We are currently recruiting for a Student Services Advisor, and host families/ homestays. Please scroll down to view the full job descriptions.

STUDENT SERVICES ADVISOR

Who are we?

Study Links is a thriving family business based in Bradford, Yorkshire. We have over 20 years’ experience acting as Guardians for international students who are at schools & universities in the UK. We are a caring and professional business; arranging accommodation with host families, providing peace of mind for parents overseas, and offering friendly supportive guidance to our students.

We are currently looking for a Student Services Advisor who speaks Mandarin and/or Cantonese to join our thriving business in providing academic support and pastoral care to our students in all aspects of their study and life in the UK.

What is the role?

As Student Services Advisor you will be the first point of contact for students, parents and schools/universities. In this predominantly office-based role, you will provide daily support to students before, during and after their arrival in the UK.

Your other responsibilities will include:

• Communicating regularly with students in Mandarin, Cantonese or English as per their preference.
• Providing regular contact to your allocated students, to ensure that their agreed level of service is always achieved and that all queries or concerns are answered and relevant follow-up action is taken.
• Providing care packages to students, identifying problems and working on solutions. Where economically viable – meeting the student is a must.
• Ensuring parents receive all the information they require from the school/university and understanding each parent’s individual needs.
• Acting as the liaison between the in-house Home-Stay & Transport Team and the school, ensuring that all parties are confident the match is acceptable before parents are notified.
• Translating documents as required.
• To monitor Social Media channels and process any enquires pertinent to your role.
• To operate the 24-hour emergency phone line at regular agreed times on a rota basis (including weekdays and weekends).

Who are you?

You will be a very confident and assured team player with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who is willing to fully engage with parents, agents, and students to fulfill their needs. You’ll be passionate about delivering an exceptional standard of customer service with excellent problem-solving skills and you will have the ability to meet deadlines and handle pressure appropriately. You will also be able to work full time and commence the role right away.

Required Knowledge, Training, and Experience

• You must be fluent in Mandarin and/or Cantonese and have excellent English-language skills.
• Have previously lived in China, and so have a full understanding of Chinese culture.
• Knowledge of the UK Education system and British culture.
• Able to mentor students and parents on UK cultural expectations, as well as academic and pastoral support.
• Possess the ability to build rapport with customers on the telephone.
• Confident using Social Media, Skype, other applications and email.
• Proven administration and IT skills and experience.
• Previous experience of dealing with escalated queries.
• Confident in dealing with confrontational issues.
• A degree in relevant field is also desirable.
• Previous experience with children, parents, and schools is very important. Working knowledge and a few years’ experience in education would be beneficial.
• The successful candidate should be warm, compassionate, adaptable and, crucially, capable of building good rapport with parents, children and schools alike.
• Previous experience in mentoring or coaching.
• Driving license and your own transport.

What can we offer you?

• Competitive salary
• Financial assistance to attend relevant training courses
• Annual off-site Team away day
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Increasing holidays with length of service.

 

You must be eligible to work in the UK and complete an Enhanced DBS at the start of the role.

If you wish to be considered for this exciting opportunity, please submit your CV and a Covering Letter to Sophie Robinson, Head of Student Services and Homestay. SophieR@studylinks.com

 

Closing date: 17th August 2018

Job Type: Full-time

Starting Salary: £18,000.00 to £26,000.00 /year

Education:

• Bachelor’s

Language:

• Cantonese
• Mandarin

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Host Family / Homestay

Job description

We are currently looking for caring homestay families to host international students in the following areas:

Darlington
Durham
Harrogate
Leeds (particularly LS6 – Headingley, LS7 – Meanwood, Chapel Allerton, LS8 – Roundhay, LS4, LS5 – Kirkstall, LS12 – Armley, Wortley, LS16 – Cookridge, Adel, Alwoodley)
Leicester
York

Homestays are paid a generous allowance for each student that they look after.

Please note that being a homestay in NOT a regular full time job but involves welcoming an international student into your home, giving them a place to stay and taking care of them whilst they are in the UK.

The role

Being a homestay is a rewarding experience which involves taking care of an international student whilst they are in the UK and providing them with their basic needs including a bed, food, and place to study.

Being a homestay is a commitment which fits in around your work and family life schedule. It’s a great way to earn some extra income if you are a sociable person who likes learning about other cultures.

Some people worry that they don’t have enough time to commit to hosting students, however hosting students fits in perfectly around work and other commitments. Most students only need short term homestay during school holidays, and many homestay families with children find that this fits in with their own children’s holidays.

If you work full time, you can host long term students over the age of 14 who can take care of themselves during the day. If you are lucky enough not to work, you can host a student under 14 who will need full time supervision. If you are a stay-at-home parent or a retired grandparent, it can be very rewarding to host a younger student, who becomes a great play mate for your own children or grandchildren. Read more here.

What you’ll need

No previous experience required

WHAT YOU’LL GET OUT OF BEING A HOMESTAY

Your contribution will make a difference to the lives of international students. You will help them learn English and teach them about English cultures. Homestay are ordinary people doing something extraordinary!

You will meet people – being a homestay can be a very sociable activity!

You will gain new skills – you become a language teacher, a tour guide, a friend and more!

You can utilise your existing skills and put them to a good cause – no previous experience is required but if you speak a language, have experience of teaching English, have you had experience of being a boarding house master or had lodgers in the past you can put your existing skills to good use!

You will keep active – meeting new people and showing them around where you live and sharing the things that you know about your local area will get you out and about as well being a great experience for the students you host!

Find out more!

What is homestay?
What it’s like to be a homestay

About you

You will be a warm, caring person with great interpersonal skills who is willing to fully engage with students and fulfil their needs. Successful applications will be required to undergo a DBS check.

If you would like to apply, please contact us and we will send you the application pack.

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