Student Advisor

Role: Student Advisor

Grade and Salary: Grade 5, £26,707 - £31,236 per annum

FTE and working pattern: Full-time, 35hrs per week, Fixed-term (12 months)

Reward and Benefits: 28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday). Use our total rewards calculator:  https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

About our Team

The post of Student Advisor is located within Student Advisor Team, which is, in turn, part of Student Life within the Global Registry and Academic Support (RAS) Directorate. The role is located on the Scottish Borders Campus.

The Global Registry and Academic Support Directorate provides support to students and staff colleagues across the full student life-cycle from enrolment to graduation.   The Directorate has responsibility as the definitive record-keeper of all student information and programme and course details, and leading services that help students settle and stay at the University with professional help and advice, through a range of wellbeing services. 

RAS supports academic and professional services staff across the University and delivers these services through four Divisions, each managed by a Global Head, and two Heads of Campus Registry:

• Student Life
• Off-Campus Students
• Academic Operations
• Academic Quality
• Head of Registry – Dubai Campus
• Head of Registry – Malaysia Campus

In addition to the Student Advisor team, the Student Life Division also consists of the following main services:

• Student Administration:   This team manages the Student Service Centres, acts as the definitive record-keeper of the student record, manages graduation & awards and supports all student mobility and student visa advice and compliance.
• Student Wellbeing:  Provides a range of services for students to support the student journey and includes disability support, counselling, chaplaincy and support and retention activities. 
• Careers and Graduate Futures:  Delivers global careers and employability advice to students and recent alumni, working closely with local and global employers and with Schools to support student employability work. 

Purpose of Role 

The post of Student Advisor is a full-time role which forms a new approach within Heriot-Watt University to student support: providing a wide range of advice, support and guidance across the whole student life cycle, from pre-arrival to graduation. 

Student Advisors will be a key contact point for students, providing guidance and support, including referral to other support services where required. Working closely with academic and professional services teams, the role is an advocate for students, ensuring parity of experience for all students.

The postholders will report to the Manager of the Student Advisor team, and will collaborate routinely with colleagues in the wider Team and with academic staff. There will also be regular collaboration with the Student Experience Team within Student Wellbeing Services as well as with other teams within the Student Life Division and wider RAS Directorate, and with other student support services. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

Supporting Assigned Individual Students

• Provide assigned students with a personal, professional relationship tailored to the student’s needs and requirements;
• Support every student assigned to them through critical stages such as pre-arrival, induction and key study transitions;
• Advise and support assigned students with all aspects of School and University systems and processes related to their studies, such as finance, mitigating circumstances, temporary suspension of studies programme/course registration and selection, progression criteria, student conduct and disability-related adjustments;
• Resolve issues directly for students by advising or guiding through options and processes and, where appropriate, signpost, refer or facilitate access to more specialist support, within the School and across the wider University support services, including referrals for cases of urgent or complex health and wellbeing concerns;
• Support each assigned student at any challenging points in their studies or personal circumstances, engaging with the University’s wider student support services and Personal Tutors/Academic Advisors;
• Provide information on individual student situations to relevant staff, such as the student’s Personal Tutor/Academic Advisor;
• Use management information to identify students who are not engaging with their studies and are at risk academically, putting in place or facilitating advice and support for such students, and tracking the impact of such interventions.

The Student Advisor based at the Scottish Borders Campus will work jointly with the Student Experience Team to carry out specific responsibilities detailed below.

• Delivery of new stdent induction and Welcome Week activities and liaison with academic staff on this;  
• Liaison with Edinburgh based Student Experience Team and SBC colleagues to ensure the delivery of SBC components of Kick-Start Your Success and Kick-Start Your Dissertation.  
• Identification of and contact with at-risk students using the Engagement Dashboard, if capacity allows. 
• Responding to enquiries that fall within remit forwarded by the Student Wellbeing Advisor from the SBC. 
• Providing tailored SBC specific content for communications to current students and offer holders across a variety of media.  
• SBC specific input into yearly updates to student and staff guidance documentation such as the A to Z Student Guide and the Quick Referral Guide for staff.  

Supporting Wider Student Community 

• Support students to engage with the University, feel part of a community, benefit from opportunities related to the learning and broader experience and understand their study options and programme/course requirements;
• Contribute to the development of a holistic student support system, aligning with Personal Tutors/Academic Advisors, student peer support systems;
• Undertake any other duties as required by the Manager of the Student Advisor team in order to support and enhance the student experience.
• Identify common issues affecting student groups and identify solutions and preventative factors (e.g. support resources/group workshops) to address these.
• Meet regularly with key academic staff to keep up to date with academic and staffing developments within their areas of responsibility.

Other Tasks

• Progress any other tasks associated with the work of the wider Registry and Academic Support Directorate, for example assisting at student enrolment events, graduation ceremonies and the Student Helpline. 
• Undertake any other duties as required by the Global Director of Student Experience + Academic Registrar and/or Head of Student Life

Person Specification 

These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be made.

Essential

1. Educated to first degree level (or equivalent) or equivalent practical experience in the workplace.
2. Experience of working within a student-facing support role in a similar environment as outlined in the job description.
3. Competent in the use of relevant IT packages 
4. Analytical problem solving skills
5. Well-developed interpersonal skills 
6. Demonstrable excellent customer service 
7. Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
8. Demonstrable professional and proactive approach 

Desirable

1. Experience of Higher Education
2. Experience of advising students
3. Experience in collaborating with multi-location teams

How to Apply

Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV

Applications can be submitted until 23:55 on Thursday 30th April 2026.

About Heriot-Watt University

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.

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.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.