Temporary Programme Officer
Kings College London is a leading UK university, offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses spanning Arts and Culture, to Engineering, to Law, and Medicine. We have worked with KCL on over 1000 placements since 1998.
King’s College was seeking a full-time temporary Programme Officer in their Language Centre, and as a long-standing client of Prospectus, they reached out for support with the urgent requirement after an unsuccessful recruitment process. The Hiring Manager for this role knew Prospectus personally as they were initially placed by us 10 years ago, also as a temporary worker, and is now a Senior Manager.
Due to it being the start of the academic year, it was the busiest week of the year for King’s College, so it was vital the vacancy was filled quickly. The appointed person was needed to support student lifecycle processes, from pre-enrolment activities through induction and registration, to completion and beyond. They also needed to be able to utilise systems and databases accordingly, follow best practices ensuring consistency of data and identify and resolve any issues.
After gaining an understanding of the specifics of the role, our Higher Education Recruitment Team immediately started their search for talented temporary candidates who were able to start immediately. There was a need for strong customer service, an understanding of the processes within Higher Education, and the ability to remain calm in a busy workplace.
The role was advertised for 24hrs and we received 30 applications. After reviewing these, two strong applications were sent to the Hiring Manager for consideration the following morning. Our Higher Education Manager, Scott, then spoke with the two candidates and conducted interviews in the afternoon, and we were delighted that one was selected. After rapidly clearing them for work with references and right-to-work checks complete, the chosen candidate started the role the very next day!
Not only was the chosen candidate able to start immediately, but they also held previous experience in senior admin positions within charities and Higher Education. They had an approachable, friendly manner, with the ability to remain patient whilst dealing with sensitive and confidential information in a busy environment. They also had great interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate and distribute information.
The Hiring Manager at King’s College was very pleased with such a quick turnaround and gaining an exceptional candidate starting the temporary position within 24hrs!