Centre Administrator Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Job description
Salary: £25,742 to £26,444 with progression to £27,979 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 11 September 2023
The Role
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced administrator to join our team at the NIHR Innovation Observatory to provide a wide range of support to our colleagues and main stakeholders. The National Institute for Health Care Services (NICE) and the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) and NHS England (NHSE) to provide efficient delivery of our outputs.
This is a varied and diverse role, you will be involved in event organisation, diary management, scheduling meetings, arranging accommodation and travel, and all purchasing processes providing organisational expertise to help ensure the smooth running of the Innovation Observatory.
The Innovation Observatory is a £27M initiative, funded by the National Institute for Health Care Research, hosted by Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne. We bring together data scientists, researchers in evidence synthesis, and information specialists, to provide timely intelligence data for the NHS and policymakers. Using novel data science and evidence synthesis methods, alongside AI tools and data analytics, together with methodological, clinical and lived experience to collate intelligence and provide insights on health and care innovations that may help shape future health provision.
For informal enquiries, please contact Janet Lewis, Centre Manager ( [email protected] )
Key Accountabilities
Support the NIHR Innovation Observatory Management team in the delivery of administrative activity across the Innovation Observatory
Responsible for coordinating and supporting designated events, selection panels, committees, sub-committee or working groups, including arranging meeting and room bookings etc., coordinating papers, drafting agendas; taking minutes; maintaining and proactively managing the actions. To represent the Innovation Observatory at meetings and internal/external events, as appropriate
Lead the administration of designated processes in the Centre, including receiving initial enquiries/requests/applications; application of agreed operating procedures (escalating as appropriate) and monitoring progress. Taking responsibility for determining the appropriate mode of communication and accuracy of the content when conveying information
Proactively receive, resolve and respond to enquiries received into the Centre to ensure that an effective service and clear advice is provided to colleagues and customers
Develop, implement and maintain effective office procedures and systems to ensure that support is efficient, timely and accurate
Review information received in the Centre and disseminate appropriately to colleagues on behalf of the management team
Manage records relating to the functions of the Centre, to include taking responsibility for maintaining database(s) of information; gathering data from multiple sources, extracting reports on data as required and ensuring the integrity of data entered/recorded
Provide administrative support to the designated Management Team as required, including (but not exclusively) in relation to travel arrangements (which may be complex regional, national and international), booking accommodation, conducting initial investigations/research or drafting correspondence as required. Correspondence may be complex reports, letters, proposals and presentations
In relation to the procurement of goods and services and/or the making of payments, for the Centre. To ensure that the receipt of goods and/or services is confirmed, and assist in the resolution of invoice, coding or expenses queries, to provide an efficient service to colleagues in the office and assist the office in adhering to the University’s Procurement Regulations and to act as expenses proxy. To maintain financial records tracking grant expenditure associated with the running of the Innovation Observatory
Where appropriate, to act as first point of contact for People Services general issues, liaising with FMS People Services Team where necessary. To assist in co-ordinating recruitment activity in the Centre: advertising, interviewing, appointment processing and paperwork. To assist co-ordination of new colleague induction, leaver processes, PDR co-ordination (tracking progress and forward data to Faculty) and sickness recordings and returns
Undertake an active role in the health and safety management of the Centre, contributing to the maintenance of a safe working environment for colleagues and visitors, and in particular undertaking the role of a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessor or Fire Warden
Contribute to the effective and efficient running of the Centre through a team approach, providing assistance to colleagues as appropriate
Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade as required by the line manager
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Working knowledge of relevant systems, equipment, processes and procedures including standard software packages
Understanding of relevant policies and procedures, as they affect the role, and the quality standards and outputs required
Familiarity with using initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently
Familiarity with work priorities and those of colleagues
Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office products and aptitude for development in and use of core software and data systems (preferably SAP)
Experience of managing confidential and/or sensitive information with tact and discretion, and a working knowledge of GDPR
Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to triage queries and issues
Experience of prioritising workload and handling conflicting priorities
Experience of working in a diverse team and with senior managers in a large organisation
Experience of acting as a secretary in meetings, producing agendas, minutes and following up actions
Where relevant, ability to train/develop and manage other staff
Attributes and Behaviours
Understands the University values and guiding principles
People orientated, is approachable and willing to help others and share workloads
Sees other areas and people as ‘customers’ and follows through on enquiries and requests
Has a positive ‘can do’ attitude towards continuous process improvement
Able to manage conflicting priorities
Works in partnership with others and has excellent communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills
Demonstrates resilience to the demands of the role and pace of change
Promotes a culture of mutual respect
Able to work in a matrix organisational model
Qualifications
Grades A-C in English Language and Mathematics GCSE (or equivalent) or vocational qualifications, plus work experience in a relevant role; or substantial relevant work experience in the unit or a comparable setting
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 26013
