Customer Relations Officer - Sandton at Varsity College

Varsity College is an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). The IIE enjoys the reputation of being at the forefront of private higher education in South Africa, and is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to provide higher education qualifications accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

The IIE's Varsity College, Sandton Campus has a vacancy for a Customer Relations Officer.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Student Registration and Academic Progression Counselling

• Facilitates consultations with students in cases where a change is required to their current registration contract, e.g. this could be for students who wish for change within a semester, between semesters or between years of study.
• Works with the Admission Centre to understand different curriculum scenarios (e.g. phase-in and phase-out- etc.) to ensure that student is advised correctly.
• Supports the Senior Customer Relations Officer, Campus Deputy Head and/ or Head: Academic Operations in co-ordinating the Retention Project on campus. 

Active Student Engagement and Support

• Delivers the academic orientation programme for new and returning students by means of the programme information presentations, on overview of pertinent academic policies and an outline of the academic year etc. 
• Manage the dissemination of policies (new and updates).
• Attends informal meet-and-greet sessions with students.
• Facilitates Programme information Session by addressing students in class with a view to explain and induction the students on the relevant policies and procedures that govern student life on campus.
• Facilitates follow-up Programme information Sessions by way of email broadcasts that occur throughout the year and that drip feed policy and procedure related information to the students as is deemed necessary by the Academic Operations Department.
• Conducts periodical class visits to canvas student concerns and share relevant information. 
• Provides assignment submission support with regards to the correct anti-plagiarism tool applicable to the respective programme.

Student Query Resolution

• Resolves student queries via the appropriate channel/s within a committed time frame in line with the agreed Service Level Agreement for the Customer Relations Centre and escalates queries to the Senior Customer Relations Officer where appropriate.
• Captures details of all student contact made by the Customer Relations Centre on the academic system.
• Provides various letters/documents that are generated from the academic system on request by students.
• Assists with unresolved queries from The Students HUB and escalates queries to the Senior Customer Relations Officer where quires require further attention.
• Assists with the roll out of all relevant customer related surveys.

Cross Departmental Query Resolution 

• Liaises with various departments on campus to stay up-to-date with any relevant changes or developments in those departments in order to enable the smooth processing of student queries.

Team Support, General & System Administration

• Responsible for ensuring all students notes are captured in the academic System. 
• Maintains a good knowledge of products and policies in order to ensure that students are advised correctly. 
• Identifies and flags student query trends and escalates these identifies trends to the Senior Customer Officer where required.
• Supports other member of other Customer Relations Centre team to ensure and drive the efficient resolution of student queries.
• Complies with The Protection of the Personal Information Act (POPIA) legislation relevant to the Customer Relations Centre.
• Supports and collaborates with other members of the Academic Operations team to ensure the efficient running of the Academic Operations department as a whole. 

Competencies required:

• Advanced Interpersonal and communication skills
• Computer proficiency
• Planning & time management skills
• Results driven and able to handle pressure
• Professionalism
• Empathy
• Customer service driven/focused
• Advanced administrative and organisational skills

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

• Minimum of a National Diploma/Advanced Certificate (NQF Level 6). Advanced Diploma or Degree (NQF Level 7) advantageous.

Minimum Experience Required:

• Minimum of 2 years administrative and customer service experience, and 1 year of operational management/ project management experience.      

Customer Relations Officer Working Hours:

Centre Core Hours:

• Monday to Thursday: 07h00 to 18h30
• Friday: 07h00 to 17h00
• Saturday: 08h00 to 13h00

Shift Hours:

Shift 1:

• Monday to Thursday: 07h00 to 16h00
• Friday: 08h00 to 17h00

Shift 2:

• Monday to Thursday: 09h30 to 18h30
• Friday: 07h00 to 11h00
• Saturday: 08h00 to 13h00