Assistant Admissions Manager

Salary:  £35,608 to £37,694 with progression to £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 30 March 2026

The Role

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Admissions Manager to play a central role in delivering high‑quality admissions across the School of Medicine, with additional oversight of admissions activity in the Schools of Dental Sciences and Pharmacy. This is a key leadership position, managing a small team of admissions professionals and ensuring a seamless applicant journey from initial enquiry through to onboarding and induction.

You will lead the full admissions lifecycle for our clinical programmes, coordinating shortlisting, interviews, and decision‑making, and ensuring all processes meet University and external regulatory requirements. A significant part of the role involves providing clear, accurate, and insightful data to academic colleagues, supporting evidence‑based decisions and maintaining robust reporting systems.

Working closely with our University recruitment teams and external partners, you will contribute to applicant conversion and help the Faculty achieve its recruitment targets. Your ability to build strong relationships, manage competing priorities, and maintain exceptional attention to detail will be essential to success.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a complex environment, enjoys leading people, and brings confidence in data handling, organisation, and stakeholder engagement. Please note that annual leave may be restricted during peak admissions periods.

For informal enquiries, please contact emma.pollard@ncl.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Manage staff to ensure the efficient administration of MBBS admissions, providing accurate information to prospective applicants and processing all applications in line with University and MBBS admissions criteria, as well as relevant University and external regulatory policies
• Work closely with admissions colleagues based in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy and the Central Undergraduate Admissions team to ensure that admissions policies and practice are followed
• Oversee UG interview processes across the Faculty, particularly Medicine MMIs, providing expert guidance to selectors and applicants to ensure fairness, accuracy, and compliance. Ensure the annual review of selector training meets University and external regulatory requirements
• Act as the main point of contact between the University and the UCAT consortium: ensuring accurate transfer and return of data and input into proposed developments
• Oversee the progression and registration of all students on the MBBS programmes (Newcastle and NUMed), ensuring they are advanced and enrolled in full compliance with University protocols. This includes coordinating the timely registration of more than 1,000 Newcastle students undertaking clinical attachments each year, ensurin they are fully registered before placements begin and therefore covered by the appropriate Trust indemnity
• Contribute to the business of designated undergraduate committees including the Admissions Policy Committee, and the MBBS Admissions Executive
• Manage the provision of admissions data for Freedom of Information requests, maintaining dashboards and systems that support accurate reporting
• Support the Schools of Dental Sciences and Pharmacy with their admissions activity, ensuring staff follow policy and have the guidance they need
• Work with the Faculty’s Head of Student Recruitment and Marketing on recruitment and widening participation initiatives, monitoring progress toward agreed targets
• Analyse, interpret, and present admissions data to support evidence‑based decisions by admissions leads, and produce management information and recruitment reports for internal stakeholders and external bodies such as the GMC, UCAT, and HEFCE
• Monitor compliance with UK Borders Agency requirements, maintain robust systems for tracking sponsored students, and manage applicant and student fee status assessments
• Lead the effective use of IT systems, including Microsoft Dynamics, ensuring staff are trained and confident in managing applicant data
• Alongside other managers, take an active role in managing the Medical Student Office, contributing to staff recruitment, induction, the Conversation and Priorities process, and other HR procedures in line with University policy. Support budget planning, office structure, and workload management

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• High level of literacy and numeracy
• Attention to detail and accuracy with large data sets
• Excellent IT skills, including the ability to use databases and spreadsheets to manage and report on data. Ability to design complex queries and produce detailed reports
• Proven organisational, time management, decision making, and prioritisation skills
• Data protection, Equal Opportunities and UK Borders Agency issues in relation to applicant and student information as well as the NHS (Desirable)
• Awareness of issues relating to Higher Education e.g. Quality Assurance, Widening Participation, Students with disabilities in medicine (Desirable)

Attributes and Behaviour

• Proven ability to use initiative
• Significant experience of working as part of a team in a customer-oriented environment
• Proven staff management experience, and ability to deal effectively with conflicting priorities
• Ability to work flexible hours when required
• Experience of managing change (Desirable)

Qualifications

Graduate (or equivalent) with relevant experience or substantial relevant experience demonstrating progression through a number of roles

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29193