Senior Administrator Student Services

About the Faculty/Department: 

Student Services has a mission to support student wellbeing, enhance the student experience and enable students to achieve success.   

The range of support provided by the department is extensive and includes: 

• Counselling, Mental Health & Wellbeing
• Inclusion and Disability
• Learner Development, including academic and study skills and numeracy support
• Learning Communities, including academic and non-academic peer-to-peer support, and Inclusive Learning Communities
• Sport, including performance sport, clubs, and fitness.
• Student Hub and Student Engagement services
• Chaplaincy
• Projects to support student equality and diversity and the disclosure of issues such as sexual violence and hate crime.

 About the team or project:  

This important role sits within the Student Services Operations Team to support the work of the Inclusion and Pastoral Services Team, specifically the Chaplaincy and the Learning Communities team (Peer Assisted Learning scheme – PALS, and Inclusive Learning Communities project – ILC).

Our Chaplains provide support to students of faith but also of no faith, along with access to volunteering schemes and other activities that provide development and support opportunities.

Our Peer Assisted Learning scheme is an internationally recognised academic support service for students. PALS supports students academically whilst also providing social opportunities and the creation of learning communities. The Inclusive Learning Communities project is a partnership with our Students’ Union and University Teaching Academy and aims to close the awarding gap by working collaboratively with staff and students to increase our BAME students’ sense of belonging to the University and to change the way they are included in our teaching practice

About the role: 

As the Senior Administrator for this busy team, you will provide administrative support for the Pastoral Support Services team, covering an on-campus reception for the University Chaplaincy and a range of duties which include:

• Welcoming student and staff visitors to the University Chaplaincy, arranging appointments with the Chaplains, signposting to other sources of support and maintaining an overview of the upkeep of the University Chaplaincy rooms.
• Supporting the Chaplains to establish and maintain positive links with faith organisations and faith leaders external to the University, to facilitate their engagement with the student population
• Maintaining accurate records of work conducted by students in peer-to-peer support roles and checking completion and accuracy of PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) Leader’s feedback forms for the processing of timesheets
• Supporting the Learning Communities Manager and PALS Coordinator in the recruitment of PALS, Peer Guides and Mental Health Ambassadors and in developing rotas for work undertaken by students in these roles
• Establishing and maintaining effective working practices and relationships with a large team of students working in peer-to-peer support roles
• Under the guidance of the Communications and Information Manager, managing communications to promote the work of PALS to current students and staff, including the production of high-quality creative resources including print, social media, and video.
• Ensuring digital communication channels e.g. web, intranet, Moodle, are regularly reviewed and updated
• Provide administrative support to the Inclusive Learning Communities Project Coordinator and Student Welfare team as required

About the candidate: 

The ideal candidate will have: 

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, student’s, and stakeholders at all levels
• Proven experience of providing administrative support in a busy environment working collaboratively to improve services to customers
• Experience of dealing with confidential and sensitive personal information
• Experience of prioritising own workload to meet set objectives; adapting plans to take account new priorities
• Excellent IT skills, with the ability to input accurately into databases and use programmes such as MS Word and Excel
• Commitment to providing a high standard of customer service

The post holder will be expected to work flexibly and provide cover for and/ or work in collaboration with colleagues across Student Services. This may involve occasional evening and weekend work.

To apply:

To apply for this post, please submit your CV and cover letter via our application portal. In your cover letter please outline how you meet the requirements in the person specification. For enquiries about the role, contact Nick Sutton N.Sutton@mmu.ac.uk .

In recognition of staff contributions to the University’s achievements during the 2021/2022 academic year, an additional discretionary payment of 2% per annum will be added to your salary until 31/07/23 in order to ensure consistency amongst existing and incoming staff.  This additional 2% will be paid pro rata in equal monthly installments, on top of your salary each month until 31/07/23.

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We promote applications from all sections of the community, irrespective of background, belief or identity, recognising the benefits that a diverse organisation can bring and particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in the University workforce.

Hybrid working is offered for this role.  The nature of the role requires presence on campus at certain times of year, but at other times you will be able to complete some work remotely. We recognise the benefits and importance of an environment that supports flexible working and are open to conversations throughout the application process.