Head of Registrar's Office

ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.
They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now.
Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

HOW WE WORK

As a high-growth start-up, the ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.  

The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As the Registrar for the institution across ALU Rwanda and ALC Mauritius, this role involves providing robust leadership in line with the academic goals and mission of the institution. The focus is on cultivating a student-centered and customer-service-oriented approach to operations. The Registrar oversees department organization, planning, management, supervision, reporting, and advisory duties related to academic records, degree conferral, course registration, scheduling, student information systems, academic catalogs, and associated areas. In leading the Office of the Registrar, the individual in this position aims to achieve institutional enrollment goals and enhance the student experience by implementing process improvements, making data-driven decisions, and eliminating obstacles to success.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinates and oversees all Registrar's Office functions, including the student information system, registration, grading, degree and enrollment verification, academic records management, transcripts, compliance, graduation auditing, and degree awarding.
• Oversees the management of policies, processes, and operations of the Registrar’s Office and provides leadership, innovation, vision, and accountability for managing all records, registration policies, and services that support student success.
• Provides oversight for integrity and accuracy of student academic record-keeping and transcript production and ensures all student education records are maintained in an accurate and secure manner.
• Review, develop, design, and implement procedures and business processes for records, registration, and scheduling to increase department efficiency and effectiveness.
• Implements strategic planning, particularly in enrollment management and transfer student success.
• Facilitates the creation of effective data practices to inform the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and reports.
• Publishes and maintains the course catalog, primarily electronically. The Registrar also maintains the internal course catalog file and the course sections file, including course prerequisites, special restrictions, expected class size, course descriptions, faculty assigned, section schedule, and degree requirements.
• Play a shared leadership role on the Enrollment Management team, working closely with colleagues from multiple units, including Student Life, Admissions, Financial Aid, Finance (invoicing), the Dean of Innovative Learning & Design, the Campus Deans, and faculty.
• Develop, propose, and implement (upon approval) a multi-year academic calendar.
• Oversees the conformity of educational record use, dissemination, and privacy of student information to College policies and legal requirements, including Rwanda and Mauritius specific data privacy laws, and and other applicable laws and regulations as well as those of other regulatory agencies.
• Manages efficient use of classrooms while maintaining course schedules, catalogs, final examination schedules up to date.
• Oversees the implementation and effective use of all IT services provided by the Registrar’s Office including the development and maintenance of computerized information, degree audit, and other related student systems.
• Provides strategic input and develops recommendations for implementing related technology applications to support enhanced student, faculty, and staff services.
• Monitors and verifies student enrollment data essential for official internal and external reporting related to academic and student records, including auditors and accreditors, as needed.
• Works cooperatively with the Director of Admissions and the Director of Financial Aid to ensure accurate student enrollment reporting to government agencies.
• Supervises the evaluation and recording of transfer credit for the University, including credit from study abroad programs, and pre-and post- matriculation credit from domestic institutions, ensuring that credit is transferred in accordance with University’s policies, external regulations, and best professional practices.
• Coordinate efforts with other offices to improve services for enrolled students, prospective students, and faculty through the Office of the Registrar.
• Supervises the development and maintenance of the degree audit system and provides oversight for the monitoring of students' progress toward degree completion.
• Oversees training, development, and maintenance of procedure manuals, regulations, and systems within the Registrar's office for the university community.
• Supervises, trains, manages, evaluates, and develops staff within the office.
• Serves on administrative committees as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS

The ideal candidate will be someone with sound background and experience in end-to-end Tertiary Education Registrar Operations as they will oversee the entire execution of ALU and ALC registrar functions.

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree with 10 years’ experience or Master’s degree with 7 years’ experience.
• Progressively responsible experience in a Registrar’s Office (or Audit firm), including supervisory and leadership experience for at least 4 of those years required.
• Demonstrated result driven experience with a strong record of achievement. 

OR/& an equivalent combination of certification/s, education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• A strong record demonstrating the ability to lead, manage, develop, and assess people, programs, projects, and initiatives in a college or university registrar’s office.
• Ability to complete complex projects and make forward progress on strategic initiatives.
• Ability to use data to support curricular planning and implementation, institutional improvement, and the development and implementation of strategic initiatives.
  
• Proficient in using a recognised student information system (Salesforce, Oracle) and learning management system (Canvas).
• Highly organized with critical focus on detail, accuracy, and efficient workflow.
• Ability to learn and understand academic programs, degree requirements, and academic policies in a college setting.
• Expertise in interpretation and enforcement of relevant University and regulatory regulations.
• Excellent interpersonal and cultural competency skills, commitment to modeling inclusive behavior and promoting a culture of belonging, and demonstrated ability to communicate and work collaboratively and effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
  
• Excellent technical, analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills that reflect the ability to balance multiple responsibilities, work effectively under pressure, set priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proficient in Google Suite applications including, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Word.

Preferable

• A demonstrated pattern of sound judgment, tact, and the ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately and maintain strict confidentiality.
• Ability to manage software system implementations, integrations, and migration as well as efficient fiscal planning and budgeting skills and demonstrated ability to manage and steward human and fiscal resources.
• Willingness to learn and implement new technologies, and the highest standards of professional ethics and integrity with a strong commitment to excellence, learning, and community as well as professional development.
• Proficient in using a Student information systems(Salesforce) and Blackboard learning management system.