Position Details

Department: Library Services, LRAT

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Grade: Grade 2

Hourly rate: £12 per hour plus holiday entitlement

Casual Contract start/end: Sunday 26th May 2024 - Sunday 18th August 2024

Advert closing date: Friday 3rd May 2024, 23:59pm 

If you have an active account on Core Systems, please apply with your staff email.

If you are encountering any issues applying, please attempt again with an alternative email. If you are still unable to apply, please let us know by contacting us via our portal.

The application deadline is 03/05/2024, though it may be adjusted based on the volume and quality of applications received. We recommend that candidates submit their applications promptly.

Important information:

The successful candidates must be available to work every Sunday during this period to fulfil one of the two positions. There are two positions available and the working pattern for this role is:

Sundays 09:00 AM - 14:00 PM

Sundays 14:00 PM - 19:00 PM

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 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.

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 

Role Summary:

Based within the busy Murray Learning Centre, post holders will work alone as part of a wider team of Building Assistants carrying out a range of manual and clerical duties that support teaching and study facilities operations over weekends and other ad hoc shifts. The post holder will be part of a team of people and be required to provide cover between 08:45 and 19:15, Saturday and Sunday, on a rotation basis.

This role will be primarily to support staff and students within this busy building, with basic AV support, general trouble shooting and customer service, whilst ensuring that the users of the building are using the spaces available to them in the correct manner and making sure the building is at its most presentable and functional at all times. The team will also provide cover for the Murray Learning Centre Security Attendant when they are on leave.

The post holder will have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to communicate clearly with individuals based across a range of departments as well as external contractors and suppliers. Post holders may also have experience of working in a customer service environment as well as a strong understanding and awareness of health and safety in the workplace. Post holders will have the ability to escalate relevant urgent queries to management and provide a detailed summary report of the use of the building during their shift.

In addition, the post holder will have the ability to use their own initiative in prioritising workload. 

We are looking for a varied team with different skills, a can-do attitude, and a keen eye for finer details in order to compliment the many services that the Murray Learning Centre provides.

Main Duties:

1. To assist with the daily running of the busy Murray Learning Centre, ensure it is a safe and friendly environment for students and staff to be in.
    
2. To undertake regular detailed checks of the teaching spaces and study spaces.
    
3. To undertake regular building checks, checking and reporting any health and safety matters, and fire equipment checks. 
    
4. Assist colleagues in the planning and setting up of rooms and equipment for special events and meetings.
    
5. If required, carry out Housekeeping tasks such as topping up sanitiser units, emptying bins, laying out meeting rooms, providing and clearing away catering items, low level cleaning, carrying out sustainability tasks such as reviewing lights left on, turning off items which use electricity, clearing away waste into the correct recycling bins.
    
6. You may be required to ensure water coolers and cups are replenished as appropriate. 
    
7. Assist the Facilities Manager with project requirements.
    
8. Support and cover for other colleagues in Library Services by performing tasks commensurate with the grade of the post including other activities and clerical routines.
    
9. Use experience and training to resolve typical problems in Library Service facilities and ensure the provision of an effective, reliable, timely efficient service. This includes identifying and suggesting improvements to the operations of the library service by engaging in team meetings.
    
10. Post holders are expected to work self-sufficiently and proactively, and identify priorities within their own work to ensure services are delivered accurately, reliably, efficiently to required standards, procedures, workflow and deadlines. 
     
11. Treats everyone with dignity and respect, supporting equality and valuing diversity. 
     
12. Any other duties that may be reasonably expected by your manager.

Maintenance, Health and Safety:

•              Proactively and independently identify, action, resolve or propose solutions to building maintenance issues that may arise within teaching spaces and study spaces, in adherence to University policy and HSA best practice.  This could include taking a decision to close an area to resolve furniture / equipment fault, clear an area and take action in accordance with best practice guidelines in event of hazardous substances e.g. bodily fluids, or undertake repairs relating to water egress utilising post holder’s knowledge of building repairs and maintenance.

•              Where issues cannot be resolved locally, post holders will ensure that relevant university departments are informed, submitting relevant incident reports. Post holders will act as a point of contact to coordinate onward repairs and communications to Library colleagues. Post holders will ensure jobs are scheduled to cause the minimum disruption to users while ensuring safe working practice is maintained for the safety of users. 

•              Ensure the student and public space is maintained to a high standard with particular attention given to aesthetics and cleanliness. This will involve undertaking regular site inspections, ensuring that lighting and heating is working, that flooring is secure, trip hazards are removed, fire doors are clear of obstruction and in good condition. Regular checks on the environment will also identify areas requiring further intervention and referral to other parties e.g. at height window cleaning, vent cleaning etc. Post holders will be expected to resolve issues upon identification and refer more complex issues following established protocols to the relevant University department. 

Person Specification

Qualifications:

•              Educated to GCSE standard level (at grades A-C) or equivalent.

Skills:

•              Good interpersonal and verbal communication skills.

•              Ability to work to strict deadlines, plan and manage own activities and tasks and support colleagues in planning their work and activity.

•              Ability to prioritise work and identify emergency or critical incident situations accurately and calmly.

•              Ability to work quickly and accurately, paying close attention to detail.

•              Ability to work independently resolving the majority of issues, and also as part of team. 

•              A methodical and organised approach to work. 

Knowledge and experience:

•              Good levels of IT Literacy and a willingness to learn/adapt to new technologies. 

•              Good understanding of operational Health and Safety.

•              Providing a friendly, customer orientated service.

•              Experience of working within a busy service environment.

Planning and organising

You will be expected to successfully work independently most of the time and react as appropriate to unexpected situations and challenges.

Problem solving and decision making 

You will be able to plan your own workload within overall priorities set by your manager.

Internal and external relationships

You will develop and maintain excellent working relationships with other members of staff and stakeholders to achieve common goals to a high standard.

View our staff values and behaviours here 

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.

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 15 hours per week during term time. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g.  PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 15 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an International student, you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate Authorised Absence.

You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.

To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.