Position Details

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £31,396 to £33,966 with potential progression once in post to £38,205

Grade: 6 

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2024 

Closing date: 12th May 2024

Background

The Healthcare Technologies Institute brings together leading experts from a variety of disciplines across the University of Birmingham, including chemical engineering, biomedical science, computer science, applied mathematics, chemistry and physics. Researchers across the University of Birmingham are working collaboratively to speed up the translation of new discoveries into health applications. The Institute is located within the Institute of Translational Medicine and consists of office space and research laboratories. 

The post-holder will work closely with the Operations Manager, Director and staff/students within the Institute to ensure that operational support for the Director and others within the HTI is;

• Professional, well-executed and timely
• Compliant with university and hospital policies

The post-holder will support the Operations Manager in the delivery of effective and efficient day-to-day management and organisation of the HTI which includes; administration, secretarial duties, operational management, health & safety compliance and technical management. 

The post holder will have a proactive approach and possess exceptional organisational, prioritisation and communication skills with the ability to use their own initiative to prioritise and manage complex tasks and diary arrangements. The post holder will be confident in working independently and with ambiguity, as well as being a strong team player. Strong analytical and numerical skills would also be advantageous. 

The role holder will be the assistant to the Operations Manager and on occasion be required to deputise for them.  They will be part of the Operations Team within the Healthcare Technologies Institute and will join in with key decision making within Institute. The role holder will also feed into the School Operations Team, ensuring that the Head of Operations is made aware of any school-related Operations within the Institute. 

The post holder will be responsible for the effective and efficient day-to-day management and organisation of the Institutes activities and business. This will often include organising and supporting high-level senior meetings, report and presentation writing and preparing briefing documents for high-level visits.

Role Summary

Work closely with the Institute’s professional services team and the Operations Manager to ensure operational support for the Director of the Healthcare Technologies Institute and others within the Institute: 

• is professional, well-executed and timely 
• is compliant with university policies and adopts best practice. 
• The post holder is a member of the Institute’s Operations Team within the professional services team, providing high quality general administrative support to the Institute
• To provide day-to-day support for the operations of the Healthcare Technologies Institute
• To support and deputise for the Institute Operations Manager as appropriate
• To provide advice and guidance and, where appropriate, training on university policies, processes and where required, source information and support for colleagues to facilitate their work
• To use, maintain and promote university-wide systems, ensuring efficient processes are in place to maintain high quality data, providing training to colleagues as required in order to ensure accurate data are maintained and accessible 
• To have a broad and in-depth knowledge of College, School, Institute and university polices, processes and systems, work with all Institute staff to solve problems and provide solutions, efficiently and effectively 
• To prepare communications, briefing documents and background materials as required for the Operations Manager and Director
• To prepare and support meetings, boards, and committees, including the coordination and distribution of papers and taking notes or minutes, as required
• To support the planning and organisation of events and projects, including visiting delegations
• To forge relationships with colleagues in the Institute, School, College and university, in order to contribute to process development and adoption of best practice 
• To foster a stimulating, innovative and inclusive cultural environment across the Institute, enabling students and staff to thrive and develop, ensuring that processes and policies are visible, accessible and transparent 
• To support/lead in cross-School, -College and -university projects and initiatives. 
• To support the Operations Manager with buildings, space and recruitment matters
• To manage the invitation process for academic visitors to the Institute
• To line manage PA/Admin roles at Grade 5 and under within the Healthcare Technologies Institute 

Main Duties

General support

• To use extensive knowledge of University policies, procedures and systems, researching, developing and managing systems which will ensure that work is carried successfully to deadline and enhancing systems to improve effectiveness and team working where possible 
• To develop and maintain annually the Institute’s committee calendar and the organisation and administration chart. To service all Institute committees as required, including following up actions and ensuring reporting lines between internal committees flow as required.
• Provide local support to academic activities as required and defined by the Director of the Healthcare Technologies Institute and other academic leads, such as diary management, meeting coordination, assisting visitors, managing room bookings – including organising audio visual equipment, catering and confirmation of arrangements to participants and security 
• Advise and support across the Institute with day-to-day financial matters, such as purchase orders, expenses, invoices and providing budget reports as requested by colleagues 
• Support the Director and build strong working relationships with academic and wider Institute staff
• Assist with the local dissemination of information issued by the Institute Management meetings and university central teams to the relevant staff and students, providing advice to staff and students on university and external regulations and policies
• Data Protection Regulation, interpreting and explaining these as required, and complying with all regulations and policies in own work 
• Provide local guidance on Institute specific matters – such as planned estates/ equipment maintenance work and local protocols, liaising with School/ College/ university teams as required 
• Identify, report and resolve building-related problems, working closely with the School Operations and local technical team, acting as a local point of contact as required 
• Support the Operations Manager in discussions around the day-to-day deployment of space and other programme related resources, to resolve immediate problems, assessing and managing risk and ensuring contingency plans are in place for all resource-based decisions 
• Create an ethos of collaboration and collegiality, establishing effective communications and relationships, and encouraging staff to work in partnership with colleagues across the university, to eliminate potential barriers, enhance collegiality and develop best practice through actively contributing to the University’s initiatives, including professional networks and working
• Act as a local champion of new and existing IT systems supporting training and the use of standard processes and procedures and new ways of working, maximising the benefits of the standard operating environment and university systems 
• Support the Operations Manager in providing data requested by School, College and university teams for inclusion in appropriate submissions, surveys and annual reporting processes 
• Service committees as required 
• Facilitate an inclusive culture and ethos across the Institute teams, ensuring that Professional Services staff work in partnership with academic staff in departments/institutes and Professional Services colleagues in the Faculty team and functional networks
• Liaise with academic staff about their visitors, liaising with the School Administrator for Head of School approval for the visits. 

Human Resources

• Provide local support for the recruitment of staff working closely with the Operations Manager 
• Alert the Operations Manager and HR advisor to visa renewals, contract end dates for staff on fixed term contracts and supporting processes for the contract extension or termination
• Support the Operations Manager to raise awareness of annual processes, including PDR, pay recognition, academic probation and promotion 
• Be the first point of contact with new members of staff and make arrangements for general induction and ensure further induction is carried out as required 
• Keep up to date records of visiting, honorary and adjunct academics, logging and monitoring term periods, supplying regular updates to the Operations Manager 
• Contribute to diversity and inclusion activities in the Institute and School, assisting with the delivery of diversity and inclusion action plans as required. 

Other duties 

• Contribute to cross Institute/-School/ -College/ -university initiatives 
• Undertake any other reasonable duties and projects as requested by Operations Manager, these may include Institute-specific duties, for example supporting specialist Centres, liaising with external bodies etc. to underpin the Institute’s core activity 

Whilst working within the framework agreed with the Operations Manager, the post holder is expected to manage their own workload and is expected to be flexible in anticipating and responding to shifting and competing demands on their and the wider team’s time. It is expected that the post will work with minimum regular supervision but will refer to their line-manager for advice on issues which fall outside existing regulatory or policy frameworks. Hours may sometimes fall outside the standard working day.

Person Specification

Essential 

• Educated to at least Degree level (or equivalent qualifications and work experience) and hold GCSEs in Mathematics and English at C or above (or equivalent) 
• Excellent IT skills, especially use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint 
• The postholder should also be confident and willing to learn new software packages quickly to support, inform and improve operational effectiveness 
• A high level of discretion and sensitivity in dealing with confidential matters
• Ability and demonstrable experience of working accurately and paying close attention to detail 
• Aptitude to prioritise own workload and to complete all tasks accurately and to a routinely high standard even when working to challenging and/or conflicting deadlines 
• Capability to manage own workload autonomously and work as effective team member with flexibility
• Significant self-initiative and ability to carry out projects from conception to conclusion. 
• Ability to take accurate notes and minutes 
• Experience of working in a large and complex organisation
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility and a self-motivating approach is required for this role, as is the ability to complete tasks based on only broad direction and with minimum supervision 
• Enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging demands, deadlines, and within budget. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including tact and diplomacy. The post-holder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues across the academic community and Professional Services, and also external contacts 
• Demonstrable ability to provide effective, high quality customer service and to make suggestions relating to service enhancements
• A strong understanding of the Research Strategy and Services structure at the University 

Desirable

• Experience of working in HE
• Experience of working at an executive level
• Experience of working with financial processes
• Experience in a PA and/or Operations role
• A good understanding of research project administration 
• Knowledge of the funding landscape relevant to the Institute 
• Qualifications or experience working within a STEM field relevant to Healthcare Technologies 
• Ability to form a basic understanding of core Healthcare Technologies Institute expertise to signpost as required, for example, grants of relevance, conferences of relevance, new staff introductions, organising high-level visits to the Healthcare Technologies Institute and appropriate demonstrations.
• Experience using Worktribe

Informal enquiries to Emma Lardner email: e.c.lardner@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 a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.