Position Details School of History and Cultures 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, Fixed Term contract up to November 2025 Closing date: 16th January 2025 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. 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 develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme, providing all professional services staff with development opportunities to reach their full potential. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University. Depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements and 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. Background To provide proactive administrative support in the relevant department, working as part of a team or on own initiative. You will have the ability to manage your work without needing to refer to others for most of your time. Role Summary The School of History and Cultures is seeking a highly organised and efficient Administrator to join the School Administration team. The post holder will be line managed by the School Administration Manager and will work closely with other members of the team to provide a comprehensive level of professional services support. The post represents an opportunity for anyone looking to develop a career in Higher Education administration. The post-holder will gain valuable experience in: Financial processing and ordering Maintaining a safe working environment Facilities and IT management Committee administration and management Human resources administration Information maintenance and management of confidential information Supporting effective School-wide communications Providing first-rate customer service Event management and support Working in a busy team Using your own initiative The successful candidate will be given support to develop a wide range of skills, both technical and administrative, and will also have the opportunity to lead on specific tasks within the team. Main Duties You will act as a point of contact to provide accurate and timely information and advice to internal and external customers and stakeholders on University processes and procedures. Regularly communicate relevant information to students, staff, and external contacts. Provide administrative support for diary or event planning. Process data (financial, HR, student-related), monitoring accuracy, chasing up missing information, and escalating any issues as appropriate. Use complex University systems to research, manipulate, analyse and interpret sets of data, and produce routine reports. Maintain working relationships with key stakeholders, fielding queries, and resolving disputes or complaints promptly. Offer advice and support to others on area of activity. Review processes and tasks, proactively offering suggestions for improvement. Provide a professional secretarial service to relevant committees and meetings. Supports equality and values diversity, moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact. Undertake fire warden and first-aid training. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience Evidence of the skills and ability to undertake the role. GCSEs to a minimum of grade C/4 in English and Mathematics grade C minimum (or equivalent level 2 qualification). Good IT skills with working knowledge of standard Microsoft Office software. Ability to take responsibility for specific tasks, carrying out duties without needing to refer to others. Excellent communication skills. Well organised with the ability to prioritise work proactively. A good understanding of how to deliver excellent customer service. Experience of using and maintaining complex work systems and an aptitude for learning new IT packages and systems. Experience of supporting committees in a secretarial capacity. An understanding of the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace. Dimensions You will not be required to line manage anyone in this role. Planning and Organising You will be required to manage and prioritise a varied workload to deliver within required time frames. 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. Internal and External relationships This role will be liaising with internal colleagues and stakeholders, and external stakeholders, with an expectation on maintaining good working relationships with all.