NCP Student Services Coordinator

About Palladium
Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90-plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies, and, most importantly, people’s lives.

About Program
The New Colombo Plan (NCP) is a signature initiative of the Australian government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo Pacific in Australia by supporting undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region, ultimately helping to strengthen Australia’s regional standing by building a diverse cohort of Australian alumni with deeper Indo-Pacific knowledge, capa bility, and connections.

The NCP Program involves:

A scholarship program that each year awards between 120-150 new scholarships to high performing students to undertake programs of up to 19 months across 40 Indo Pacific countries, involving university study, language training and internships.

A mobility grants program that awards grants to Australian universities for students to undertake mobility projects in the region, that can include shorter term (2-6 weeks) or semester length study, internships, mentorships, practicums, research, and language training.

An alumni program that that seeks to develop and grow a community of NCP scholar and mobility student alumni who form and grow enduring people-to-people and institutional links with the Indo Pacific region and promote the program and its wider benefits.

Palladium is the Service Provider appointed to deliver the NCP Managed Administrative and Support Services (NCP MASS) program, reporting to and working closely with DFAT’s NCP Secretariat team, who have overall responsibility for program strategy, policy and oversight. Palladium provides an integrated suite of services to enable the NCP operational delivery and support achievement of the program’s strategic objectives. This includes providing administration services to the scholarships, mobility and alumni programs, and delivering cross- cutting functions such as communications and marketing, monitoring and evaluation, events management, business engagement support and risk management.

Role
The NCP MASS program team includes a group of student services coordinators who form the core of the wider Scholarships and Mobility team. The student support services role is primarily responsible for providing effective administrative and support services to the NCP scholarship program across its lifecycle phases, from promotion and selection of new awardees, through to pre-departure training and on-award case management support throughout a scholar’s program.

Student Services Coordinators are responsible for ensuring a consistent, seamless, and high-quality experience for NCP scholars, and supporting them to join the alumni program on completion of their scholarship. This includes managing a caseload of a wide and diverse range of scholars who undertake programs in a variety of contexts and locations from small Pacific Islands to large south-east Asian countries. The role will also liaise with other NCP stakeholders such as university partners, host institutions and alumni and will be expected to always provide high quality and professional representation for the program.

Support services are to be provided in accordance with the contracted schedule of services, relevant NCP policies and guidelines, and must me et the standards set out in the NCP MASS service level agreement with DFAT for quality, timely, accountable services to NCP scholars and Scholarship program stakeholders. A key element of the role is timely and accurate data entry and records management, using NCP ICT systems and data bases, which is critical for ensuring effective and compliant administration of scholar benefits and payments, and generating high quality reporting information and analysis on the scholarship program for DFAT and other stakeholders.

The Student Services Coordinator will be expected to work collaboratively with other teams in the MASS program, including those providing cross cutting functions that support the Scholarships Program area.This role reports to the Manager, Scholarships and Mobility, NCP MASS and is full-time, fixed term contract until 30 June 2025.

Location
Our preference is for the role to be based in Adelaide however we will consider candidates who are based in other locations.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Strong customer service and case management skills, with experience in the international education or student service sector an advantage, although not essential providing relevant experience and transferable skills can be demonstrated to working in the international education and outward mobility sector.
Strong interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communication, and ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume and varied workload, including setting priorities and managing workflows, the ability to complete tasks to a high degree of accuracy and meet deadlines.
Demonstrated experience in using live online database systems and ensuring accuracy in data entry and management of records. Competence in the Microsoft Office Suite is also required.
Effective problem-solving skills, including the ability to gather relevant information, make decisions based on evidence and escalate issues appropriately.
Demonstrated sound judgement and ability to work within and apply guidelines and policies appropriately, including implementing and adapting to policy changes.
A flexible and pragmatic approach to work, with the ability to respond to changing or unexpected circumstances and adjust to surge periods when required.
A strong commitment to continuous business improvement and excellent service delivery standards.
An ability to work sensitively and inclusively with scholars and stakeholders.

Key Competencies

Demonstrated experience providing welfare and/or academic support to tertiary students.
Experience working in the Australian tertiary education sector, particularly with regard to knowledge of scholarships and/or outbound student mobility programs.
Relevant tertiary qualifications.

Applications close date – 19 January 2024.

For more information about the role, please send your inquiry to: Mary Ann Seow at maryann.seow@thepalladiumgroup.com

Please note – we are only accepting applications from job seekers with full working rights within (country) as this role is unable to be sponsored. We are not accepting resumes from recruitment agencies for this role.