Position Details

Campus Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £25,866 to £27,518, with potential progression once in post to £30,820

Grade 4 

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 14th May 2024 

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.

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

Background

Campus Services (CS) employs over 900 staff with a turnover exceeding £50m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, Portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.

Post, Portering & Transport Services provides a wide range of logistics solutions to the University of Birmingham. We deliver the highest quality customer service through our local and international expertise. Integral to our success is a strong focus on planning and an ability to meet constant deadlines, complimented by our commitment to reduce our carbon emissions.

Role Summary

The successful candidate will be joining a small team of administrators who form part of Post, Portering and Transport Services (PPT Services). This is an important administrative post, supporting the Transport Services Team Leader to ensure all services provided by the department are recorded, processed and accounted.

The post holder will provide comprehensive high quality administrative support under the direction of the Transport Services Team Leader ensuring all bookings and records are processed in a timely and orderly manner. The post holder must work collaboratively with other department Team Leaders in the provision of their administrative support in addition to liaising with internal and external stakeholders ensuring a high-quality service is reached. The role will require a degree of flexibility to ensure operational requirements are met, the role is full time with working hours to be advised however candidates will be expected to work overtime with a degree of notice given.

Main duties

• Support to the Transport Services Team Leader
• Deal with communications from customers through e-mails, telephone and face-to-face, prioritising issues as deemed appropriate. You will be expected to diagnose and assess problems and how they can be tackled before deciding on the solution.
• Coordinate and maintain vehicle insurance claims process, liaising with both internal and external contacts as necessary, ensuring vehicle damage is estimated and repaired in a timely manner with relevant recharges to the correct departments.
• Coordinate vehicle collections and deliveries to and from designated points across campus and external suppliers, assisting the Transport Services Team Leader with allocating relevant staff resources to achieve most effective use.
• Developing and maintaining intranet pages as a key tool for communication with staff.
• Take enquiries and arrange vehicle bookings using relevant data bases and systems, maintaining and updating KPI’s for reporting requirements.
• Assist Deputy PPT Services Manager in management of all fleet vehicles; ordering, updating records and alerts on fleet systems and managing charges relating to the University fleet.
• Deputise for the Transport Services Team Leader when necessary to ensure all services are maintained during their absence.
• Coordinate with the implementation of the Health and Safety Policy, developing appropriate documentation and processes to comply with the relevant policies.
• Coordinate and compile relevant reports from telematics data to support department managers in maintaining a safe and secure University fleet.
• Will provide comprehensive high quality, timely and accurate administrative support.
• Coordinate necessary fuel and other consumables to ensure the correct levels are maintained and advising Deputy PPT Services Manager when reordering is due.
• Assist Deputy PPT Services Manager in management of all fleet vehicles; ordering, updating records and alerts on fleet systems and managing charges relating to the University fleet.
• Coordinate and review on a regular basis all systems and reporting structures and advise Deputy PPT Services Manager on possible enhancements available.
• Coordinate all correspondence, determining processes required and refer to correct team member.
• Coordinate driving licence checks for all new individuals to ensure they are in line with stated policies and procedures.
• Coordinate external contractors to perform minibus driver training and book relevant individuals on to events.
• Coordinate the hire of University owned mini buses to departments, if demand exceeds supply then responsible for sourcing vehicles from external suppliers.
• Coordinate relevant department recharges for all University minibus hires.
• Deal with complaints confidently and efficiently; knowing when to escalate to the Deputy PPT Services Manager.
• Any other duties relevant to grading of the post as required by senior staff.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Essential:

• Educated to ‘A’ Level or (equivalent qualification or relevant work experience) and hold at least a pass grade GCSE in Mathematics and English Language (or equivalent).
• Experience of working in an administrative role in a fast paced and complex environment.
• An appreciation of the importance of delivering excellent customer service. Good written and verbal communication skills and an excellent telephone manner.
• Ability to work with a diverse range of stakeholders courteously, diplomatically and confidentially in order to establish and maintain personal credibility.
• Excellent interpersonal, organisation, and communication skills. Must demonstrate accuracy and excellent attention to detail – (keep accurate records/process accurate financial recharges).
• Well organised with the ability to prioritise own work proactively, independently and as part of a team.
• Attention to detail and the ability to work confidentially, use judgement and make appropriate decisions within the constraints of the role.
• Excellent IT skills and an aptitude for learning new packages to support administration e.g. porters software, fleet systems etc., sound knowledge of Windows based applications, specifically Microsoft Office including Word and Excel.
• Ability to work flexibly in a fast moving, dynamic environment where change is often required immediately.
• Willingness to engage in continuing professional development and training.

Desirable:

• Experience using and maintaining complex working systems e.g. databases/record systems.

Dimensions

You will not be required to line manage anyone in this role or manage a budget. 

Planning and organising

You will be required to manage and prioritise a varied workload to deliver within required time frames.  There is also a need to maintain an awareness of activity across the department and wider University as appropriate. 

Problem solving and decision making

You will be working under the direction of a senior manager, but with the autonomy to deliver the outputs required.  You will be working within the framework of existing policies, processes and procedures for the department.  You will take day to day decisions on what advice to give and for responding to and resolving queries.

Internal and external relationships

This role will be liaising with internal colleagues and stakeholders, and external stakeholders as well with an expectation on maintaining good working relationships with all.

Informal enquiries to Chris Lane email: c.lane@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is one of our values. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.