Senior Administrative Assistant

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Senior Administrative Assistant

Education Governance is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual to join the Doctoral Academy team, our support hub for postgraduate research students and academic stakeholders.

The post holder will provide an administrative service supporting a range of operations including: new studentship opportunities; funding bid support; both face to face and online student/staff activities; communications and hands-on training/conference support. The role will involve guidance and signposting to academic stakeholders, professional services colleagues, and postgraduate research students, whilst demonstrating a flexible working approach to ensure that the Doctoral Academy team is supported.

Applicants will demonstrate the values and behaviours that reflect the culture of a customer-focused department and will have skills in essential data gathering and analysis and an interest in the postgraduate research student environment.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 32 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) pro-rata for part-time hours, local pension scheme, blended working (meaning you will be able to work from home for some of your time), a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments up the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.

This is a full-time (35 hours per week), open-ended position.

Salary:  £21,197 – £23,144 per annum (Grade 3).

For more information on work-life balance, financial benefits, development, and wellbeing, and some of the facilities and services on offer to the staff at Cardiff University, please visit https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jobs/what-we-can-offer

Date advert posted: Friday, 21 October 2022

Closing date: Monday, 7 November 2022

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Job Description

Key Duties

• Deal with a range of enquiries from internal and external stakeholders in a professional manner, establishing requirements and adapting the standard responses accordingly
• Collaborate with team members in order to make recommendations for the development of established processes, procedures and reporting
• Establish working relationships with wider academic and research support contacts to help improve service levels
• Provide administrative support in relation to seeking and supporting new studentship funding opportunities, bids and selection panels
• Undertake a variety of on-site administrative duties to support the team and department, including assisting with training activities and key events
• Produce documentation, support projects and service meetings as required
• Gather and analyse data to support the evaluation of systems to establish basic trends and patterns for wider reporting 
• Contribute to the success of the team through effective collaborative work in a blended environment

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality and data protection is applied when undertaking all duties
• Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity and other mandatory areas
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role

Person Specification

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM THIS ROLE (PERSON SPECIFICATION)
There are usually certain skills, qualifications, or experiences that any employee should have before they can be considered for a role.  Some of these will be essential and you would not be able to perform the role without them, but some are desirable.

It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable. As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement.  You should do your best to show clearly how you meet all the essential criteria by giving examples of how, when and where you have performed the required actions before.  You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life, such as education, work, home, or community life, as long as you focus on its relevance in comparison to the needs of this job.  Please ensure that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined below. Your application will be considered based on the information you provide under each element.

To start your Supporting Statement, simply copy and paste the next section into a separate document, writing your answers and examples at each point.  Save the document with the title YOUR NAME – BR NUMBER – JOB TITLE and attach it to your application on the recruitment system.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

1. NVQ 2/GCSE level A-C or equivalent

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

2. Significant experience of working in an administrative or office environment

3. Proficient in using common office IT packages (e.g. Office 365) for , data gathering and analysis (forms, spreadsheets), document storage and sharing (OneDrive), communications (email, Teams) and confidence in handling data in systems

4. Ability to set up standard administrative systems and procedures

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working

5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a wide range of people, in person, on the phone and via digital channels, e.g. email, social media, web
6. Ability to work as an effective team member, providing advice and guidance to other team members
where necessary
7. Proven ability to deal with escalated requests for information or service, resolving customer issues
where appropriate

Planning, Analysis and Problem Solving

8. Ability to plan, prioritise and organise own workload within established time scales
9. Ability to use initiative in solving problems and responding to queries ensuring compliance with
standard procedures and practices

Other

 10. A willingness to undertake further training and development, in particular to promote a digital workplace

Desirable Criteria

1. A-Levels or equivalent
2. Experience of working in a Higher Education environment
3. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral

Additional Information

As part of the ethos of a customer service and digital workplace environment, the role holder will be expected to demonstrate a flexible approach across the full remit of the Doctoral Academy

The role requires at least 50% time on-site with opportunities for blended/remote working, dependent on customer/student need and whole team support requirements

Job Category

Admin / Clerical