Administrative Assistant

18160BR

Cardiff School of English, Communication & Philosophy

Administrative Support

Advert

Administrative Assistant (Part-Time)

The School of English, Communication and Philosophy is a dynamic and successful multi-disciplinary School within the Arts Humanities and Social Sciences College at Cardiff University, who can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.

Applications are invited for the post of Administrative Assistant. This role will focus on providing a high level, professional and confidential secretarial and administrative support to the School administration office, in particular the Head of School and School Manager.   You should be a first-class administrator with a positive, can-do approach, be a professional and friendly point of contact for staff and a flexible member of the School’s Professional Services team. 

We’d like to hear from you if you:

• Have strong organisational skills
• Can work quickly with a high level of accuracy
• Able to take responsibility for your own work
• Enjoy contributing to a positive working environment

As part of this role, we can explore the possibility of the successful candidate accessing further training and development through an on-the-job apprenticeship. The appropriate level and type of apprenticeship training will be discussed with the successful applicant.

This role is part-time offering a flexible working week and eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you may spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.

This post is part-time (21 hours per week (0.6FTE), open-ended and available immediately.

Salary: £23,700 - £24,533 per annum, pro-rata (Grade 3)

Please contact Julie Alford ([email protected] ) for an informal, confidential discussion about the role.

Date advert posted: Thursday, 15 February 2024

Closing date: Thursday, 29 February 2024

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Job Description

JOB PURPOSE

An exciting opportunity has arisen in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy (ENCAP) for an Administrative Assistant.  The role holder will provide a supportive service to the School administration office, engaging in and completing a range of routine tasks to meet operational and customer service requirements.  The role holder will be line managed by and work closely with, the School’s HR Administrator.  

As the biggest university in Wales – and a major employer, with more than 7,000 staff – we are an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. We can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We therefore encourage applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, age or socioeconomic position.  Applications are particularly welcome from black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in posts in the University. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This is a varied role providing comprehensive, professional support and guidance on a range of administrative tasks, ensuring the Head of School and School Manager are supported and key duties undertaken.

Key Duties

• Deal with a range of enquires from internal (staff & students) and external (members of the public) customers in a professional manner providing a professional personal assistant service and support to the Head of School, establishing their needs and adapting the standard responses accordingly.
• Work with others to make recommendations for the development and improvement of current University processes and procedures.
• Create good working relationships with key contacts to help improve service levels.
• Undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the team and department, specifically the Head of School and School Manager
• Gather and review data to update administrative systems such as databases and spreadsheets, making sure the information is accurate, and highlighting to your line manager basic trends and patterns.
• Actively contribute to the success of the team and support the supervision and management of it.

Specific Duties

• Support the Head of School’s communications, dealing with confidential matters and drafting correspondence as required based on appropriate input from relevant staff and ensuring that information received into the School administration office is appropriately disseminated.
• To provide confidential diary management and scheduling for the Head of School.
• To develop and maintain appropriate electronic monitoring and filing systems so that records are appropriately kept and easily accessible and to ensure that responses to official enquiries/requests are made on time.

(Continues in Additional Information)

Person Specification

We want to employ people with a wide variety of experiences. We welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We are particularly seeking applications from candidates who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented at the University, including people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

We are looking for a team player who will work with colleagues to provide a great service to staff and students. You don’t need to have worked for a University before; this is an opportunity to show your potential and start or continue your career at Cardiff University.

This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role or environment, showing your transferable skills and potential to be successful in the role. You should be enthusiastic about developing your knowledge and skills to become a valued member of the team.

Your application will be assessed against the following essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please copy and paste this section into a new document and give clear examples of how you can evidence meeting each criteria by writing under each one. You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life (e.g. work, home, education/qualifications or community life) as long as you focus on their relevance to the role.

Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOURNAME-BR NUMBER-JOB TITLE] and attach it to your application in the recruitment system, available here .

Please note that these are also the criteria shortlisted applicants will be assessed against at interview and/or by other means (e.g. a skills test).

Essential Criteria

Ability to carry out a variety of administrative tasks, including writing clearly and concisely.

Experience of working in an administrative or office setting.

Experience of using common office IT packages (e.g. MS Office, e-mail etc.).

Ability to set up and maintain standard administrative systems and procedures, including using University systems to collate and record data online and in hard copy. (Training will be provided where required).

Ability to communicate with a wide range of people effectively and courteously whilst maintaining professional standards, adapting your language and style of communication depending on who you are communicating with.

Ability to work well with your team, knowing how to give advice, guidance and feedback (to colleagues and members of the public) as appropriate. 

Ability to deal with requests for information or service, resolving customer issues where appropriate, or being able to escalate where necessary.

Ability to plan and organise your own workload within agreed timelines as set by your Line Manager.

Ability to use your initiative to solve problems and respond to queries, finding and proposing the best solution.

Ability to maintain confidentiality, in conjunction with the ability to schedule and manage a complex calendar for the Head of School’s commitments.

Desirable Criteria 

Experience of working in a Higher Education environment.

Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.

Additional Information

(continues from Job Description)

• To provide a professional ‘front of house’ on campus presence in the School, dealing with enquiries in person, by telephone and by email.
• Produce documentation, plan and organise meetings, take minutes/notes and ensure any travel arrangements for the Head of School are supported.  
• To provide administration support to the Head of School and School Manager as required.
• To support work related to the School’s business cases and Integrated Planning Processes as required
• To provide administration for School Management Team and School Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
• To provide administration support for the School HR Administrator at times of peak demand

General Duties

• Abide by all University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development.
• Establish working relationships with key contacts, developing appropriate communication links and working collaboratively with various University departments.
• Perform other duties which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
• Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

More information is available about the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at:  

School of English, Communication and Philosophy - Cardiff University

HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU IN PERFORMING THIS ROLE

We want to support and develop you in the role, using a combination of the following to help you reach your full potential.

Regular one-to-one meetings with your team leader.

An experienced and supportive team around you.

Support to undertake job-relevant training and development, as identified by your Line Manager. This could be informal or could be an apprenticeship leading to a formal qualification, such as Business administration NVQ.

A staff mentoring scheme.

Support to learn Welsh or to update language skills.

Job Category

Admin / Clerical