Academic Planning Lead (Maternity Cover)

Academic Planning Lead (Fixed-Term Maternity Cover)

Whitecliffe | Auckland City Campus | 40 hours per week

This is a fixed-term opportunity to play a central role in academic operations at a leading independent tertiary institution, working alongside academic leaders and professional teams to support a high-quality experience for students and staff across multiple campuses.

About Whitecliffe

Whitecliffe is a leading independent tertiary institution in New Zealand, renowned for delivering innovative, industry-connected education. With campuses in Auckland, Manukau, Wellington, and Christchurch, we pride ourselves on having teaching staff with extensive industry experience who support our graduates to turn creativity into a career.

About You

You are a highly organised planner who thrives on turning strategic priorities into operational reality. You bring exceptional attention to detail to academic calendars, timetables, and programme documentation, and you're comfortable juggling multiple projects and competing deadlines without losing sight of quality or compliance.

Your communication skills allow you to build strong working relationships across academic, operational, and regulatory stakeholders, from Programme Heads and faculty staff to Registry, Student Success, Marketing, and senior leadership. You understand the importance of accurate, timely academic planning in delivering a high-quality student and staff experience, and you're motivated by finding better ways to do things.

You have a passion for continuous improvement and enjoy the mix of planning, project management, and problem-solving that comes with coordinating academic operations across multiple programmes, campuses, and delivery modes.

Whitecliffe prides itself on creativity and innovation and delivers high standards of education across undergraduate and postgraduate offerings. We are seeking a planning professional who can help keep our academic operations running smoothly while supporting a culture that values creativity and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

As Academic Planning Lead, you will:

• Lead the development and maintenance of institutional academic calendars, timetables, and programme schedules across campuses and delivery modes
• Support the implementation of new programmes, programme changes, and teach-out plans, including NZQA submissions
• Contribute to academic quality assurance activities, including Annual Programme Evaluation Reports (APERs), internal reviews, and audit preparation
• Lead and support cross-functional academic projects from initiation through to implementation
• Prepare reports, dashboards, and analysis to support planning and decision-making for senior leadership and governance groups
• Build effective working relationships across academic and professional services teams, acting as a key point of contact for academic planning queries
• Identify and help implement opportunities to streamline academic planning processes and systems

What You Will Bring

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• Experience in academic administration, academic operations, project management, or higher education
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities
• Strong organisational and planning skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Experience working with data and reporting tools (e.g. Excel and Microsoft 365 applications)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders

Desirable

• Experience within the New Zealand tertiary education sector
• Knowledge of NZQA, TEC, and quality assurance requirements
• Experience supporting programme development or implementation

If this sounds like you and you'd like to find out more, please APPLY NOW!

Whitecliffe is committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any support or adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know how we can support!