Understanding of higher
education and the
business of universities
A&C
Experience with data
visualisation tools
Experience with SAS
Enterprise Miner and
base SAS statistical
procedures, or a
comparable statistical
package
Experience of exploiting
statistical techniques to
analyse data and apply to
business problems
Evidence of an aptitude
to manage a team of
analysts, able to deliver
work to agreed standards
Evidence of working in
partnership with others,
both internally and
externally, to deliver
shared outcomes
Experience of working
with project management
techniques to ensure
delivery to agreed plans
Experience of managing
conflicting work priorities
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Skills, capabilities
and qualities
Able to develop and
motivate a small team of
expert staff in the use of
management information
and statistical methods
A&C
A high level of ability in
the use of numerical
information
Evidence-based thinking
and planning
Good inter-personal,
negotiating and
influencing skills,
including the presentation
of complex analysis,
orally, online and in
writing
Resilient in managing
competing claims for
support and exacting
work deadlines
Accurate and rigorous in
the approaches taken to
analysis, producing
outcomes that are timely,
auditable and repeatable
Good IT skills, an
awareness of IT systems
thinking and an aptitude
to learn and use new ICT
tools
Able to cope with the
demands of a high
volume of work to
challenging deadlines
whilst remaining calm
under pressure
A commitment to the
values of The Open
University, including
equal opportunities and
diversity policies and
procedures
Special working
conditions
N/A
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Additional
requirements
Able to travel to
occasional meetings offsite across the UK.
A
Note: Essential elements are those, without which, a candidate would not be able to do the job. Applicants who have
not clearly demonstrated in their application that they possess the essential elements will normally be rejected at the
short listing stage. Desirable elements are those which it would be useful for the post holder to possess.
4. Role specific requirements e.g. Shift working
N/A
5. About the unit/department
The Information Office is a small unit providing information and analysis to all parts of the
University on student numbers, funded student numbers, module and qualification completion
and retention. We prepare and submit the University's statutory returns for student, staff and
student-related research data and support the generation and presentation of a range of
internal and external performance measures.
Much of our work is concerned with the cycle of strategic and operational planning and in
supporting business development within the University:
 A five-year student recruitment forecast and the setting of annual student number
plans for a range of internal purposes including income and expenditure modelling and
operational planning;
 Monitoring student numbers (at registration and at completion) against funding
requirements for each nation;
 Reports of actual students numbers and a one-year student number forecast, updated
monthly, to support financial and operational management;
 New analytical tools to help improve the experience of enquirers and students;
 Preparing and submitting the annual individual student and staff records to HESA and
the range of student-related returns made to funding agencies;
 Supporting the National Student Survey and the Destination of Leavers from Higher
Education survey;
 Providing authoritative information on student numbers for a range of internal
reporting and monitoring purposes, including information for publicity purposes and for
institutional dashboards.
We also use our skills in managing data and in SAS and statistical techniques to provide a
general analytical service, including:
 A web facility to enable users to produce statistical summaries of student data;
 Reports of analysis in specific areas; for instance on Widening Participation.
 Analysis to support institutional activities such as widening participation;
 Advice, access to datasets and support for other users wanting to undertake analysis;
 A service responding to queries from around the University for statistical information
and analysis;
 Development of new tools to improve the use of management information, with current
projects concerned with the further development of a data warehouse approach to
data management and the adoption of the university’s preferred presentation tool.
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6. How to obtain more information about the role or application process
If you would like to discuss the particulars of this role before making an application please
contact Judith Dutton, Acting Director of Information Office on 01908 655003.
If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact Univ-SecRecruitment@open.ac.uk.
7. The application process and where to send completed applications
Please ensure that your application reaches the University by: noon 9th October 2014.
You should enclose:

A covering letter, clearly indicating how you believe you meet the person
specification. Please ensure you provide relevant examples as evidence to support
your statement on no more than two sides of A4.

Your completed application form (long version).
Post it to:
Name/Job title:
Diana Griffiths, Recruitment Co-ordinator
Department/Unit: University Secretary’s Office
Address:
Room 202, Charles Pinfold Building
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
Post Code:
MK7 6AA
Or e-mail your application to: Univ-Sec-Recruitment@open.ac.uk
8. Selection process and date of interview
The interview panel will be chaired by Judith Dutton, Acting Director of Information Office.
The interviews will take place on w/c: 20th October 2014.
We will let you know as soon as possible after the closing date whether you have been
shortlisted for interview. Further details on the selection process will also be sent to
shortlisted candidates.
Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
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