Faculty of Business

Grade 3: - £17,682 - £19,133
Fixed Term - Part Time Job Share
Contract Duration: Fixed Term for 35 weeks (Maternity Cover)
Contracted Hours per Week: 21
Closing Date: 01-Nov-2021, 7:59:00 AM

Job Family: Business Process and People Services

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, in a unique and historic setting.

OUR VALUES: We are inspiring, challenging, innovative, responsible and enabling.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business, 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.

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.

The Department and role purpose

Durham University Business School, one of the longest established business schools in the UK, is a multi-disciplinary School characterised by academic excellence, internationally-rated research and superb student support services. The School's diversity and international standing is reflected in the student intake (with over 110 nationalities); accreditation by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS; and high positions in the UK and European Business School rankings. Further information on the School can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/business.

Durham University hosts an Editorial Office at the University's Business School for the purpose of administering the Journal of Management Studies.

The JMS team work to an externally funded grant to administer the production of the Journal of Management Studies (JMS) and to provide administrative support to the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS).

The Society for the Advancement of Management Studies is a charity, established in 1963, to provide a governance structure for the Journal of Management Studies. SAMS’ broader remit is to advance education in the field of management studies and in the fulfilment of that may: edit books, journals, essays, articles or other literary works; publish books, journals, essays, articles or other literary works; provide for the delivery and holding of lectures, discussions, exhibitions, public meetings, classes and conferences; offer and award prizes to winners of thesis or essay or other like competitions; co-operate with other bodies and exchange information and advice with them.

The postholder will work as part of the Editorial Office, processing Journal of Management Studies submissions and being a key point of contact for enquirers, authors and reviewers. The postholder will provide a professional and efficient administrative service for the publishing of the Journal of Management Studies and the operation of its parent organisation, SAMS

Core responsibilities:

• Provide a highly responsive service to JMS editors, reviewers, authors and other key stakeholders.
• Assist team members within a wider service team with a rotation of tasks and duties or with own small area of day to day responsibility.
• Respond to service users, logging and recording papers, the progress of papers and the review process.
• Operate a system to record, dispense and distribute resources and information using the JMS database.
• Assist team members to concentrate effort on a more regular basis to achieve common goals.
• Apply skills and techniques to use a range of everyday task or job specific tools and resources in order to process JMS data, following JMS editorial processes.
• Gather and collate data and information for others to use for evaluation and decision making, ensuring that minimum requirements are met to enable decisions.
• Liaise with enquirers, editors, authors and reviewers.
• 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 JMS procedures.
• Collate data and information into standard report formats/packs for editors, authors and reviewers.
• Update and maintain the JMS database for different purposes within the role.
• Carry out straightforward tasks and assist JMS editors to ensure that editorial processes are completed within target timeframes.
• Archive information and documentation in accordance with Durham University and SAMS security and statutory requirements.
• Carry out first-level process checks and actions to ensure editorial information is handled safely and securely, and that appropriate plagiarism checks are made.
• Provide advice to help signpost appropriate services for authors, editors and reviewers.
• Assist team members to carry out stock and inventory checks including stationery ordering and internal and external mail.
• Respond to first-line queries from editors, authors, reviewers and other stakeholders where necessary
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

• Undertake occasional national and international travel
• Work occasional weekends and evenings

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; rhianna.bates@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

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.
• Demonstrable ability to provide advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues.
• Experience of managing time in order to meet deadlines. 
• Ability to solve problems as part of a team and resolve straightforward issues.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of regularly and accurately inputting large amounts of data.
• Experience of dealing with international stakeholders.

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.