Destinations Officer

Description :
We have a great placement opportunity commencing in mid February 2013 for a graduate to work in the Careers Service at Aberystwyth University on the DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) project. This placement is full time, will last 10 weeks and you will be paid £300 per week. There may be an opportunity to continue within the Service on a further temporary contract at the end of the placement.

The Destinations Officer will be responsible for overseeing the collection of data, obtained via a telephone survey, and the coding and official return of this data to HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency). The post-holder will also be responsible for the proactive collection of graduate profiles for use by academic departments and the Institution as a whole, and compiling reports based on the information collected through the DLHE survey.

Who is the placement with?
The Careers Service is a dynamic, friendly and innovative department in which to work. The Service works to enhance the employability of undergraduate and postgraduate students and graduates, and is also responsible for coordinating Aberystwyth University's participation in the national DLHE project.
For more information, please see
What will you be doing?
Working under the supervision of the Graduate Destinations officer and the Acting Head of Department for the Careers Service you will:

Co-ordinate the collection of graduate destination data via follow-up telephone survey of non-respondents to initial postal survey.
Collaborate with a team of student telemarketers and assist them when carrying out the telephone follow-up survey of non-respondents in evenings and weekends.
Code and troubleshoot data in line with HESA requirements, liaisewith Information Services on AStRA data entry, check entered data for accuracy.
Liaise with Management Information Services to ensure accuracy of data and ensure successful commitment of data collection by national deadlines.
Liaise proactively with HESA on DLHE collection methodology throughout collection process.
Contact academic departments for information on the destinations of non-respondents
Organise and oversee the collection of a bank of approximately 100 graduate case studies.
Work evenings and weekends as part of your 36.5 hours per week in order to ensure the data is collected.

Essential Requirements :
To be considered for this placement, you must have:

Essential:
- A degree
- An understanding of survey procedures and basic data collection techniques
- Confidence in speaking to people over the phone and the ability to influence
- Strong IT skills, particularly within Excel
- Meticulous attention to detail and an eye for deviations from expected patterns in numerical data
- Motivation and ability to avoid and check for errors in data

and electronic records
- Ability to organise and manage own work and to meet tight deadlines

Desirable Requirements :
- Experience of data collection and basic statistical analysis techniques
- Ability to liaise with a wide range of people, including academics, graduates and

their parents
- Ability to speak Welsh would be an advantage although not essential.

Expected Outcomes :
By the end of the placement you will have developed your marketing skills and learnt how to organise and co-ordinate a busy graduate project.

An integral part of GO Wales work placements is the City and Guilds Professional Development Award; all individuals on placement complete this short work based qualification which allows them and the host employer to make the most of the experience.