School Manager

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.  We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here

The Role and Department
This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing you unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our School pages at https://www.dur.ac.uk/mlac/

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures is a leading centre of teaching and research in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic, Italian, Japanese and Russian Studies, and is consistently ranked in the top five in national league tables. The School hosts the BA in Visual Arts and Film, which combines advanced academic study and practical skills development, drawing on staff research spanning historical periods from classical Rome to the present, and global in its geographical reach. The School is also home to the Centre for Foreign Language Study, which offers non-specialist learners, including students, staff and members of the public, the opportunity to learn a range of languages from beginners to advanced levels.

The School Manager plays a key role as part of the School’s leadership team delivering School and University strategy.  The postholder works closely with the Head of School and other members of the leadership team to plan and implement policy to meet School and University strategic aims and ensure the effective delivery of teaching and research. This role also has overarching management responsibility for the School’s professional services (administration) team and will collaborate not only with academic staff within the School but also with business partners and departmental contacts in key areas such as HR, Finance, Marketing & Communications, Strategic Planning and Student Support teams. You will also work with the Faculty Manager and other Department Managers in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, forming a community of practice for sharing information and good practice as well as initiating and taking forward process improvements. 

The School Manager role requires an excellent all-rounder with the ability to:

• Work at a strategic level but with an operational focus to support the development and implementation of School strategy in learning and teaching and research.
• Navigate hierarchies and be aware of the diverse responses to and from different cultural environments.
• Lead and manage the departmental professional services team both in business as usual and maximising administrative capacity to deliver departmental strategy.
• Be a prime motivator in creating an atmosphere of positive responsiveness to change, fostering initiative and developing staff.
• Act as a key channel of communication between academic staff and professional services staff, both within the department and across all academic, College and other professional services departments.
• Show leadership, self-motivation and confidence in contributing to and taking responsibility for innovation, decisions and actions.
• Demonstrate personal resilience and emotional intelligence in effectively dealing with a wide range of people and process management challenges. 

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

Working at Durham 

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits: 

•    30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.  
•    The University closes between Christmas and New Year 
•    We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into this University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
•    No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
•    There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities. 
•    Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
•    On site nursery is available and children’s clubs in the summer holidays. 
•    Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
•    The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
•    Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions. 
•    A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits. 
•    If you are moving to Durham, we can help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.  If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Durham University is committed to equality,  diversity and inclusion 

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct.  At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.  If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role. 

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification    

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role.  Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.  Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.    
  
Your application should cover the following criteria:

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience
1.  Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
2.  Five GCSEs at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics (or equivalent experience).   
3.  Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.
4.  Professional practitioner with specialist knowledge and expertise used to influence events and activities within the organisation. 
5.  Experience of being able to network effectively and develop strong and productive working relationships
6.  Experience of implementing policies and procedures and supporting service improvements.
7.  Track record of management and development experience applied across a large service team or teams.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
8.    Excellent spoken and written communication skills across a wide range of mediums, e.g. digital, one-to-ones, large groups.
9.    Excellent digital competence with demonstrable skills in using core digital tools
10.  Evidence of relevant continuing professional development for this leadership role
11.  Extensive knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines.
12.  Ability to contribute to planning at operational and strategic levels.
13.  Ability to solve problems and decide on and plan appropriate solutions.

Desirable criteria

14.  Management experience in a Higher Education or similar context.

How to apply
  
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.  Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.   
  
Submitting your application 

We prefer to receive applications online.   We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
  
What you need to submit   

•    A CV: and   
•    A supporting statement which outlines how you meet all of the criteria listed above
 
Contact details  
  
For a chat about the role or any further information please contact Clare Zon, Faculty Manager [email protected] and Jess Stacey MLaC School Manager [email protected].

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery/Development
•    Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.
•    Develop and apply an in-depth understanding of university policy and external developments when carrying out you role.
•    Ensure that policy and regulatory standards are met by activities, processes and transactions that are carried out in services you are responsible for.
•    Use your professional knowledge and experience to resolve problems, shape processes and activities, develop systems and provide subject-related expertise and advice.
•    Use your managerial and leadership expertise to identify priorities and shape service delivery to achieve the required outcomes.
•    Look for ways to continually improve services and take a lead role in the development and implementation of assigned policies, processes and standards.
•    Initiate and manage business process reviews to improve the service in your area.
•    Ensure data (commercially sensitive and/or personal) is appropriately stored and managed.
•    Manage quality and regulatory audits of systems and procedures.
•    Support the welfare, wellbeing and employment of your staff by providing professional guidance.

Planning and Organisation
•    Work closely with the Head of School in scoping and resource planning across a range of activities at operational and strategic level.
•    Maintain an oversight of the service and performance metrics to provide reports for higher level managers and committees.
•   Oversee the analysis of data about the service levels provided by your area make recommendations for improvement in reports to senior managers and committees.
•   Allocate and monitor designated budgets, expenditure and resources.

Team Development
•    Manage and develop the people, performance and resources in the School PS teams to ensure that a customer focussed service is provided.
•    Help shape the skills and expertise needed to deliver a professional service by recruiting, inducting and training team members and structuring the team in way that will best meet operational and strategic priorities.
•    Ensure that your team can deliver the required services by devolving and delegating responsibilities to appropriate team members.
•    Carry out regular performance reviews to provide feedback on objectives and expectations and identify any development needs.
•    Handle most HR issues and support the welfare and wellbeing of your team referring more complex issues to specialist services or more senior managers.

Communication/Liaison
•    Use your professional knowledge to identify and recommend priorities for long-term business plans.
•    Provide professional guidance and advice when managing staff and student queries and issues. 
•    Design creative and innovative communications to promote and increase engagement relating to the School.
•    Influence University policy, standards and governance by leading operational business meetings, working groups and sub-committees.
•    Create strong working relationships, including internal and external networks, using your networks to increase your knowledge and skills, swap information with peers and positively influence the University’s reputation.
•    Represent the School, Faculty and University at promotional events.
•    Identify opportunities to develop and increase participation in special interest groups.
•    Any other reasonable duties.

 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 Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.   

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.