Timetabling Administrator - Dubai Campus
Heriot-Watt UniversityJobsCloseBy Editorial Insights
Timetabling Administrator at Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus supports teaching timetabling across Schools, allocates rooms and exam venues, and handles bookings via Resource Booker. It aims to maximise space use, deliver timetables for staff and students, and resolve conflicts while complying with campus regulations. Essential criteria include a first degree or equivalent, strong analytical skills, IT proficiency with Excel, and proven customer service in a busy environment. Desirable: process redesign experience, higher education timetabling, cross‑campus collaboration, and knowledge of Scientia. To apply, submit a tailored CV and cover letter addressing the criteria; prepare for an on-demand video interview and an in-person presentation in Dubai, followed by a second interview. Visa conditions apply.
Job Posting Title: Timetabling Administrator
Grade and Salary: Grade 5
FTE and working pattern: Full Time
Organisation Name: Registry and Student Services
About Heriot Watt University:
Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business and languages.
With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and practical, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry. We connect with industry at every level and develop programmes to match their needs – so employers get work-ready industry-fit graduates.
Heriot-Watt is also Scotland's most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort.
We have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.
About our School/Directorate and Team:
The Global Registry and Academic Support Directorate supports our students and staff across the full student life-cycle from enrolment to graduation.
The Directorate has responsibility as the definitive record-keeper of all student information, programme and course details, as well as leading services that help students settle and stay at the University. This includes providing professional help and advice through a range of support and wellbeing services.
The Directorate supports academic and professional services staff across the University in a number of areas, including: academic, institutional and student related Regulations and Policies, and global, national and institutional quality matters.
It delivers these services through five Divisions, each managed by a Global Head, and two Heads of Campus Registry and Student Services:
- Student Life
- Online Students
- Academic Operations
- Academic Quality
- Academic Secretariat, Regulation and Policy
- Head of Registry & Student Services – Dubai Campus
- Head of Registry & Student Services - Malaysia Campus
The Academic Operations Division consists of five teams: Academic Operations Liaison, Academic
The Timetabling Team is responsible for supporting all aspects of teaching and exam timetabling; these are activities where the primary service users are academics and students. The team also supports general room bookings as a service for all members of staff and students.
The Academic Operations Division is made up of four areas:
- Timetabling & Scheduling: Coordinates with the Schools to develop and deliver a balanced teaching timetable, and manages resource bookings to optimize use of space across campus.
- Exams & Graduation: Coordinates logistics for final exams including the exam timetable, training and allocation of invigilators, and exam registration. Manages and prepares for Dubai graduation ceremonies in coordination with the team in Edinburgh.
- Post-graduate Research Administration: Provides administrative support for processes related to the post-graduate research student journey.
- School Academic Support Administration: Provides centralized, administrative support to Schools for Learning & Teaching activities, including record keeping, logistical arrangements for Academic Reviews and accreditation visits, preparations for exam boards, etc. as well as general administrative tasks such as appointment booking, travel arrangements, minute taking, etc.
Purpose of Role The role-holder will be responsible for supporting the operation and development of teaching timetabling for the Dubai Campus across all Schools and modes of study; allocating students to exam rooms; and support room bookings in Resource Booker. The role holder will aim to maximise the efficiency of our timetable while providing high quality services to staff, students and visitors.
The role-holder may occasionally be asked to support other teams within academic operations during busy periods for those teams
Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Accurately identify programme and course offerings for each semester, facilitate the collection of teaching requirements for course timetabling, staff assignments and room allocations via SharePoint. Accurately audit data available each semester in the timetabling system to ensure timely preparation of timetables. Timetabling for one or two small Schools will be assigned.
- Allocate rooms for teaching activities with the aim of using space as efficiently as possible.
- Ensure all aspects of cross-campus teaching are considered to produce student- and staff-friendly timetables in Dubai.
- Ensure timetables are produced within the agreed Dubai timetabling timelines.
- Audit, identify and resolve any room, teaching staff and student-set conflicts, potentially created on the timetables.
- Ensure teaching activities take precedence over any other campus activities and events.
- Ensure timetables are consistent according to the Dubai campus regulations.
- Work on timetabling data reports upon request.
- Accurately allocate students to exam rooms via the exam timetabling software.
- Provide input on ways to help maximise space utilisation at the Dubai campus.
- Contribute by providing feedback on any space development projects undertaken by the campus.
- Provide colleagues with advice and guidance on timetabling constraints and issues faced.
- Ensure ad-hoc room bookings are managed timely and efficiently via Resource Booker.
- Undertake training to support expertise, personal and professional development
- Collaborate in redesigning processes related to timetabling.
- Provide admin support to other teams of the RAS Directorate when needed according to an agreed division of labour outlined by the Head of RAS.
Education, Qualifications & Experience:
These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be based.
Essential
- Educated to at least first degree or equivalent practical experience in the workplace
- Strong analytical skills
- Experience of working within a similar environment as outlined above
- Competent in the use of relevant IT packages and experience with using Excel
- Well-developed interpersonal skills
- Demonstrable professional and proactive approach
- Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
- Demonstrable provision of excellent customer service
Desirable
- Experience of redesigning and improving processes or procedures
- Experience of working in a timetabling role in higher education
- Collaboration with multi-location teams
- Experience of using Scientia timetabling software
Heriot-Watt University Values
With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and professionally relevant, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry.
We are a vibrant, forward-looking university, well known for the quality of our degrees with employers actively seeking out our graduates. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s international university with an unsurpassed international in-country presence. We deliver degree programmes to circa 30,000 students in 143 countries around the world, have a further overseas campus in Dubai and boast the largest international student cohort in Scotland.
At Heriot-Watt we’ve created an environment that nurtures innovation and leadership - where our researchers, staff and students can realise their potential and develop their ambitions.
We are proud of our collegiate atmosphere and integrated teaching and research approach which has helped to build a community of committed academics and highly motivated students. Our focus on careers delivers results and we’ve an excellent reputation for graduate employability.
In addition to the Edinburgh campus, we currently have campuses in the Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia. For all of our campuses we aim to provide stimulating, supportive environments conducive to effective learning and research, where staff and students can excel. At Heriot-Watt, we have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.
Our values describe our deeply held beliefs and our community spirit. They characterise not only how we are as a higher education institution but also frame how we want to be.
Our values are:
- Belong
- Collaborate
- Inspire
- Celebrate
As learning, living and working institution, we use our values as the building blocks of how we go about doing our work and how we each conduct ourselves as members of Heriot-Watt University. They represent what binds us together as a University community and help us to become the best at what we do.
For full details on our University, please view our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/about.htm
‘How to Apply’
Please submit your CV and a cover letter setting out how you meet the criteria for this role.
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to complete an on-demand-video interview as the first stage of the selection process. Successful candidates will then proceed to in-person formal interviews at our Dubai campus, where you will be asked to deliver a brief presentation on a relevant topic. Following the formal interview, the preferred candidate will attend a second interview with senior staff at the Dubai campus before a final offer decision is made.
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
The appointment is conditional upon successful completion of all Labor and Immigration formalities, and the start date will need to be delayed if the employment visa is not in place.