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About the Role

The Senior Data Administrator will have lead responsibility for supporting Registry & Academic Services (RAS) data requirements, with particular emphasis on regulatory compliance datasets and institutional performance reporting. This 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 role will provide specialist expertise in regulatory and student data, ensuring accuracy, consistency and alignment across university systems. Acting with a high degree of autonomy, the postholder will support regulatory compliance obligations, mitigate data-related risk, and enable evidence-based initiatives that enhance the student experience, retention and progression outcomes.

Responsibilities

Take operational responsibility for the collation, validation, reconciliation and assurance of data submissions to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), and other regulatory bodies as required.
Interpret evolving regulatory data requirements, ensuring that institutional datasets remain compliant, accurate and submission ready.
Act as a key point of contact for regulator-driven ad hoc data requests, exercising judgement in prioritisation and risk management.
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 where appropriate.
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.
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.
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 judgement and stakeholder coordination.

Requirements

The role-holder should have 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 and, in particular, advanced working knowledge of PowerBI (or similar BI and visual analytics platform) and Excel.
Demonstrable experience of extracting, analysing and interpreting data to produce reports and dashboards in support of management activities.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including data visualisation and presentation skills, with the ability to present complex management information in an accessible way for a diverse audience.
Analytical problem-solving skills.
Well-developed interpersonal skills.
Demonstrable excellent customer service, with a professional and proactive approach.
Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment.
At least two years’ experience working with a medium level of autonomy and responsibility in a management information role (Desirable).
Experience of working in Higher Education in a similar management information / planning environment (Desirable).

Skills

MS Power BI
MS Office suite
Excel
Data visualisation
Data presentation
Analytical problem-solving
Interpersonal skills
Customer service
Data governance
Reporting efficiency

Location

Dubai Campus

Work Type

Fulltime

Experience Level

Senior
G6

Education Level

First degree or equivalent

About the Company

With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and professionally relevant, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry.
We are a vibrant, forward-looking university, well known for the quality of our degrees with employers actively seeking out our graduates.
Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s international university with an unsurpassed international in-country presence.
We deliver degree programmes to circa 30,000 students in 143 countries around the world, have a further overseas campus in Dubai and boast the largest international student cohort in Scotland.
At Heriot-Watt we’ve created an environment that nurtures innovation and leadership - where our researchers, staff and students can realise their potential and develop their ambitions.
We are proud of our collegiate atmosphere and integrated teaching and research approach which has helped to build a community of committed academics and highly motivated students.
Our focus on careers delivers results and we’ve an excellent reputation for graduate employability.
In addition to the Edinburgh campus, we currently have campuses in the Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia.
For all of our campuses we aim to provide stimulating, supportive environments conducive to effective learning and research, where staff and students can excel.
At Heriot-Watt, we have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.
Our values describe our deeply held beliefs and our community spirit. They characterise not only how we are as a higher education institution but also frame how we want to be.
Our values are: Belong, Collaborate, Inspire, Celebrate.
As learning, living and working institution, we use our values as the building blocks of how we go about doing our work and how we each conduct ourselves as members of Heriot-Watt University.
They represent what binds us together as a University community and help us to become the best at what we do.
For full details on our University, please view our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/about.htm
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together.
Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future.
Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Equal Opportunity

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.
Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.