Departmental Coordinator

Department Role and Purpose 

Following an exciting recent development to create two new departments in the Business School, we are looking to recruit members of staff to form a Professional Service team to support the newly established Department of Finance. As part of this recruitment campaign, we are looking to recruit a Departmental Coordinator on a fixed term basis) to coordinate academic and departmental activities.  

The post holder will be responsible for providing a professional, efficient administrative service, taking responsibility for operational aspects of the Department. They will ensure deadlines are met and service delivery standards are maintained, working in accordance with University and Departmental policies and procedures. They will work closely with a range of teams and functions situated at the University and School level, senior members of the Department, in particular the Head of Department, Senior Departmental Officer and other members of the Senior Management Team.  

Provide a comprehensive administrative support to members of the Department, liaising with PhD students, academic members of staff to provide a first class, customer focused service. Therefore the ability to work collaboratively and effectively share information is essential in order to deliver a coordinated and professional level of administrative support across a full range of departmental activities. 

The Departmental Coordinator will work independently, taking day to day decisions and using their experience and initiative to decide on appropriate courses of action and resolve complex problems. They will possess excellent organisational and time management skills, display initiative and flexibility, and demonstrate a commitment to customer service excellence. 

Duties will include (but are not limited to): 

• Supporting workload planning activities lead by the Head of Department and Senior Management Team 
• Administering timetable changes to ensure delivery of teaching is smooth during academic year 2022/23 
• Dealing with general enquiries relating to workload allocations, timetable and the curriculum of programmes within the department 
• Providing secretarial support to Programme Review Enhancement Boards, Education Committee and other departmental meetings, as appropriate 
• Working with the Director of Education and Programme Directors on other educational matters 
• Administering the curriculum development process, collating changes to programmes and modules as directed by Programme Directors and the Director of Education 
• Analysing student numbers to ensure adequate provisions are in place 
• Supporting other members of the team at peak times, handling routine enquiries and event organisation

The role will commence as soon as possible with a projected end date of 31st January 2022. This role is to backfill the current coordinator who will be stepping up to lead the team during this time of change and in the absence of the Senior Departmental Officer. 

Core responsibilities:

• Act as more knowledgeable team member without responsibility for team members.
• Plan and organise own workload, taking responsibility for operational aspects of the Department, ensuring deadlines are met and service delivery standards are maintained.
• Resolve queries and requests for information and advice and act as point of contact for staff, students, visitors and Business Partners on operational matters, signposting to other staff and departments where appropriate and escalating more specialist and complex queries or issues to more experienced team members.
• Respond to stakeholder needs to deliver and shape an excellent stakeholder experience.
• Apply theory and practice, from academic and professional development and previous knowledge within a service team.
• Contribute to collaborative decision making within the team with service provision to deliver an excellent stakeholder experience in accordance with policy and procedures.
• Work collaboratively across the organisation and/or externally with colleagues and stakeholders to deliver a service.
• Provide guidance and advice to resolve problems and queries for a broad range of service users, developing expertise in HR and other operational policies and processes
• e.g. Health and Safety, Estates and Buildings, CIS.
• Collaborate with team members to implement new policies and procedures.
• Organise and schedule resources, activities and events e.g. staff, visitor induction, staff recruitment, external stakeholder meetings, seminar series etc.
• Identify priorities and monitor processes and activities to ensure success e.g. business assurance and resilience, EDI matters, health and safety matters, insurance, compliance with legal matters etc.
• Provide more in-depth independent research and analysis activities within the role.
• Analyse work activities to ensure the effective and efficient use of capital and consumable equipment and resources.
• Provide demonstrations and instruction to others within and outside the team, including other staff, students, visitors within and associated with the Department.
• Support the capture of business requirements from users and work with colleagues to translate these into recommendations for future service provision.
• Liaise with contacts and participate in networks and communities internally and externally, contributing to effective collaborative working.
• Advise others and make recommendations into work processes and procedures for consideration by senior management to improve services.

Role responsibilities:

• Deliver support services to ensure the effective and efficient running of business processes and systems, ensuring staff, visitors and students receive appropriate guidance and support.
• Monitor and evaluate service delivery to ensure compliance with regulatory and professional procedures and standards, including GDPR, UK Border Agency requirements, Health and Safety, EDI.
• Collaborate with colleagues across professional and administrative areas to ensure seamless service provision.
• Use initiative to deal with queries, escalating to decision makers where appropriate.
• Develop and enhance operational and administrative policies, systems and procedures, fostering a continuous improvement philosophy.
• Provide training to team members on data handling and recording.
• Monitor data accuracy checks to identify anomalies and ensure the integrity of data and information.
• Coordinate and monitor the implementation of departmental and University policies and initiatives.
• Update data and information on systems and media for recording, storing, communicating and informing service users and team members.
• Work with internal and external partners to deliver cross-functional administrative, business and operational work streams. Contribute to production of reports and statistical information for higher-level decision makers within agreed timeframes interpret data and statistics, ensuring that appropriate levels of confidentiality are maintained at all times.
• Accurately record information and data, including minutes of meetings, and disseminate within internal networks including Board of Studies meetings, Health and Safety Committee, initiating and following up on actions as appropriate.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of policy and procedures within own area of working.
• Prepare written reports for consideration by management where required and contribute to the preparation of documentation associated with internal and external accreditation, quality management and enhancement activities
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements:

On occasion to work outside of normal working hours during peak periods and/or to support specific events/activities.

SECONDMENT 

The post is full time, fixed term for a 5-month period and may be offered on an internal secondment basis subject to the agreement of the current line manager. 
If an internal member of staff is appointed to this role on a secondment basis, for pension purposes this will be processed in line with Step-Up arrangements.  
For further details please click here. 

Working Arrangements 

At Durham we recognise that our staff and students are our greatest asset, and we want to support the health and wellbeing of all.  Hybrid working supports this ethos and provides many benefits to our colleagues, including empowering people, where their role allows, to work in a manner which is more suitable for them, whilst encouraging our commitment to environmental sustainability. 

If appointed to the post, your line-manager will discuss the specific arrangements with you.  Any hybrid arrangements are non-contractual and are subject to change.  

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 

1. A CV;  

2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out in the essential and desirable criteria; 

3. Completion of the attached matrix document, giving detailed examples of how your skills and experience match the relevant criteria. 

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

Essential

Desirable