Operational Support Assistant

17654BR

Academic & Student Support Services

Administrative Support

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Operational Support Assistant

Based in Registry Operations you will provide operational support for University Examinations and administrative support to Registry staff, engaging and completing a range of routine tasks to meet operational and customer service requirements. You will provide support and guidance on examination processes, to ensure that students are supported and receive an excellent service at all times.

You will provide examination and operational support to Registry Operations, acting as the first point of contact at enrolment and graduation events, supporting exam preparation and office activities and delivering a customer focussed service working within the expected values and behaviours of Registry, providing a supportive and good quality customer experience.  This is a physically demanding role where you will need to be able to set up venues and collect exam papers, supervise the conduct of the exam and walk around for long periods to monitor activity and support students.  You may also be called upon to provide operational support for a range of Registry activities and events to support students. These include student enrolment, graduation, and general office support in preparation for examinations. 

This is a variable hours (minimum of 10 hours per year) open ended position.

Salary:  £21,828 – £22,214 per annum, pro rata for hours worked or £11.96 – £12.17 per hour (Grade 2)

Date advert posted: Wednesday, 22 November 2023

Closing date: Sunday, 10 December 2023

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.

Job Description

General Examination Responsibilities

• Reading through the examination paper before the student arrives to ensure an awareness of the subject, any possible queries on the instructions and potential unusual spelling;
• Maintaining a professional and impartial position at all times and ensuring that no personal opinions, advice or answers are provided or indicated;  
• Ensuring all examination announcements are clearly made to students at the correct times;
• Ensuring that examination regulations are adhered to including reporting incidents such as noise disturbance, academic misconduct, student illness, toilet breaks and any complaints regarding any aspect of the examination;
• Being understanding and flexible to the needs of students with disabilities in a higher education environment and the boundaries that need to be observed;

Operational Support Responsibilities 

• Undertake a variety of operational activities to support the team and department including acting as the first point of contact at university events, delivering a customer focussed service and maintaining a calm and professional approach;
• Deal with both simple and more complex enquires from internal and external customers in a professional manner, following established procedures, referring complex enquires to relevant staff members, ensuring all relevant facts and information needed is recorded and passed on
• Carrying out general office duties as required, following standard processes and procedures.  

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 

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education 

1. NVQ 2 / GCSE level A-C or equivalent
Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

2. Proficient experience of working in an administrative or office environment, proficient in using common office IT packages (e.g. MS Office). 

3. Excellent oral and written communication and listening skills with the ability to write / type quickly, accurately, legibly and with attention to detail. 

4. Ability to work within a defined set of procedures and protocols 

5. Ability to work independently with a responsible, professional and flexible approach to the working environment 

6. Ability to identify problems using own initiative, determining which standard process and procedures can be used to solve them 

Customer Service, Communication and Team Working 

7. Ability to relate to students, be supportive and communicate effectively and professionally with a wide range of customers within the university as well as understanding and having a flexible approach to the needs of students with disabilities and boundaries that need to be observed 

8. Ability to maintain professionalism and impartiality in responding to queries, ensuring compliance with standard examination procedures and practices 

9. Experience of delivering a customer focussed approach 

10. Ability to stand and walk around venues to set up and collect completed paperwork; monitor and support students for the duration of the examination.  You need to be physically fit and able to carry boxes of papers around the venue to distribute to students. 

Desirable Criteria

1. An understanding of examination processes in a Higher Education environment 

2. Previous experience of scribing / taking notes or reading for examinations in an education environment 

3. Experience of working in a Higher Education environment 

4. QA Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work 

5. Fluency in Welsh, written and oral 

Additional Information

A number of examination sessions may operate on each day (including occasional Saturdays), which may require a start time of 7:30am or a finish time of 6.00pm. Examination venues across Cardiff are used and Invigilators are expected to travel to any venue in which they are scheduled. Staff may be required to work on weekends depending on the scheduling of events.

Enrolment and graduation events may include evening and weekend working.  Staff may need to stand for long periods assisting and guiding students.

Job Category

Admin / Clerical