Salary: £30,805 - £31,637 with progression to £34,132 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 15 April 2025
The Role
The role of Senior Administrator is a key operational post within the NIHR RSS team, hosted within the Population Health Sciences Institute, at Newcastle University. You will support the strategic aims and activities of the NIHR RSS and will provide comprehensive, high level administrative support to its colleagues.
You will be a first point of contact for stakeholders, methodologists and researchers. You will be responsible for a broad range of administrative tasks including responding to queries, arranging events and meetings, taking minutes, drafting reports and other materials, maintaining the RSS database and reporting metrics. A high level of confidentiality will be required, and attention to detail is critical.
You will need a proactive approach to your work, independently prioritising workload and reporting on milestones as appropriate. Some tasks will need to be completed to tight deadlines and will require self-motivation and the ability to take responsibility for getting the job done.
This is a full-time, fixed-term position available until 30 September 2028.
We would welcome requests for flexible working and depending on the needs of the role, blended working opportunities to work both remotely as well as on campus may be considered.
Please contact Niesha Doyle, Operations Manager (Niesha.doyle@newcastle.ac.uk ) for informal enquiries.
Please provide evidence of how you meet the essential criteria required for the role outlined in ‘The Person’ by uploading a letter of application along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV).
Key Accountabilities
* To support the methodological team, RSS Hub Chief Operating Officer and Operations Manager to coordinate and deliver administrative tasks within the RSS
* To maintain accurate and up to date records on the RSS database and other methods, working with the methodological team to address any information gaps
* To respond to queries from a broad range of stakeholders and teams (both regional and national) in a proactive, timely manner
* To assist with the management of the web-based database which hosts researcher and other information, including liaising with web-developers to improve and enhance the database and reporting mechanisms
* To support high level internal and external meetings, events, training sessions and outreach activities both regionally and nationally, engaging with stakeholders at the most senior levels in NIHR and the Department of Health and Social Care and similar organisations, as well as members of the public
* To coordinate meetings and events, including production of draft agendas and minutes, arranging patient and public involvement, making room bookings and catering arrangements, issuing paperwork, setting up meeting rooms, promoting events and facilitating arrangements to allow hybrid attendance
* To maintain oversight of invoices, expense claims and other financial tasks on behalf of the RSS Hub, ensuring all expenditure is identified against correct budget sub-headings and ensuring early escalation of all financial queries to the Operations Manager where necessary
* To be a first point of contact for the team, dealing directly with enquiries from academic and clinical staff, and members of the public, including dealing with routine email queries and redirecting enquiries to appropriate experts, ensuring queries are handled efficiently, confidentially and in a timely manner
* To provide organisational support to the team including diary management, arranging travel/appointments to ensure that the service runs smoothly and assisting colleagues with any other general office duties
* To provide support to the team by developing, reviewing and maintaining systems to manage and store confidential information (e.g. researchers’ details) in accordance with the University requirements and data protection legislation
* To coordinate recruitment of RSS Hub staff and liaise with the Chief Operating Officer and Operations Manager on appointments, resignations and contract renewals for RSS Hub staff
* To produce electronic documentation for the team and to assist in preparing written reports and promotional material as required
* To provide communications support to the team including liaising with internal and external contacts e.g. collaborating institutions/colleagues, NHS Trust partners and funder (NIHR/DHSC)
* To ensure compliance with University and statutory guidelines and understand the implications of Data Protection, Information Governance and Freedom of Information legislation
* Participate in duties common to the work environment and taking part in cross- cover arrangements with other staff as requested
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
* Excellent IT skills including knowledge of MS Office applications including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
* Knowledge of the NHS or UK University research environment
* Significant and relevant experience demonstrating development through a series of progressively more demanding relevant roles in a university research environment or similar setting
* Significant experience of diary management
* Proven analytical and problem-solving capabilities
* Ability to work quickly and accurately to deadlines, with meticulous attention to detail
* Ability to follow guidelines and work autonomously as needed
* Excellent time management, planning, organisation and project management skills
* Ability to prioritise own workload and conflicting priorities
* Experience of supporting complex committees, meetings and events, including production of agendas and minute taking
* Experience of developing and operationalising administrative systems
* Experience of drafting reports and promotional materials
* Ability to manipulate and analyse information for management use
Desirable
* Understanding of applied health and social care research
* Knowledge of research processes within Higher Education
* Knowledge of NIHR and UK health research infrastructure
Attributes and Behaviour
* Ability to travel regionally and nationally as required
* Ability to maintain confidentiality
* Good team working abilities
* Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
* Evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development
* Excellent communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills
Qualifications
* Educated to NVQ Level 3 /A Level Standard OR equivalent in relevant discipline and English Language and Mathematics at GCSE Level 4 (or equivalent) plus work experience in a relevant role, OR substantial work experience in a similar role with evidence of success
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 28041