What’s the job?
We are looking for an inspiring and dynamic individual to join our team as the Advice Hub Team Lead. You’ll be at the forefront of supporting students through challenges, leading a passionate team, and driving forward service improvements that have a real impact on students. The main parts of the role are:
- Lead and Support the Team: Be the driving force behind the Advice Hub team – you’ll be their motivator, coach, and champion. Your goal is to build a positive, innovative, and collaborative environment where the team feels supported and empowered to make a real difference.
- Give Outstanding Student Support: Help students navigate university life by offering clear, compassionate advice on academic, financial, and personal challenges, while proactively leading wellbeing initiatives.
- Driving Service Improvement and Building Connections: You’ll analyse data to spot trends and push for better student support. Plus, you’ll build relationships with university committees, external partners, and other stakeholders to ensure the student voice is always heard loud and clear.
Ideally, we are looking for someone with experience in leading a support team, using data to inform service improvements, and delivering wellbeing initiatives. You should have a positive, proactive attitude and be skilled at motivating others. Strong communication and organisational skills are essential.
This is a full-time role – working 35 hours per week, usually Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm. You’ll largely be working at our Edinburgh campus, although you will be expected to travel to our campus in Galashiels to support student and run engagement opportunities. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required, for example in Freshers’ Week.
Who are we?
We are Heriot-Watt University Student Union - an independent charity that is run by and for students. While we are a charity we also run trading services (food & drink venues and shop) that aim to make a surplus. We use this surplus to invest in other vital student support services such as advice & support and volunteering
Ultimately our main goal is to make sure that Heriot-Watt students have THE BEST TIME whilst studying here. Our purpose is clear and simple – to put Students First, Always. We live by five values – we are fun, welcoming, brave, empowering and student focussed.
You’ll join a friendly, hardworking and professional team and have a real opportunity to make a difference to our members – while having some fun along the way. We have a display of staff baby photos in our office, and a gallery of our photocopied faces which we will probably ask you to add to!
What do you get?
You will be paid between £29,000 - £31,000 per year (depending on experience). 28 days holiday plus 9 fixed days (Christmas, New Year, and Easter). Pension available plus you’ll get the rewarding experience of helping students thrive.
WHAT WOULD A Typical Day look like?
You start your day by checking emails and messages from the team and students. A student has reached out needing guidance on a grievance against their flat mate, so you schedule a meeting to discuss their options
Next, you have a quick team huddle to check in with the Student Advisor and First Contact Team, organise who will be covering the front desk, and make sure everyone is set for the day ahead. You take a moment to ensure the team feels supported and motivated
A student approaches you with an academic appeal. You dive into detective mode, meticulously tracking down the specific university policy they need and guiding them through the process. This situation is really complex so you also take a moment to signpost them to wellbeing services, noticing they could use some extra support
You attend a meeting with the Head of Student Engagement to present data on recent advice cases, identifying trends that indicate a need for better awareness around housing rights. You’re asked to put it into a written report for the Senior Management team, so you add it to your to-do list
After lunch and a walk around our beautiful campus, you spend some time researching new AI tools that could help students better navigate the Advice Hub pages on our website. You contact other Unions and advice charities to explore how integrating a chatbot could streamline access to information and support.
Before wrapping up, you review your notes for tomorrow’s university committee meeting. There's a discussion on Generative AI and the impact it’s having on students. You pull together relevant statistics and examples from the recent campaign the Advice Hub ran to support student understanding of the consequences of misuse
Phew! Another day of leadership, collaboration, and making a tangible difference for students.
Is this job for you?
Please download the Job Description below for a full list of the essential, desirable, and person criteria to make sure you're a good fit. If you’re passionate about supporting students, leading a motivated team, and driving positive change, this could be your ideal role. Are you:
- A natural leader who can motivate and inspire a team?
- Comfortable using data to inform decisions and advocate for change?
- Passionate about student wellbeing and proactive support initiatives?
- Ready to engage with stakeholders to champion student needs?
- Adaptable and proactive, keeping multiple projects on track even when plans shift?
- Excited by change and always on the lookout for fresh, innovative ideas?
If you’re nodding along and thinking, “Yep, that’s me!” then we’d love to hear from you.
If you’re not yet sure and want to have an informal chat about the job please contact Genna Nesbitt, Student Engagement Manager, on g.nesbitt@hw.ac.uk.
Sounds great, what next?
Click here to download the full job description and person specification
If you think this sounds like the job for you then click Apply Now below and fill in our online application form. If you want to really stand out, please take the time to tell us why we should pick you to work for us.