School of Education

Grade 3: - £17,682 - £19,133
Fixed Term - Full Time
Contract Duration: Ends 1st April 2022
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Closing Date: 03-Nov-2020, 7:59:00 AM 

Job Family: Business Process and People Services
OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are welcoming, collegiate and inclusive.   
OUR VALUES: We are motivated, inquisitive, challenging, rigorous and innovative.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

The Department and role purpose 

The role of support worker is to provide flexible and adaptable support to a visually impaired member of staff based within the School of Education.  Although the post will be line-managed by the School Manager and will fall within the School’s Professional Support Staff (PSS) structures, day to day supervision and oversight of duties will be provided by the member of staff directly. An effective working relationship and exceptional communication between the support worker and member of staff are critical to the success of the support arrangements.

Responsibilities, by the nature of the role, will vary, but will include some of the following:

• Support for getting around: guidance to meetings and teaching activities, including within the department, across the campus and at external locations.
• Assistance with IT and teaching equipment: setting up IT equipment prior to lectures or presentations.
• Production of teaching materials.
• Production of documents: e.g. reports, committee paperwork, research papers
• Preparation for teaching, admin or research activities: conversion of electronic documentation and printed materials into accessible files (use of OCR software etc.) and proof reading converted documents.
• General support: maintenance and organisation of member of staff’s office, mobility around the School and campus, reading of mail.
• Maintaining process guides and instructions to enable others to cover the role, and ensuring that documentation and an action log are kept centrally available for this purpose.
• Other responsibilities as necessary to support the member of staff in their University role.
• Providing administrative support within the School’s PSS team when the member of staff is not at work.

Core responsibilities:

• Provide a highly responsive and/or frontline service to stakeholders.
• Respond to service users logging and recording queries and information systematically in accordance with procedures.
• Operate a system to record, dispense and distribute resources and information as required.
• Assist team members to concentrate effort on a more regular basis to achieve common goals.
• Apply skills and techniques to operate and use a range of everyday task or job specific equipment, tools and resources.
• Follow a set of pre-determined tasks and objectives, with some discretion for variation, referring to team members where necessary.
• Gather and collate data and information for others to use for evaluation and decision making.
• Contribute to the tidying, set-up and maintenance of facilities, equipment and resources.
• Liaise with representatives from other teams/service areas where necessary.
• Collaborate with team members to identify work flows, timescales and where support is required.

Role responsibilities:

• Operate a range of standard office equipment to process, record and store data and information for a large part of the role according to procedures.
• Collate data and information into standard report formats/packs for team members, committees and/or service users.
• Update and maintain information lists for different purposes within the role.
• Carry out straightforward tasks and assist team members to collate and prepare resources for distribution.
• Archive information and documentation in accordance with security and statutory requirements.
• Carry out first-level process checks and actions to ensure payments, resources and information is handled safely and securely.
• Provide advice to help signpost appropriate services for service users.
• Respond to first-line queries from suppliers, stakeholders and contacts where necessary.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

The post may include the need for occasional travel outside of the region and for weekend and evening work although in such situations advance notice will be given. The post holder would normally be expected to take annual leave outside of term time periods.

The post is externally funded and as such the post holder is required to record all activity on detailed timesheets and submit regularly to Access to Work.

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required

Essential Criteria

• Good IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office.
• Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics (or equivalent experience).
• Evidence of personal development to maintain skills.
• General administrative experience in an office environment.
• Experience of working as part of a team in a customer focussed service to ensure the delivery of high quality services.
• Experience of managing time in order to meet deadlines.
• Ability to solve problems as part of a team and resolve straightforward issues.

Desirable Criteria

• Demonstrable ability to provide advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues.

Realising Your Potential Approach

• Providing excellent student and professional support: Resolving problems efficiently in a cheerful, friendly manner.
• Providing excellent student and professional support: Ensuring knowledge of systems and processes are kept up to date to enable you to provide accurate information.
• Developing myself and others: Being a role model by devoting time to own development, managing workload and making effective use of time.
• Respecting others : Acting fairly and respectfully towards others in both verbal and non-verbal communication.
• Working together: Monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of working relationships.

Recruiting to this post

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above (including those listed in the section ‘Realising Your Potential Approach’). 

In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, so we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application. 

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.

How to apply

We prefer to receive applications online. Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What you are required to submit

1. A CV;
2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
3. Examples of how you satisfy both the person specification and the Realising Your Potential Approach criteria. This may require completion of the 'Supporting Evidence' application section if specified by the recruiting manager. Please ensure you give detailed examples of how you meet these criteria if requested. 

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.

Contact details

For further information please contact; Emma Meriste emma.meriste@durham.ac.uk

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

It is expected that all staff within the University:

• Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
• Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.
• Family key attributes
• Roles in this family provide a comprehensive service and deliver the efficient administration and governance of the University.

Overall family purpose

• Deliver direct and indirect services to stakeholders.
• Provide advice and answer queries as part of an enquiry-desk/help-desk function.
• Respond to and manage requests for information and resources.
• Deliver services to meet regulatory requirements and procedures.
• Plan and deliver a joined-up approach to University business and people services.
• Align business processes and services to meet operational and strategic policy objectives.
• Deliver business processes to ensure effective management, governance and the economic viability of the University.
• Encourage, collaborate and participate in the development of productive cross-institution relationships and working.
• Provide excellent professional services that meet strategic and operational goals and business needs.
• Carry out monitoring, analysis, development and planning to design new services and service updates for continuous improvement whilst meeting changes in regulations.
• Engage with specialist professionals, consultants, and suppliers to exchange knowledge and facilitate partnership working.
• Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.
• Align and deliver programmes and activities to meet operational and strategic objectives to enhance the stakeholder experience.
• Engage and encourage participation with external professionals, schools, alumni and donors

Link to key strategic plan

• An economically sustainable approach to delivering Professional Services across the University;
• A joined-up approach to University professional services, regardless of location or line management;
• A culture and practice of continuous improvement;
• Design services that meet business need;
• A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
• Support and facilitate programmes that offer intellectual challenge, cohesiveness and a strong sense of progression;
• Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

DBS Requirement: Please note that the succesful applicant will require DBS disclosure.