Administrative Officer

Cardiff University, United Kingdom

Updated: about 6 hours ago
Location: Cardiff, WALES

Advert

Administrative Officer
School of Medicine – GW4 BioMed MRC DTP

The prestigious GW4 BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) is an established collaboration between the Universities of Cardiff, Bath, Bristol and Exeter University. Managed by Cardiff University, the partnerships recruits, trains and supports over 70 PhD students annually, across the GW4 Universities. Established in 2016, our partnership aims to develop the next generation of medical researchers by offering studentships to both biomedical and non-biomedical UK and international students through the themes of Infection, Immunity, Antimicrobial Resistance and Repair, Neuroscience and Mental Health and Population Health Sciences.  

Each year, we receive over 1600 applications for 20 fully funded studentships. Our extensive recruitment programme is hailed as a benchmark for nurturing equality, diversity and inclusion and we constantly strive to provide this through all that we do.

An exciting position has arisen for an Administrative Officer to join our small team to provide comprehensive and professional administrative support to the DTP stakeholders and students. You will engage in a wide range of tasks including the project management and administration of our recruitment process, training events, student progress monitoring, industry placement programme and maintenance of our extensive partner interactions. The role provides the opportunity to engage with students, Academics, the GW4 partner Universities and our wider industry partners and the post holder will work with the DTP Manager to ensure effective day-to-day operations.

The role requires administrative or project management experience as well as strong organisational and record management skills. This varied and exciting role means that you will need to be a good communicator, and problem solver to provide an excellent service to satisfy customer needs. 

For an informal discussion you are welcome to contact the recruiter Erica Lewis (DTP Manager) at [email protected] .

This post is full time (35 hours per week), contracted until 30th September 2028, based at Heath Park and is available immediately.

The majority of roles at Cardiff University are currently operating under ‘blended working arrangements’, with staff having the flexibility to work partly from home and partly from the University campus.   This role requires 2 days a week on campus and discussions around these arrangements can take place after the successful candidate has been appointed.

Salary: £26,444 - £29,605 per annum (Grade 4)

Appointments to roles at Cardiff University are usually made at the bottom of the scale unless in exceptional circumstances.

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 40 days annual leave (incl. bank holidays), local pension scheme, a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments within the pay scale, and more. It's an exciting and vibrant place to work with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter. Business needs will require some degree of office-based working but the balance of time can be spent in the office or remotely (subject to agreement with the line manager).

Date advert posted: Thursday, 2 May 2024

Closing date: Thursday, 23 May 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.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.


Job Description

Provide comprehensive and professional administrative support to the GW4 BioMed MRC DTP (www.gw4biomed.ac.uk ).
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. 

Duties and Responsibilities
Key Duties

  • Provide detailed advice and guidance on the GW4 BioMed MRC DTP processes and procedures to internal and external customers (staff, students and industry partners), using judgement and creativity to suggest the most appropriate course of action where appropriate, contributing to the resolution of more complex issues. 
  • Cooperate with others to make recommendations to improve our ways of working.
  • Establish productive relationships with key individuals to help improve the level of service the team provides to its customers.
  • Gather and analyse data so that informed decisions can be made, establishing basic trends and patterns in the data and providing reports and recommendations to report back to the Management Board and funders.
  • Provide administrative and project management support for our recruitment cycle, supporting potential candidates through the application process, from initial application to registration.
  • Liaise with industry partners, institutions and students to establish and manage the DTP’s placement programme.
  •  Manage the planning, organising and administration of training events, workshops and networks.
  • Administer the process to manage the award of funding for additional student activities, such as placements and research visits.
  • Manage the administration of our student progress subcommittee and our Management Board meetings.
  • Manage the administration of expense claims.
  • Maintain accurate records and audit trails relating to all MRC GW4 BioMed DTP administration.
  • Administer the sharing of appropriate student information with partner universities to facilitate student access to appropriate training, systems and resources, ensuring that data protection requirements are met.

    • General Duties
  • Abide by all University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development.
  • Independently perform a variety of administrative duties to support the DTP, performing other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
  • Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

    • 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 highly organised, professional team player who will work closely with internal and external colleagues to provide a supportive service to staff and students.

    This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role with particular interest in project management and DTP/PGR administration, showing your transferable skills, and aptitude to be successful in this busy 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 this role.

    Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOUR NAME-18508BR- ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER] 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 communicate in writing clearly, concisely, and effectively to provide detailed advice and guidance on our Doctoral Training Partnership.
  • Evidence of a good standard of numeracy and IT literacy.
  • Experience of working in either an administrative or project management role and the ability to set up standard office systems and procedures, making improvements to these as appropriate.
  • Ability to adapt specialist and complex information effectively to communicate with range of customers with varying levels of understanding. 
  • Ability to advise and influence key stakeholders in your area of work.
  • Ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service you provide accordingly to ensure a quality, accessible service is delivered.
  • Ability to use your initiative and creativity to solve problems, respond to queries and make recommendations, identifying and proposing practical solutions.
  • Ability to set and work to deadlines, planning and monitoring your priorities and those of the team.
  • Strong planning and organisational skills with an eye for detail.
    • Desirable Criteria
  • Specialist knowledge of doctoral training programmes or PGR Administration.
  • Experience of coordinating training events.
  • Knowledge of higher education recruitment.
  • Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.

    • Additional Information

    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


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