THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

Job description

The post holder is a member of the Centre for Education professional services team, providing high quality general administrative support to the Centre for Education.   

•        To provide day-to-day support for operations of the Centre for Education 

•        To provide efficient operational support to staff and students in the Centre for Education working closely with the Operations Manager to provide local support for staff and graduate teaching assistants recruitment campaigns, processing claims and invoices 

•        To support and deputise for the Operations Manager as appropriate 

•        To provide advice and guidance and, where appropriate, training on university policies, processes and where required, source information and support for colleagues to facilitate their work 

•        To use, maintain and promote university-wide systems, ensuring efficient processes are in place to maintain high quality data, providing training to colleagues as required in order to ensure accurate data are maintained and accessible 

•        To have a broad and in-depth knowledge of Faculty and university polices, processes and systems, work with all Centre and Faculty staff to solve problems and provide solutions, efficiently and effectively 

•        To prepare communications, draft presentations, briefing documents and background materials as required 

•        To prepare and support meetings, boards, and committees, including the coordination and distribution of papers and taking notes or minutes, as required 

•        To support the planning and organisation of events and projects, including visiting delegations 

•        To forge relationships with colleagues in the Centre, Faculty and university, in order to contribute to process development and adoption of best practice  

•        To foster a stimulating, innovative and inclusive cultural environment across the Centre enabling students and staff to thrive and develop, ensuring that processes and policies are visible, accessible and transparent  

•        To participate in cross Faculty and university projects and initiatives. 

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract  

This is a full-time post

Key responsibilities

Work closely with the Centre’s core team and the Operations Manager to ensure operational support for the Centre for Education: 

•       is professional, well-executed and timely  

•       is compliant with university policies and  

•       adopts best practice. 

General support

•       Provide local support to academic activities as required and defined by the Operations Manager and Centre Manager, such as diary management, meeting coordination, reception support, assisting visitors, managing room bookings – including organising audio-visual equipment, catering and confirmation of arrangements to participants and security 

•       Support the Operations Manager with day-to-day financial matters, such as purchase orders, expenses, invoices and providing budget reports as requested by colleagues  

•       Build strong working relationships with Centre and Faculty staff, students and key partners within and beyond the university 

•       Assist with the local dissemination of information issued by the Centre’s core team and university central teams to the relevant staff and students, providing advice to staff and students on university and external regulations and policies, including for example General Data Protection Regulation, interpreting and explaining these as required, and complying with all regulations and policies in own work 

•       Develop a good understanding of Centre’s range of activities, funding profile and facilities, representing the Centre for Education at Faculty and university meetings, participating in working groups as appropriate 

•       Work closely with Faculty Communications team to promote events and raise the profile of the academic work of the Centre’s staff 

•       Provide local guidance on Centre specific matters – such as planned estates/ equipment maintenance work and local protocols, liaising with Faculty teams as required 

•       Identify, report and resolve building-related problems, working closely with the Faculty Technical Manager, acting as a local point of contact as required 

•       Participate in discussions around the day-to-day deployment of space and other programme-related resources, to resolve immediate problems, assessing and managing risk and ensuring contingency plans are in place for all resource-based decisions 

•       Create an ethos of collaboration and collegiality, establishing effective communications and relationships, and encouraging staff to work in partnership with colleagues across the university, to eliminate potential barriers, enhance collegiality and develop best practice through actively contributing to King’s initiatives, including professional networks and working groups 

•       Act as a local champion of new and existing IT systems supporting training and the use of standard processes and procedures and new ways of working, maximising the benefits of the standard operating environment and university systems 

•       Support the Centre’s core team in providing data requested by Faculty and university teams for inclusion in appropriate submissions, surveys and annual reporting processes 

•       Service committees as required 

•       Facilitate an inclusive culture and ethos across the Centre, ensuring that Professional Services staff work in partnership with academic staff and Professional Services colleagues in the Faculty team and functional networks 

•       Actively engage with the Centre and Faculty’s contribution to the King’s Vision 2029 and Research and Education strategies 

•       Human Resources 

•       Provide local support for the recruitment of staff and graduate teaching assistant, working closely with the Operations Manager, who is the Centre’s main point of contact with King’s HR Services 

•       Contribute to diversity and inclusion activities in the Centre, assisting with the delivery of diversity and inclusion action plans  

•       Alert the Operations Manager of visa renewals, contract end dates for staff on fixed term contracts and supporting processes for the contract extension or termination 

•       Act as the local contact for the Operations Manager in HR & Finance to raise awareness and support staff with the annual processes, including PDR, pay recognition, academic probation and promotion 

•       Coordinate the staff induction to the Centre of Education 

•       To coordinate the CfE Newsletter in conjunction with the Faculty communications team 

•       Working closely with the Operations Manager on the recruitment of posts for the Centre for Education, including setting up adverts on PXD, organising interview Panel and schedules, creating interview packs and supporting the contract process of new staff. 

•       Update records kept by the School of visiting, honorary and adjunct academics linked to Centre for Education by logging and monitoring term periods, primary rationale for the arrangements and key King’s contact(s), supplying regular updates to the Operations Manager 

Research support

•       Working with the Centre Manager and Operations Manager to provide research support for Centre’s staff, including costing grants, supporting post-award processes, on-going management and reporting for grants held by staff in the Centre 

•       Support compliance with regulations and research ethics approval processes, promoting an environment of good conduct in research 

Other duties

•       Contribute to cross-Faculty initiatives  

•       Undertake any other reasonable duties and projects as requested by the Centre Manager and Operations Manager.  These may include Centre-specific duties, for example supporting specialist Centres, liaising with external bodies etc to underpin the Centre’s core activity. 

Whilst working within the framework agreed with the post holder’s line manager/s, the post holder is expected to manage their own workload and is expected to be flexible in anticipating and responding to shifting and competing demands on their and the wider team’s time.  It is expected that the post will work with minimum regular supervision but will refer to their line-managers for advice on issues which fall outside existing regulatory or policy frameworks.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria

1.      Minimum level 4 qualification, e.g., higher apprenticeship, HNC or other Level 4 award, plus relevant work experience OR Considerable knowledge and skills gained through work experience in a relevant post, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding work and the completion of professional training    

2.      Evidence of an active commitment to career development 

3.      Extensive operations experience with an in-depth knowledge of a range of practices, methods, and procedures  

4.      Highly numerate with proven financial management and analytical skills to underpin strategic financial strategic decisions and procedure  

5.      Clear and precise communication skills, including formal communications such as report/minute writing, using accurate written and spoken English 

6.      Experience of building an effective network across a complex organisation and with external stakeholders 

7.      Ability to work under pressure in a busy environment 

8.      A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, actively addressing areas of potential bias 

9.      Solutions and quality focused 

10.  Commitment to good practice and following process/ procedure 

11.  Excellent task management skills both for self and others, meeting tight deadlines 

12.  Ability to maintain confidentiality 

13.  Interpersonal Relationships - Evidence of competency in this area would be demonstrated in an individual’s daily work where they work well as a team player and quickly gain the trust and support of peers and key partners, enjoying and promoting collaboration and can quickly find common ground and build positive relationships 

14.  Priority Setting – Evidence of competency in this area would be seen in an individual’s daily work where they understand what’s important and what can wait, can sense what might help to achieve a good outcome and help overcome barriers and problems 

15.  Organising – Evidence of competency in this area would be demonstrated in an individual’s daily work where they will be able to work on several tasks simultaneously, know how to use systems and processes to best effect and understands how to arrange information in an efficient, effective way 

16.  Problem Solving - Evidence of competency in this area would be demonstrated in an individual’s daily work where they will be able use a logical approach to solving a problem, explore all options, not just settling for the first or easiest 

Desirable criteria

17.  Detailed understanding of education provision in Higher Education institutions, the regulatory context and best practice  

18.  Knowledge of research practice and policy in health (bioscience/ medicine) 

19.  Knowledge of Human Resources processes 

20.  Experience of financial planning and implementation, including preparing budget, financial profiling, preparing business cases and plans, and monitoring key performance indicators, budgets, and risks 

21.  Committee servicing 

22.  Experience of using complex databases and management information systems