Internal Only - Research Development Officer: Postgraduate Research

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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 - Research Development Officer: Postgraduate Research

Join a fantastic Professional Services team in the world’s first Public Value business school!

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work at Cardiff Business School. We are looking for an experienced individual to join the Research Services team for 12 months, leading the work to support our community of 150 PhD students and overseeing the promotion, delivery and development of the PhD programme and leading projects within this area.

The successful candidate will be an experienced, enthusiastic and responsible manager of people, with the ability to lead support for postgraduate researchers and drive innovation and service improvement whilst ensuring that quality is at the heart of the School’s research provision.

About the School
Cardiff Business School is widely regarded as one of the leading business and management schools in the UK, ranked 6th in the UK for the quality of its research in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). We educate over 3,500 students annually, including over 1,500 international students. Cardiff Business School has an international faculty of world leading scholars. Our research reputation has helped us become an attractive centre of scholarship for colleagues from the UK and beyond. As the world’s first Public Value Business School, Cardiff Business School has a commitment to delivering societal as well as economic value though the undertaking of world leading inter-disciplinary research addressing the grand challenges facing communities, business and organizations.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), advertised on a fixed term basis for 12 months to provide cover for an internal secondment.

Secondment applications are welcome but the applicant must get permission from their line manager before applying. 

Salary: £27,924 - £32,344 per annum (Grade 5)

Closing date: Thursday, 23 September 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 who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. 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. Cardiff Business School is particularly looking to recruit from under-represented groups within the School.

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

Job Description

Job Purpose

Supporting Cardiff Business School within the Research Services team overseeing the delivery, support and development of the PhD programme and leading projects within this area

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Duties
•    Working with the PGR Director, oversee the operational management of the PhD programme in Cardiff Business School.
•    Working closely with Research Services Manager, embed the PhD programme into School environment
•    Working closely with the Events Officer, produce a programme of PhD student events to embed PhD researchers into the School’s research environment
•    Overseeing the expertise areas of administrative services provided by the admin team, specifically PhD application review, SIMS monitoring and viva processing
•    Ensuring the development of the PhD programme meets and exceed the minimum requirements expected by the AHSS College Dean for PGR studies
•    Develop and deliver ways to enable a programme of Public Value research through the PhD programme
•    Raise the profile of CARBS as a PhD host, ensuring studentships at CARBS are profiled, promoted and have the strongest chance of securing high quality applicants
•    Identify and promote opportunities for externally funded PhD studentships, working closely with colleagues in the School and elsewhere in the University (DEVAR)
•    Manage PhD budget (£400k), overseeing fees and stipend payments and fieldwork expenses processing
•    Planning and delivering PGR Induction for the full programme of students (new and returners)
•    Development and delivery of training for new supervisors and refresher sessions for existing supervisors
•    Ensure the School’s PhD student engagement activity through a robust support and oversight of the bi-annual SIMS monitoring process
•    Working with the academic leads of the PhD programme, ensure consistency in Student progression onto the programme.
•    Maintaining an accurate PGR Handbook for the School
•    Line management of administrative staff
•    Responsible for the ARE report for PGR (with RSM)
•    Overseeing core administrative processes and supporting the development of management information reports
•    Leading on School development projects as required by Management Board and Operational Management Team
•    Occasionally deputising for the Research Services Manager when required

Person Specification

Essential Criteria 

Qualifications and Education
1.    Degree/NVQ 4 or equivalent Professional membership/experience

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
2.    Substantial experience of supervising a team
3.    Able to demonstrate professional knowledge within specialist discipline 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
7.    Experience of managing the work of others and dealing with performance and welfare issues

Planning, Analysis and Problem solving
8.    Evidence of ability to solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identifying and proposing practical solutions and resolving problems with range of potential outcomes
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

Additional Information

Additional Information
This role will provide new capacity within the team to enhance the administrative delivery and strategic development of the PhD programme as part of the School’s research environment. It will adopt a number of less routine administrative tasks alongside providing professional services developmental support

Application Information
Important note: It is the University’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 that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined above. Your application will be considered based on the information you provide under each element.

Job Category

Admin / Clerical