Enter a job title or keyword
Student Finance Manager
Job Location:
Salary:
Experience Required:
Posted:
27 August 2026 (11 days ago)
Posted:
Application Deadline:
24 November 2026
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Role purpose
The Student Finance Manager will lead LAATs student finance service ensuring that students receive
accurate timely accessible and fair information and support throughout the student lifecycle. The
postholder will oversee student funding administration fee-related processes complex casework and the
operational interface with the Student Loans Company Student Finance England and other relevant funding
bodies.
The role will maintain effective controls over student funding and fee records ensuring that registration
attendance engagement change-of-circumstance and withdrawal information is complete accurate
reconciled and communicated through approved routes. The postholder will work closely with the Registrar
Finance Manager Admissions Student Support and academic teams so that student records funding
decisions and financial information remain aligned.
As a service leader the postholder will manage and develop the Student Finance team monitor service
standards and performance indicators resolve escalated cases and complaints and use data and feedback to
improve student experience. Arrangements must be adequate on paper effective in practice and
appropriately evidenced.
The postholder will support LAATs compliance with applicable Office for Students requirements consumer
protection expectations partner-university requirements data-protection obligations and internal financial
controls. The postholder is accountable for the effective discharge of the responsibilities assigned to this role
but does not replace the institutional accountability of LAATs governing body or accountable officer.
3. Key responsibilities
A. Student finance service leadership
1. Lead the day-to-day delivery and continuous improvement of LAATs student finance services across
all relevant campuses and modes of study.
2. Set clear service standards workflows responsibilities and escalation routes ensuring consistent
advice and treatment for all students.
3. Provide supportive and accountable line management including objective setting workload
allocation supervision development performance review and absence of management.
4. Maintain appropriate service coverage during enrolment registration confirmation payment and
change-of-circumstance peaks.
5. Promote a professional student-centred culture grounded in accuracy integrity inclusion
confidentiality and timely resolution.
B. Student funding administration and case management
6. Oversee the end-to-end administration of student funding including applications evidence checks
eligibility queries confirmations attendance-related activity change-of-circumstance notifications
and withdrawals in accordance with approved responsibilities and funding-body requirements.
7. Act as the principal escalation point for complex sensitive or high-risk student finance cases
ensuring decisions and communications are accurate fair documented and within delegated
authority.
8. Ensure students receive clear information about funding processes tuition-fee liability payment
implications deadlines evidence requirements and available support.
9. Coordinate appropriate support for students experiencing funding delays or financial difficulty
working with Student Support and other services while maintaining clear boundaries between
advice institutional decisions and external funding-body decisions.
10. Oversee complaints and service-recovery activity relating to student finance identifying root causes
and ensuring agreed actions are completed.
C. Fees records reconciliation and controls
11. Work with the Finance Manager and Registrar to ensure student funding sponsorship tuition fee
and payment-status records are accurate complete and reconciled to the relevant finance and
student-record systems.
12. Maintain robust controls for fee-status and funding evidence confirmation of activity exception
handling adjustments refunds and changes affecting student liability or institutional income.
13. Ensure student-finance transactions and decisions have clear audit trails appropriate approvals and
effective segregation of duties.
14. Investigate and resolve discrepancies between student records funding-body records partner
information and finance data escalating material risks promptly.
15. Support timely forecasting and monitoring of tuition-fee income outstanding confirmations funding
exceptions aged cases and material exposures.
D. Data quality reporting and assurance
16. Maintain accurate operational dashboards and management information covering caseload
processing times confirmations unresolved exceptions complaints student outcomes and service
performance.
17. Establish proportionate quality-assurance checks and undertake regular sample reviews of records
evidence decisions and communications.
18. Prepare clear evidence-based reports for the CFO & Operations Director Registrar SMT and
relevant committees including material risks trends control weaknesses and recommended
actions.
19. Maintain service procedures process maps risk and action logs evidence registers and documented
control checks that demonstrate effective operation in practice.
20. Support internal and external audit partner review due diligence and regulatory evidence requests
ensuring information is accurate authorised and submitted on time.
E. Compliance fairness and information governance
21. Ensure the service operates in accordance with applicable Student Loans Company and funding-body
requirements LAAT policies partner-university requirements consumer-protection expectations
and relevant Office for Students conditions.
22. Ensure student-finance information is accurate accessible timely and consistent across published
materials staff guidance student communications and operational practice.
23. Embed fair treatment equality diversity inclusion and accessibility in advice decision-making
service design and escalation arrangements.
24. Protect personal and financial data in accordance with UK GDPR data protection requirements
information security controls retention schedules and authorised-access arrangements.
25. Declare and manage actual potential or perceived conflicts of interest and ensure decisions follow
fair transparent and auditable approval routes.
26. Identify suspected fraud misrepresentation safeguarding concerns or financial irregularity and
escalate these through the appropriate institutional procedure without conducting unauthorised
investigations.
F. Partnership and cross-functional working
27. Maintain effective working relationships with the Student Loans Company Student Finance England
and other relevant funding or sponsorship bodies.
28. Work closely with Plymouth Marjon University and other approved partners to ensure
responsibilities data exchanges deadlines and student communications are understood and
delivered.
29. Coordinate with Admissions Registry Finance Student Support and academic teams so that
enrolment attendance engagement interruption transfer and withdrawal decisions are reflected
accurately and promptly.
30. Provide briefings training and guidance to staff on student-finance procedures responsibilities
deadlines and escalation routes.
31. Represent the student finance function at operational groups committees and external meetings as
required.
G. Planning and continuous improvement
32. Develop and maintain an annual operating plan for the student finance service aligned with the
academic cycle enrolment profile and institutional priorities.
33. Use student feedback complaints performance data audit findings and staff insight to prioritise
service improvements and evaluate their impact.
34. Lead proportionate process and systems improvements that strengthen accuracy efficiency
accessibility resilience and management of information.
35. Maintain business-continuity arrangements for critical student-finance activity and test contingency
processes where appropriate.
36. Undertake other duties commensurate with the role and level of responsibility.
4. Key working relationships
CFO & Operations Director
Registrar
Finance Manager and Finance team
Admissions Manager and Admissions team
Student Support Lead and Student Support team
Dean Academic Managers and programme teams
Data compliance quality and IT colleagues
Plymouth Marjon University and other approved partners
Student Loans Company Student Finance England and other funding or sponsorship bodies
Students and their authorised representatives where appropriate
5. Person specification
Essential qualifications and experience
A degree or equivalent professional experience relevant to student finance higher education
administration finance business administration or a related field.
At least five years relevant experience in student finance student funding fees of administration or
a comparable higher-education environment.
Demonstrable experience of supervising or managing staff allocating work setting expectations and
improving service performance.
Substantial working knowledge of Student Finance England and Student Loans Company processes
including evidence requirements confirmations attendance-related activity and changes in
circumstance.
Experience managing complex student cases complaints escalations and sensitive financial
information.
Experience maintaining accurate student-finance or fee records completing reconciliations resolving
data discrepancies and applying effective operational controls.
Experience of producing management information performance reports audit evidence and clear
procedural documentation.
Strong understanding of data protection confidentiality equality accessibility and fair treatment in
a student-facing service.
Ability to interpret detailed requirements and translate them into practical processes controls staff
guidance and student communications.
Strong analytical organisational written and interpersonal skills with the ability to manage
competing deadlines and high-volume processing periods.
High level of digital capability including confident use of Microsoft Excel and experience of student
record finance case-management or customer-relationship systems.
Commitment to LAATs values of Excellence Innovation Integrity Inclusivity Empowerment and
Sustainability.
Desirable qualifications and experience
Professional qualification or training in finance student services management compliance or
related discipline.
Experience in a private or alternative higher education provider university centre franchised or
validated provision or a multi-campus environment.
Experience working with a university partner and managing shared responsibilities data exchanges
or service-level requirements.
Knowledge of Office for Students regulation consumer-protection expectations student protection
and higher-education governance.
Experience of systems implementation workflow automation dashboard development or digital
service improvement.
Experience supporting audit regulatory review institutional due diligence or formal partner
monitoring.
6. Performance and success measures
Accurate and timely completion of student-funding and fee-related processes.
Reduced backlog avoidable rework unresolved exceptions and preventable student complaints.
Reliable reconciliation between student funding body partner and finance records.
Clear service standards effective team performance and appropriate peak-period resilience.
Complete audit trails procedures and evidence that controls operate in practice.
Accessible consistent and student-centred communication that supports fair outcomes.
Timely escalation and effective resolution of material operational financial data or compliance
risks.
7. Safeguarding conduct and institutional responsibilities
Uphold LAATs safeguarding Prevent equality data protection information security financial
control and student-protection policies.
Complete mandatory training and ensure direct reports maintain required training and professional
knowledge.
Maintain professional boundaries confidentiality and accurate records in all student and
stakeholder interactions.
Support a safe respectful and inclusive environment and escalate concerns through approved
procedures.
Comply with LAATs Scheme of Delegation Procurement and Financial Regulations conflicts of
interest requirements and other applicable institutional controls.
8. Regulatory and document-status note
This job description describes the principal accountabilities of the role and should be read with LAATs
approved policies procedures Scheme of Delegation financial regulations student terms and conditions
partner agreements and relevant operational manuals. References to external requirements are intended to
be applied as amended from time to time. LAAT must review this job description following any material
change to its regulatory status funding arrangements partnership responsibilities systems or organisational
structure.
The duties listed are not exhaustive. The postholder may be required to undertake other duties to
commensurate with the role and level of responsibility subject to appropriate consultation.
9. Principal reference framework
Student Loans Company and Student Finance England service requirements guidance and approved
provider responsibilities as applicable.
Office for Students regulatory framework and applicable conditions of registration including
requirements relating to student interests consumer protection management and governance.
UK GDPR Data Protection Act 2018 and LAAT information-governance requirements.
Plymouth Marjon University partnership agreement responsibilities and operating requirements as
applicable to LAAT provision.
LAAT Student Terms and Conditions student policies financial regulations Scheme of Delegation
and relevant service procedures.
Required Skills:
Desirable Previous experience in a student-facing or administrative role. Experience working in a higher education or regulated environment.
Required Education:
Person Specification Essential Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to coordinate with students teachers and administrative staff effectively. Basic IT skills including familiarity with Microsoft Teams and account setup. Organisational skills for maintaining attendance and records. Proactive and flexible attitude towards work and schedule adjustments.
