Internal Only - Executive Officer

12065BR

School of Medicine

Managerial, Professional and Specialist Staff – MPSS

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This post is currently open to employees of Cardiff University only.  Please do not apply if you do not have a current contract of employment with the University.

Internal Only - Executive Officer
Division of Cancer & Genetics
School of Medicine
College of Biomedical & Life Sciences

The Experimental Cancer Medicines Centre (Cardiff) Executive Officer provides research support that facilitates cancer research partnerships within Wales and beyond. This role includes progressing and financially managing cancer research projects within the Wales Cancer Partnership, particularly the Wales Cancer Research Centre (WCRC).

This role also offers the opportunity to establish managerial skills in an encouraging environment, whilst leading the oversight of the administrative activities within the Wales Cancer Partnership “hub” office.

For informal enquiries, please contact John Jones, WCRC Director of Operations – [email protected] .

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term until 31 March 2022 and available from 4 October 2021.

Secondment opportunity welcome - please note for Cardiff University members of staff interested in this post on a secondment basis, permission will need to be sought from your current Line Manager before applying.

Salary:  £27,511 - £31,866 per annum (Grade 5).

Closing date: Wednesday, 4 August 2021

External applications are currently not being considered for this post.  If the decision is made to open the post to external candidates, the strapline at the top will be removed and you will be given ample time to apply – please check back periodically for details.

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

Establish collaborative working with key stakeholders within the Cardiff Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) and the Wales Cancer Research Centre (WCRC).

Develop appropriate communication links on a local level with universities, NHS Trusts, cancer networks, charities, patients and public and on a national level with Government and Industry.

Manage administrative staff within the WCRC Hub Office (which houses project staff from various funding streams), monitoring workloads, managing relationships and general line management duties.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Duties

• Manage the budget of the ECMC and WCRC, ensuring that expenditure is in line with terms and conditions of the grant award, reporting progress to senior team.
• Liaise with the finance contacts within the relevant departments to ensure that development funding expenditure is accurate and within the agreed grant award
• Liaise with Cardiff University's Research and Innovation Services and Cancer Research UK regarding ECMC and WCRC queries on expenditure and timelines
• Assist the Director in ensuring that all reporting and financial requirements of the ECMC and WCRC funders and University are met
• Provide oversight of administrative functions which support research programmes within the Cardiff ECMC and the WCRC
• Maintain existing systems and procedures for the operation of the ECMC and co-operation and communication across the partner institutions, co-ordinating activities and ensuring effective and efficient delivery of all WCRC and ECMC projects
• Develop effective working relationships and links with similar post holders within the College and wider University to foster good working relationships and effective communication
• Ensure networking with other UK ECMC Centres
• Raise the profile of cancer research in Cardiff and beyond with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Promote cancer research events across the Wales Cancer Partnership
• Promote, instruct and inform other employees across the University about the Cardiff ECMC’s and WCRC’s strategy and delivery
• Provide professional communication, signposting and guidance to researchers from within the WCRC on applying for cancer research funding through different funding schemes.  Explain processes and procedures to stakeholders, using judgement and creativity to identify best communication methods
• Take responsibility for resolving issues independently within the ECMC and the WCRC where they fall within set role objectives
• Responsible for all queries received for the ECMC and acting as a key point of contact for visitors, answering queries or referring on as appropriate
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that requirements are met, fielding out high level queries/information requests and ensuring that business relationships are maintained
• Investigate and analyse specific issues within the Cardiff ECMC and WCRC, creating recommendation reports to the WCRC Director
• Provide professional support to WCRC’s and ECMC’s committees, including preparation of agendas, papers, minute-taking, generation and circulation of action lists
• Administratively support WCRC Hub Office training and/or professional development initiatives. Liaise with appropriate stakeholders, ensuring progress reports are highlighted to the WCRC Director
• Further develop and promote communication tools which are appropriate for internal and external use, including websites, events and publicity materials
• Promote the use of the WCRC website as a tool to enable researchers who do not normally work together to exchange ideas and information more easily

** Job description continued in Additional Information section

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education

1. Degree/NVQ 4 or equivalent Professional membership/experience

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

2. Substantial experience of working in an administrative role within a professional environment
3. Able to demonstrate professional knowledge to give advice and guidance to internal and external customers
4. Ability to set up standard office systems and procedures and make improvements as appropriate

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working

5. Ability to communicate conceptually detailed and complex information effectively and professionally with a wide range of people
6. Evidence of ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered

Planning, Analysis and Problem Solving

7. Evidence of ability to solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identifying and proposing practical solutions and resolving problems with range of potential outcomes
8. Evidence of demonstrable knowledge of key advances within a professional environment
9. Evidence of ability to work unsupervised to deadlines, planning and setting priorities for own work and that of others and monitoring progress.

Other

10. A willingness to undertake further training and development

Desirable Criteria

11. Postgraduate/Professional qualification
12. Experience of working in a Higher Education environment
13. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral
14. Experience of working with a variety of research funders including the Third sector and Welsh Government
15. Experience in the administrative management of research grants and reporting performance to funders
16. Experience in working with both academic and clinical cancer researchers

Additional Information

** Job description continued ...

• Actively engage with researchers to ensure that all relevant publications are communicated through the website and that lay statements are obtained for the public
• Liaise with researchers and their relevant research offices within the College to ensure promotion of new grant awards to other members of the WCRC
• Coordinate the ECMC and WCRC activities, working with other cancer research communication personnel to promote cancer research through events and publicity materials
• Plan and deliver specific projects and events, co-ordinating and supervising project teams created as needed
• Create specific working groups from colleagues within the ECMC and WCRC to achieve the WCRC and ECMC strategy
• Ensure that the ECMC engagement and branding strategies are implemented within the agreed terms set out by Cardiff University and local health boards

General Duties

• Ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties
• Abide by University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity
• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role
• Due to partnership working some flexibility with working hours maybe required

IMPORTANT: Evidencing Criteria

It is School of Medicine's policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing. Candidates should evidence that they meet ALL of the essential criteria as well as, where relevant, the desirable. As part of the application process you will be asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement.

Please ensure when submitting this document / attaching it to your application profile you name it with the vacancy reference number, in this instance for this post, 12065BR.

If candidates do not provide written evidence of meeting all of the essential criteria then their application will not be progressed. The School of Medicine welcome the submission of CVs to accompany evidence of the job-based criteria.

Job Category

Admin / Clerical, Management & Executive