Administrative Assistant

Job title:

Administrative Assistant

Company:

Cardiff University

Job description

School / DirectorateSchool of Physics & AstronomyAdvertAdministrative Assistant
School of Physics & Astronomy
Cardiff UniversityA position is available for an Administrative assistant to join the team at the School of Physics and Astronomy.Reporting to the Research Officer, you will provide an administrative service to the School, engaging and completing a range of tasks to meet operational and customer service requirements.You will provide support and guidance on a range of administrative duties, as detailed in the job description, to ensure the professional services team is supported and key duties undertaken.You will have the ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a wide range of people and the ability to work as an effective team member, providing advice and guidance to other team members where necessaryThe role is full time (35 hours per week) and is fixed term until 30th November 2025.Work is currently on a Hybrid basis with the balance towards on premises attendance and is determined by the needs of the organisation.For further details of this position please contact: Neil Sigllechner, Research Officer, [email protected] or PhysicsHR Team, [email protected]IMPORTANT NOTE TO CANDIDATES: It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing and we only invite candidates to interview who clearly evidence that they meet (or partially meet) each of the essential criteria. During the application process you will be asked to attach a supporting statement. This statement must outline how you meet the criteria below and we recommended formatting this by using each criteria as a sub-heading and providing your relevant experience/evidence below each sub-heading. It is crucial that you save your supporting statement with the vacancy number (eg. 19421BR) in the filename as failure to do so may result in it being omitted from your application.Salary: £24,600 – £25,433 per annum (Grade 3)Date advert posted: Tuesday, 28 January 2025Closing Date: Tuesday, 25 February 2025Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.Cardiff University and the School of Physics and Astronomy are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity. Our inclusive environment welcomes applications from talented people from diverse backgrounds. We strongly welcome female applicants and those from any ethnic minority group, as they are underrepresented in our School. The School of Physics & Astronomy has a Juno Champion accreditation and an Athena SWAN Silver award that recognises good employment practice and a commitment to develop the careers of women and other minorities working in science. The University is committed to ensuring that we sustain a positive working environment for all staff to flourish and achieve. As part of this commitment, the University has developed a flexible and responsive framework of procedures to support staff in managing their work and personal commitments wherever possible. Applications are welcome from individuals who wish to work part-time or full time.Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.Post Reference Number19421BRJob DescriptionJob Purpose
Provide an administrative service to the School/Directorate, engaging in and completing a range of routine tasks to meet operational and customer service requirements. Provide support and guidance on administrative processes, ensure the research and finance team is supported, and key duties undertaken.This role is eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you can also choose to spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.As the biggest university in Wales – and a major employer, with more than 7,000 staff – we are an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. We can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESKey Duties
⦁ Deal with a range of enquires from internal (staff & students) and external (members of the public) customers in a professional manner, establishing their needs and adapting the standard responses accordingly.
⦁ Work with others to make recommendations for the development and improvement of current University processes and procedures.
⦁ Create good working relationships with key contacts to help improve service levels.
⦁ Undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the team and department.
⦁ Gather and review data to update administrative systems such as databases and spreadsheets, making sure the information is accurate, and highlighting to your line manager basic trends and patterns.
⦁ Actively contribute to the success of the team and support the supervision and management of it.Specific Duties
⦁ Produce documentation, plan and organise meetings, take minutes/notes and ensure any travel arrangements are made.
⦁ Provide financial administration support for research projects, for example processing invoices and orders
⦁ As part of a team, manage the Schools post room and parcel deliveries and be responsible for the equipment in the room.
⦁ Manage the Schools stationery requirements
⦁ Act as part of the school reception team, including dealing with internal and external enquiries
⦁ Produce the Fortnightly School Newsletter including editing and design and collecting information and articles from staff and students
⦁ Produce school data and analysis for internal and external returns
⦁ Provide ad-hoc support to the research administration team which could include but not be limited to; research student support, human resources administration, procurement, small project workGeneral Duties
⦁ Abide by all University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development.
⦁ Perform other duties which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
⦁ Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.Salary Range Max.25,433GradeGrade 3Salary Range Min.24,600Job CategoryAdmin / ClericalAdditional InformationCareer PathwayAdministrative SupportPerson SpecificationWe want to employ people with a wide variety of experiences. We welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We are particularly seeking applications from candidates who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented at the University, including people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.We are looking for a team player who will work with colleagues to provide a great service to staff and students. You don’t need to have worked for a University before; this is an opportunity to show your potential and start or continue your career at Cardiff University.This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role or environment, showing your transferable skills and potential to be successful in the role. You should be enthusiastic about developing your knowledge and skills to become a valued member of the team.Your application will be assessed against the following essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please copy and paste this section into a new document and give clear examples of how you can evidence meeting each criteria by writing under each one. You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life (e.g. work, home, education/qualifications or community life) as long as you focus on their relevance to the role.Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOURNAME-BR NUMBER-JOB TITLE] and attach it to your application in the recruitment system, available .Please note that these are also the criteria shortlisted applicants will be assessed against at interview and/or by other means (e.g. a skills test).Essential Criteria * Ability to carry out a variety of administrative tasks, including writing clearly and concisely.

• Experience of working in an administrative or office setting.
• Experience of using common office IT packages (e.g. MS Office, e-mail etc.).
• Ability to set up and maintain standard administrative systems and procedures, including using University systems to collate and record data online and in hard copy. (Training will be provided where required).
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of people effectively and courteously whilst maintaining professional standards, adapting your language and style of communication depending on who you are communicating with.
• Ability to work well with your team, knowing how to give advice, guidance and feedback (to colleagues and members of the public) as appropriate.
• Ability to deal with requests for information or service, resolving customer issues where appropriate, or being able to escalate where necessary.
• Ability to plan and organise your own workload within agreed timelines as set by your Line Manager.
• Ability to use your initiative to solve problems and respond to queries, finding and proposing the best solution.
• Experience of organising meetings and events, including note taking.

Desirable Criteria * Experience of working in a Higher Education environment.

• Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.

HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU IN PERFORMING THIS ROLEWe want to support and develop you in the role, using a combination of the following to help you reach your full potential.1. Regular one-to-one meetings with your team leader.
2. An experienced and supportive team around you.
3. Support to undertake job-relevant training and development, as identified by your Line Manager. This could be informal or could be an apprenticeship leading to a formal qualification, such as Business administration NVQ.
4. A staff mentoring scheme.
5. Support to learn Welsh or to update language skills.

Expected salary

£24600 – 25433 per year

Location

Wales

Job date

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 04:11:28 GMT

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