Operations Administrator
- Employer
- DURHAM UNIVERSITY
- Location
- Durham, United Kingdom
- Salary
- £19,612 - £21,814 per annum (pro-rata)
- Closing date
- 19 Jan 2021
View more
- Job Type
- Professional Services, Administrative
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part Time
Department of Music
Grade 4: - £19,612 - £21,814 per annum (pro-rata)
Open-Ended/Permanent - Part Time
Contracted Hours per Week: 17.5
Closing Date: 19-Jan-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
The Department of Music at Durham University seeks to appoint a part-time Operations Administrator (0.5 FTE) and therefore the salary will be pro-rata to the salary shown.
The Department has internationally recognised research expertise in a wide variety of topics including musicology, theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, music psychology, performance, composition, and music technology. It has been ranked the top Music Department for a number of years in national league tables, such as the Complete University Guide. For more information about the Department, please visit https://www.dur.ac.uk/music/
The Operations Administrator will provide proactive support in working with senior members of the Department, in particular the Head of Department, Department Manager, Technical Manager and members of the Senior Management Team. Working within a team under the line management of the Department Manager, the role holder will be expected to undertake administrative tasks and support processes that underpin the delivery of the Department’s Strategy, particularly with respect to teaching, research and related operations, demonstrating a commitment to customer service excellence.
Core responsibilities:
- Provide a responsive and proactive support service for stakeholders, in particular with respect to academic staff, University and Departmental colleagues and external partners and, as required to student body.
- Focus on checking stakeholder requirements to ensure the delivery of excellence with the frontline stakeholder experience.
- Provide a prompt response to service users answering and recording standard queries and bookings for activities and/or events, referring to other staff and departments as appropriate.
- Contribute to the planning of team activities, work and deadlines to ensure the smooth running and timeliness of service particularly with respect to members of staff (academic and non-academic) and visitors from pre-contract/arrival, through induction and onwards.
- Solve day-to-day routine problems and source background information within the role.
- Record data and information accurately and provide reports as required to team members and more experienced staff, to include confidential material relating to personnel, research contracts etc.
- Deal with information requests finding solutions or escalating queries where necessary.
- Flexible in approach to accommodate the needs of team members and/or service users.
- Assist team members to organise, plan and prepare for events, meetings and activities such as staff induction, research meetings, external stakeholder meetings, seminar series, Musicon (the University’s professional concert series) etc.
- Liaise with internal and external colleagues and organisations to pass on information.
- Apply professional and regulatory procedures and processes and use of systems.
- Liaise and collaborate with staff in other areas of the organisation to ensure a seamless, smooth and efficient service.
- Resolve queries and requests for information and advice and escalate more specialist and complex queries or issues to more experienced team members.
Role responsibilities:
- Work with team members to ensure the smooth running of administrative processes to support staff, students, visitors and business activities.
- Apply standard professional and recognised regulatory procedures to process, check and reconcile anomalies within data and information sets.
- Compile, record, store and archive data and information to ensure the accuracy and safety of information, particularly with respect to personnel, health and safety, contractual/service documentation.
- Liaise with members of academic staff and representatives from other service areas, and external professional organisations and agencies where necessary.
- Use standard office-based digital systems, tools and equipment to carry out data recording, communications and networking.
- Provide service and support for networks, committees and meetings, to draft and distribute documents and communications in standard professional formats.
- Process and update key business documentation, particularly with regard to HR policies, Health and Safety, business assurance etc.
- Liaise with internal and external suppliers and specialists with the organisation, planning and delivery of services, activities and events.
- Make venue, catering, travel and/or equipment arrangements for events, meetings and activities to support staff recruitment, research, teaching and network building with internal and external stakeholders.
- Contribute to the day-to-day tasks related to the implementation of the Health & Safety policy
- Update of Department webpages as needed.
- Any other reasonable duties.
Specific role requirements
Be prepared to work out of normal office hours on occasion and with notice e.g. to support events.
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.
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
- A CV;
- A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
- Examples of how you satisfy the essential criteria in the person specification, this will require completion of the 'Questionnaire' application section.
The Realising Your Potential Approach criteria is for information only, but may be referred to during the interview process.
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: Karen Nichol, Department Manager (karen.nichol@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 Excellent oral and written communication skills. Proven 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. Demonstrable ability to provide advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues. Experience of working on the front line with service delivery, and the ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines without compromising on quality. Experience of working in a team. Ability to solve problems as part of a team and resolve straightforward issues.
Accuracy, numeracy and attention to detail.
A high level of discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality
Desirable Criteria Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience. Relevant administrative experience in a busy office environment.
Experience of working in Higher Education
Experience of working in a multicultural environment.
Realising Your Potential Approach
The Realising Your Potential Approach will clarify the behavioural indicators we expect for all staff across support services in the University. They help to develop a high quality, service led culture by providing a consistent approach to standards of performance. Along with the key responsibilities and duties of the post and the person specification, behavioural indicators are used to inform the recruitment and selection process, to clarify the requirements of Induction, form the basis of Probation Personal Development Plans and Annual Staff Reviews.
DEVELOPING MYSELF AND OTHERS - Showing commitment to own development and supporting and encouraging others to develop their knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable them to reach their full potential for the wider benefit of the University.
- Using all situations as potential learning opportunities
- Proactively engaging in formal and informal learning and development activities
- Engaging positively with appraisal processes by seeking, accepting and acting upon feedback
- Demonstrate self-motivation
- Keeping up to date with what is happening in own and/or professional area with a view to improving self
RESPECTING OTHERS - To embrace diversity by promoting and maintaining an inclusive and supportive work and study environment that enables all members of our University community to achieve their full potential.
- Acting fairly and respectfully towards others in both verbal and non-verbal communication
- Practices being non-judgemental towards others – avoids making decisions or judgements about people based on their sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion, colour, nationality, ethnic origin or age
- Behaving responsibly by reporting any incidents of bullying, harassment and victimisation
- Challenging questionable behaviour and practices which are not in keeping with respect for others
PROVIDING EXCELLENT STUDENT SERVICES AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT - Providing the best quality service to all our students and customers. Building genuine and open long-term relationships in order to drive up service standards and to enhance their experience.
- . Resolving problems efficiently in a cheerful, friendly manner
- Ensuring systems and processes are kept up to date to enable you to provide accurate information
- Setting appropriate boundaries and managing expectations
- Engaging positively with quality assessment processes
DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.
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