Administrative Data Research – Wales Manager (ADR-W)

18346BR

Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Managerial, Professional and Specialist Staff – MPSS

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Administrative Data Research – Wales Manager (ADR-W)

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences is seeking to recruit a Administrative Data Research-Wales (ADR-W) Manager to work within Administration Data Research Centre Wales (ADR) located within the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) Research Centre.

The Administration Data Research Centre Wales (ADR) has been £2.3m of funding via ESRC in partnership with Swansea University and Welsh Government to create a world-class administrative data research centre, known for its ability to access, link and make safe use of data for high quality research.

Provide operational management of the Administrative Data Research Wales project on behalf of Cardiff University in collaboration with other project partners including Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD), Swansea University, Welsh Government and the Security, Crime, Intelligence and Innovation Institute (SCIII),  carrying out supporting work, providing advice, guidance and support, and leading projects within this area

Please note that for this role the applicant will be required to work on site in order to meet the needs of the centre.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term from 1st April 2024 until 31st March 2026.

Salary: £39,347 –  £44,263 per annum (Grade 6), with 4 annual increments up to £44,263 per annum (final salary at top of grade).

Responsible to Louise Jones, School Manager

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Rhys Davies, [email protected]

Cardiff University offers many excellent benefits, including 45 days annual leave (including bank holidays), blended working (meaning you will be able to work from home for some of your time), a cycle to work scheme and other travel initiatives, annual increments up the pay scale, and more. It is an exciting and vibrant place to work, with many different challenges and is a proud Living Wage supporter.

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.

Date advert posted: Monday, 11 March 2024

Closing date: Monday, 8 April 2024

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

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.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Job Description

Key Duties

• Provide professional advice and guidance on the processes and procedures of the ADR-W project and related activities to internal and external customers, using judgement and creativity to suggest the most appropriate course of action where appropriate, and ensuring complex and conceptual issues are understood
• Investigate and analyse specific issues within the ADR-W project and related activities, creating recommendation reports and effective solutions.
• Provide day to day operational and planning support to the ADR-W Director in relation to ADR-W funded and related projects and, working with colleagues within WISERD and SCIII (with whom ADR-W is co-located at SPARK), to support related research projects across the institute as required.
• Ensure that the aims and outputs of the ADR-W project are delivered to the institution and project partners, proactively changing the delivery according to customer requirements
• Collaborate with others across WISERD, SCIII, Cardiff University, Swansea University and Welsh Government to make recommendations for developments of established processes and procedures
• Manage meetings with the ADR-W project’s key partners in Swansea University and Welsh Government..
• To be responsible for the day-to-day operational management and leadership of the ADR-W project administration in Cardiff, to include HR, finance, research support and general office management and to provide support to WISERD colleagues in these areas.
• Establish working relationships with key contacts, including WISERD, SCIII and ADR-W colleagues at Swansea University developing appropriate communication links with the University’s Schools/Directorates and outside bodies as required
• To maintain close working relationships with key professional services teams (finance, communications, HR, IT, Research Development, estates) to ensure smooth implementation of policies and strategies. Collaborating with others in order to develop administrative and operational processes and procedures used within ADR-W, WISERD and SCIII.
• To manage the financial aspects of ADR-W and other associated projects, preparing  budgets, maintaining appropriate controls and records and considering projected spends, liaising with budget holders as appropriate.
• To coordinate the administrative aspects of ADR-W and associated research bids, including multi-institutional and international bids during the application stage by preparing and drafting documentation for grant applications, liaising with funding bodies and associated internal offices, liaising with academics as appropriate.
• Manage the processes and requirements of the ONS secure facility liaising with key stakeholders to ensure compliance with complex regulations for using the facility.
• Create specific working groups from colleagues across the ADR-W project to achieve specific objectives
• Supervise specific project teams on an occasional basis to accomplish key objectives
• To develop links and networks across the University including representation at the Research Administrators Forum (RAF) and AHSS College Professional Research Network.
• To work alongside the ADR academic staff to provide advice and support around research activities and in particular with regards to procurement and finance, ensuring that they are in line with the Universities’ Financial regulations.
• Manage the performance, induction and development of ADR-W Administration staff and any other professional services staff within the WISERD research centre as required.
• Support and guide  ADR-W Administration staff and any other Professional Services staff in the WISERD research centre in welfare issues, escalating as necessary to specialist support areas.
• To provide support for various management and operational activities with the wider WISERD research centre as required.
• To undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the team and department.

Job description continued in Additional Information

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Degree/NVQ 4 or equivalent Professional membership/experience of working in a research support environment

Substantial experience of the management of a centre/department with experience of managing the workload of others and  experience of dealing with performance and welfare issues.

Able to demonstrate professional knowledge within specialist discipline of research project administration to give advice and guidance to internal and external customers in compliance with complex processes and regulations.

Experience of financial budgeting and planning

Ability to set up standard office systems and procedures and make improvements as appropriate

Ability to communicate with confidence, tact and diplomacy, effectively and professionally with a wide range of people at all levels of seniority, both internally and from external organisations.

Evidence of ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered

Proven ability to develop networks in order to contribute to long term developments

Evidence of ability to solve expansive problems using initiative and creativity; identifying and proposing practical solutions and resolving problems with range of potential outcomes

Evidence of ability to plan the work of a centre/department over year plus time scales, reacting to changes in workload and strategic direction,

Desirable Criteria

• Postgraduate/Professional qualification
• Experience of working in a Higher Education environment
• Fluency in Welsh, written and oral
• Experience of working within an environment where the confidentiality of sensitive personal information is maintained.
• Experience of the administrative and financial management of large research projects with external funders, including the co-ordination of grant funding applications, within an academic environment.

IMPORTANT: Evidencing Criteria

 It is Cardiff University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for shortlisting. Therefore, candidates must evidence they meet ALL the essential criteria and, where relevant, the desirable.

As part of the application process, you are asked to provide this evidence via a supporting statement. Please ensure that the evidence you are providing corresponds with the numbered criteria outlined in the person specification. Your application will be considered based on the information you provide for each criterion.

 When attaching the supporting statement to your application profile, please ensure you name it with the vacancy reference number: XXXXBR.

Your application will be at risk of not being progressed if you do not evidence you have met all essential criteria. The school welcomes the submission of CVs to accompany evidence of the job-based criteria.

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).

Additional Information

Job Description continued

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

The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD)

The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) is a national, interdisciplinary, social science research institute. We have been designated by the Welsh Government as a national research centre. Using innovative approaches, our research spans the fields of economics, sociology, geography and political science.

We are a collaborative venture between the universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, South Wales and Swansea – working together to improve the quality and quantity of social science research in Wales and beyond. Our research effects change by influencing the development of policy and practice across a range of sectors.

WISERD hosts the UK-wide WISERD Civil Society Research Centre, a major investment by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Administrative Data Research Centre Wales (ADRC-W) at Cardiff University, part of a project led by Swansea University. Other funded projects include the ESRC Skills and Employment Survey, WISERD Multi Cohort Study, Horizon RuralSpatialJustice, Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership (LPIP) and Community Open Map Platform (COMP).

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences
The School of Social Sciences is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research and teaching across a range of subject areas, including Social Policy, Sociology, Criminology, Education, Social Psychology, and Social Work.

The School hosts a number of research centres and institutes, including the University’s  Police Studies Institute (UPSI), now part of the University’s Crime & Security Research Institute; the Wales Institute for Economic Research & Data (WISERD); the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE); the Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer); the Cardiff Unit for Research and Evaluation in Medical and Dental Education (CUREMeDE); Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE) and the Seafarers’ International Research Centre (SIRC). Many of the School’s research centres are housed in the University’s Social Science Research Park (SPARK) – a world first, and part of the University’s wider Innovation Campus.

The School of Social Sciences holds an Athena SWAN Bronze Award that recognises good employment practice and a commitment to develop the careers of women working in academia. Cardiff University is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity. We actively encourage women to apply. We will also always consider proposals for flexible working or job share opportunities.

Job Category

Management & Executive