HE Access and University Bursaries Lead

The HE Access and University Bursaries Lead is a crucial role in supporting the achievement of our post-18 destinations goals. Our aim is to ensure every Ark student progresses to a best fit destination – whether a top university or a high-quality alternative pathway such as a degree or higher apprenticeship – as the key to high rates of sustained destinations and future career success.

The largest part of this role is the day-to-day running of the Ark University Bursaries programme, which provides financial support to Ark alumni at university. The HE Access and University Bursaries Lead will manage the full bursary cycle: from information sessions in schools, through applications and interviews, to termly student contracts, verification and payments, and ongoing support for alumni and funders.

Alongside the bursaries, the HE Access and University Bursaries Lead will keep momentum on our wider post-18 destinations work: maintaining our university partnerships and HE access support for sixth forms, and supporting students pursuing alternative pathways.

The HE Access and University Bursaries Lead will report into the Head of Destinations. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a fixed term basis working full time.

Interviews will be taking place in person on Thursday 19th November 2026.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the termly student contract, verification and payment process, ensuring bursary payments are accurate, timely and properly recorded
• Manage the annual application and interview process, including producing common guidance for interviewers and schools, and lead interviews
• Maintain the bursary student workflow on SharePoint, keeping records accurate, up to date and handled in line with data protection requirements
• Act as the first point of contact for all alumni queries about their bursary payments, resolving issues promptly and escalating where appropriate
• Liaise with schools, funders and alumni to deliver information sessions in schools, raising awareness of the bursary and encouraging strong applications
• Track the progress and outcomes of bursary recipients to support funder reporting and the ongoing development of the programme
• Support network approaches to helping students in KS5 with HE IAG and applications, contributing to our network goal of 77%+ progression to Ark Top Third HEIs
• Maintain relationships with Ark Top Third and Russell Group universities, including Oxbridge and other highly selective institutions, and ensure partner activity continues to add value for our schools
• Work directly with targeted school sixth forms to address access concerns and support year on year gains in progression to top third HEIs
• Work with colleagues across the destinations team to contribute to the network's apprenticeship support offer, including sharing opportunities and supporting students with applications and assessment centres
• Help schools guide each student towards their best-fit destination, whether university or an alternative pathway, based on their strengths, interests and career goals

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Educated to degree level
• Knowledge and experience of the post 18 destinations landscape
• Experience of managing administrative processes, including those involving finances or payments, with a high degree of accuracy
• Experience of managing an application and selection process, including interviewing
• Experience of working with young people, schools and/or alumni
• Experience of working with and influencing a range of stakeholders, including funders or donors, sometimes with conflicting priorities and viewpoints
• Ability to synthesise complex and detailed information into both written and oral presentations for senior stakeholders and donors
• Strong IT skills, including Excel and SharePoint
• Strong track record of being a self-starter, able to get up to speed quickly and keep established work moving
• Able to demonstrate a commitment to the mission of improving educational opportunities for underprivileged children
• Highly organised, detail oriented and systematic in delivering against ambitious objectives and deadlines
• Discreet and trustworthy when handling confidential personal and financial information
• A confident, approachable communicator with students, alumni, school staff and donors
• Flexible in approach and able to adapt to changing circumstances and priorities

• Our flexible working model offers the best of both worlds, balancing in person collaboration, either in our state of the art West London office or through visits to our schools, with the flexibility of remote working.
• In addition to flexible working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad.
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year.
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

There are 34,000 students learning in our network of 48 schools across Birmingham, Hastings, London, Pontefract and Portsmouth. We’ve always believed that, with the right approach, every child has the potential to succeed. We work in the communities where we can make the biggest difference to children’s lives, and all our schools are non-selective. 

It works: our schools achieve great results – significantly outperforming national averages, especially when it comes to driving progress – the best measure for ‘closing the gap’.

We take what we learn in our schools to develop new solutions and approaches that we can share. Over the last two decades, we have developed and incubated more than 20 projects and programmes, supporting them to scale and achieve systemic impact on the life chances of all children. Over 300,000 children currently learn using an Ark curriculum and our Ark Start nurseries are demonstrating a new model for early years education that we hope will become the norm.