Senior Data Administrator

About the Role
The Senior Data Administrator will have lead responsibility for supporting Registry & Academic Services (RAS) data requirements, focusing on regulatory compliance datasets and institutional performance reporting. This role includes the management, analysis, and assurance of annual retention and progression data, statutory data returns to external regulators, and complex ad hoc data requests that support institutional decision-making. The Senior Data Administrator will provide specialist expertise in regulatory and student data, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment across university systems. This position requires high autonomy and aims to support regulatory compliance obligations, mitigate data-related risks, and enable evidence-based initiatives to enhance student experience, retention, and progression outcomes.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Working closely with the Academic Quality Manager and Deputy Head of Registry (Dubai), as well as the wider Registry, Academic Quality, and Professional Services teams, the postholder will:

Regulatory and Compliance Data Management

• Take operational responsibility for the collation, validation, reconciliation, and assurance of data submissions to external regulators including the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
• Interpret evolving regulatory data requirements to ensure that institutional datasets remain compliant, accurate, and submission-ready.
• Act as a key point of contact for regulator-driven ad hoc data requests, exercising judgment in prioritization and risk management.

Institutional Reporting and Analysis

• Lead the production and quality assurance of retention and progression datasets for the Dubai campus, ensuring data integrity.
• Support the development of analytical outputs that inform student experience initiatives, performance monitoring, and compliance KPIs.
• Identify data anomalies, trends, and risks, escalating issues and proposing solutions as needed.

Systems, Processes, and Documentation

• Maintain and enhance data definitions, processes, and documentation to ensure transparency, consistency, and audit readiness.
• Work with University systems (e.g., Banner and associated reporting tools), applying specialist system knowledge to improve data accuracy and reporting efficiency.
• Proactively keep abreast of developments in data systems, regulatory platforms, and reporting tools relevant to the role.

Stakeholder Engagement and Influence

• Collaborate with academic and professional service departments requiring complex or sensitive data support, providing expert guidance and interpretation.
• Communicate effectively with colleagues across the global institution, particularly teams based in Dubai and Edinburgh, to ensure alignment of data standards and reporting expectations.
• Attend and contribute to regulatory data workshops, briefings, and training, disseminating key updates and implications to relevant stakeholders.

Continuous Improvement and Project Work

• Contribute to process improvement initiatives that strengthen data governance, reduce compliance risk, and improve reporting efficiency.
• Undertake complex data-related projects as agreed, requiring independent planning, analytical judgment, and stakeholder coordination.

Education, Qualifications & Experience:
Essential

• A first degree or equivalent featuring significant relevant numerical and analytical content, with experience of working with dashboards in MS Power BI and submission portals.
• Excellent IT skills with experience across the MS Office suite, specifically advanced working knowledge of PowerBI (or similar BI and visual analytics platform) and Excel.
• Demonstrable experience in extracting, analyzing, and interpreting data to produce reports and dashboards in support of management activities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including data visualization and presentation skills, with the ability to present complex management information in an accessible manner to a diverse audience.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills and well-developed interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrable excellent customer service with a professional and proactive approach.
• Ability to work quickly, flexibly, and accurately in a dynamic, changing, and pressured environment.

Desirable

• At least two years’ experience working with a medium level of autonomy and responsibility in a management information role.
• Experience of working in Higher Education in a similar management information/planning environment.

Contract Details

• Location: Dubai Campus
• Full-time employment (1 FTE)
• The appointment is conditional upon successful completion of all Labor and Immigration formalities, and the start date may be delayed if the employment visa is not in place.

Benefits
The successful candidate will have access to a range of employee benefits and opportunities designed to support professional growth and work-life balance in a vibrant university environment.