Senior School Administrator - Band 500 - 97962

INTERNAL APPLICATIONS ONLY

Position Details  

School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £23,699 to £25,458. With potential progression once in post to £29,471 a year

Band 500

Fixed term contract for upto 03.10.2023

Closing Date: 5th September 2021

Our offer to you 

People are at the heart of what we are and do. 

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. 

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.  With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. 

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.  We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. 

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.  In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. 

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens. 

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham   

Job context

The School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion is home to the College of Art’s and Law’s (CAL) flagship Degree Apprenticeship (DA), launched in April 2021. The programme builds on the success of the Faith Leaders training initiative delivered by the School’s Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, which responded to the many complex challenges faced by Faith Leaders in the 21st Century. As the DA approaches its second year of delivery this post will be critical in providing high level administration support for the DA programme team. Additionally as the College expands its DA portfolio this role will be crucial in supporting the implementation of other DAs across the college.

You will work closely with the school’s Academic Administration Quality Manager (AAQM), who leads DA implementation in the school and college, and who will also line manages this role, as well as the Programme Lead, Professor Andrew Davies, who provides overall direction for the programme. You will also liaise closely with colleagues in Registry and Business Engagement who have a stake in the growth and management of Degree Apprenticeships. Beyond the University, you will work closely with Employer Partners and their employees who participate in the programme. Our Employer Partners represent a diverse range of religious and public sector organisations and developing strong and productive relationships in this context will be crucial to the success of the role.

Job summary

As a senior administrator within the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion you will provide support for a broad range of administrative duties, some of which may be complex.  You may also be responsible for managing other staff or for supporting colleagues and sharing knowledge.  You will be able to use your wide range of skills, both technical and administrative, and have the opportunity to lead on specific tasks within a team.  In order to flexibly use resource you may be given the opportunity to work in different areas of the department or wider University.

Senior Administrators may work in any area of the University; with large groupings in HR, Finance, and School/College Hubs.

Main duties

• monitoring budgets including processing payments, authorising expenditure, raising concerns where finances are not in line with the budget,
• procuring goods and services through the University system,
• updating and writing contents for the department’s communications eg intranet pages,
• dealing with health and safety and facilities issues,
• HR-related tasks such as managing staff absence, induction, or dealing with leavers
• dealing with arrangements for international visitors
• monitoring internal procedures/compliance and ensuring these are followed and disseminated as appropriate.

Person Specification

• Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of grade C in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent.
• Professional experience in a similar role.
• Highly proficient IT skills, in particular the ability to handle complex electronic diaries and emails, the wider MS Office suite of programmes including excel and powerpoint, and some experience of using an enterprise resource planning package. The post holder should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• Proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively planning own (and sometimes others’ workloads) to manage time effectively, progress tasks concurrently and work to deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write for different audiences, and to required deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal skills. The postholder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times.
• A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

For informal enquires please contact Amy Wilkins, [email protected]

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment  

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.