Find More Than 10K+
United Kingdom Jobs

Salary : Grade 4 (£19,612 - £21,814)

Contract Type : Full Time 35 hours per week, Fixed Term Maternity Cover

Annual leave: 28 days plus Buildings Closed Days

Sickness benefits: First 3 months = 2 weeks full pay and then 2 weeks half pay. 3 months to 1 year = 2 months full pay and then 2 months half pay.

Start Date : May 2023

Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry.

Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Orkney), one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science, engineering, design, business and languages. Heriot-Watt is also Scotland's most international university, boasting the largest international student cohort.

About the Team

The School of Social Sciences is looking to appoint a full-time Administration Assistant and the role holder will be responsible for providing high quality day-to-day administrative and secretarial support to the School's Director of Academic Quality and Deputy Director of Academic Quality. The role works within a wider support team within the School.

The successful applicant will have a proven track record in the delivery of administrative services to senior staff and will be relied upon to provide an excellent administrative service to a range of stakeholders.

The ability to initiate and complete tasks to the highest standard is essential. Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication skills are also vital to this role, as are strong IT skills (particularly with Microsoft Office Packages). Applicants should also have experience of working in a customer-oriented role. The role will suit a self-motivated individual who is able to work flexibly as a member of a team within a challenging and dynamic environment.

The work will be varied and the post holder will be expected to be able to deliver a fair, friendly and timely service to all our students and staff. All the support services within the University are committed to delivering a customer focused service to students, staff and visitors. To achieve this

commitment all support staff need to be adaptable, flexible and prepared to support other teams and individuals.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the School's Head of Operations, and working closely with the two Academic Director roles, the post-holder will:

• Provide high quality administrative and secretarial support to the Academic Directors of Academic Quality. This will include day-to-day operational aspects of work such as diary management, email prioritisation and management, managing travel, organisation of meetings and minor internal procurement paperwork.
  

• Provide support to Boards of Studies and any other Academic Quality forums as and when required, (scheduling meetings, preparation of agendas, circulation of documentation, minuting meetings and following-up actions)
  

• Help maintain academic quality information held in the SoSS Workspace and on the University's intranet
  

• Work collaboratively and effectively with colleagues in the wider School support team and with a variety of relevant University central services
  

• Preparing relevant documentation and Clerking of relevant School Committees
  

• Other duties as required.

This section details the attributes e.g. skills, knowledge/qualifications and competencies which are required in order to undertake the full remit of the role.

Essential

• Good general education : to Scottish Higher level, or equivalent.
• Experience of working in a support role for a senior member of staff.
• High level of competency with MS Office packages.
• Recent relevant administrative experience.
• Experience in managing record systems.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering excellent customer service.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to communicate appropriately, and establish strong working relationships, with students, staff and external contacts.
• Ability to work effectively in a team.
• Reliable, methodical and well-organised.
• Experience of clerking formal committees.
  

Desirable

• Educated to HNC, or equivalent.
• Experience of working in higher education or other educational context.
• Experience of taking a proactive approach to administrative support.
• Experience of working with Databases, PowerPoint and Virtual Learning Environment packages.
• Proactive approach to managing and reviewing processes and procedures.
• Ability to exercise initiative and responsibility in problem solving.
  

Team Work

• Provide general administration support across the team
• Cover for other colleagues within the immediate team
• Participate in working groups and committees within the team, School/Directorate and University as required
• Train team/ colleagues in operational activities
  

Service Excellence

• Create a positive image of the University by being responsive, prompt and courteous when responding to requests or enquiries from customers
• Produce standard and ad hoc reports as requested
• Enter and maintain records and data into the appropriate university system
• Liaise with internal and external teams, committees, bodies etc. to ensure an effective service
• Process applications, offers, contracts and other information in accordance with agreed service levels
• Carry out general office duties, e.g. reception/meeting and greeting; sort and organise mail; order stationery; maintain office equipment such as printer, photocopier etc.
• Set up and process payments using Oracle Financials
• Keep working area clean and tidy in line with appropriate H&S requirements
  

Clear and Consistent Communications

• Write standard letters, contracts etc. using templates, understanding what parts of the template to use as appropriate
• Draft non-standard letters, contracts etc. for review and use by more senior members of the team
• Maintain confidentiality at all times
• Manage diaries and emails of colleagues where appropriate
• Disseminate news and information to relevant customers
• Create appropriate communications for all staff and market talent development activities in a professional, proactive and customer focused manner including: E-News articles, flyers and marketing materials
  

Planning and Organising

• Arrange, organise and support meetings, events etc. for internal or external customers, including room and equipment, hospitality and invites to attendees
• File, archive and destroy documents and records in line with the University Retention Policy
• Provide appropriate admin support at meetings; e.g. setting up and issuing agendas, writing notes or minutes, following up actions
• Support School/Directorate and team processes and procedures by meeting schedules and timetables
• Organise and support events
• Experience in organising meetings, events, etc.
  

Initiative and Problem Solving

• Act as first point of contact for queries from customers by phone, email, system-generated and in person
• Identify and support process improvement
• React to problems using judgement and past experience to solve routine issues
• Carry out compliance/safety checks if required
  

Decision Making

• Provide advice and guidance, respond to queries and refer more complex queries to more senior members of the team as appropriate
  

Management Responsibilities

• There are no management responsibilities within this position but you may be asked to take on management or supervisory duties on occasion as part of your personal development
  

Citizenship

• Demonstrate the University Values through performance and behaviour
• Volunteer for one-off duties to support the team/University and for personal development
• Support newer or inexperienced colleagues within and outside the University by offering support, help and advice
• Positively promote the University internally and externally through positive behaviour and, where appropriate, by attending open days and other public engagement activities

How to Apply:

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on 12th March 2023.

Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing their interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV

For an informal discussion on this post please contact the Head of Operations - Dr Darren Cunningham ( [email protected] )

This role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UKVI to enable sponsorship of migrant workers. Therefore we cannot progress applications from candidates who require sponsorship to work in the UK. For further information on this please visit the UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.