Position Details
College of Social Sciences
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £32,546 to £35,116 with potential progression once in post to £39,355
Grade: 6
Full Time, Fixed Term Contract until February 2026
Closing date: 16th March 2025
This role is also open as an internal secondment opportunity which would need to be agreed by your current line manager.
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 develop your career at the University.
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.
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 a pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum, and botanical gardens.
Background
The College of Social Sciences comprises four Schools; the Birmingham Business School together with the Schools of Education, Government, and Social Policy. The College has the largest student population in the University and its academic vision is driven by the University’s enduring purpose as the UK’s first civic university, undertaking education and research that transforms the lives of our students and our communities.
The College is committed to supporting the development and wellbeing of its staff through the Birmingham Professional and highly active Wellbeing Taskforce. We seek to build an inclusive and supportive working environment and encourage applications from under-represented groups.
Role Summary
The CoSS Hub Manager and EA to the Head of College is integral to the operation of the College, acting as Executive Assistant (EA) to the Head of College and ensuring the effective administration of the College Office. The post holder’s role will involve liaison with the College Director of Operations, College/University Officers and internal and external agencies. The working relationship between the EA and the Head of College is of paramount importance to the success of the College and its efficient operation. The post holder will therefore be required to use a high level of communication, negotiation, organisational, administrative, and secretarial skills. The role requires complete confidentiality, ability to work independently, with discretion and the use of initiative. The post holder will need to be able to adapt quickly and professionally to the needs of the day and be able to cope well and harmoniously with conflicting demands.
The post holder will proactively manage and coordinate the College Hub administration team and provide clear and effective management and leadership to direct and develop the team to assist in the delivery of the College Hub’s administration. This requires the post holder to provide specialist advice and support in the continuous monitoring, review, and enhancement of the Hub’s administrative systems, projects, and communications, to ensure they remain fit for purpose, effective, and efficient. The post holder will coordinate and manage the workload of the College Hub administrative staff.
The office is a busy environment and the ability to cope with conflicting demands is essential, as the post requires a significant amount of initiative and personal responsibility. Much of the work is confidential in nature and the post holder will be expected to exercise judgment, be proactive and have the necessary confidence to interact appropriately with a wide range of people, both internal and external, and at all levels. Flexibility is essential, as is an ability to take on a wide range of responsibilities and to work to tight deadlines and think creatively.
Main Duties
* Provide a comprehensive and high-quality administrative and EA support, including proactively coordinating and researching work required for meetings (including agendas, papers etc.), attending high-level meetings; taking minutes as appropriate and following up subsequent actions; typing of correspondence etc. whilst retaining a high level of confidentiality.
* Manage the Head of College diary, prioritising and allocating time for meetings and appointments using own discretion and judgement. This may include organisation of travel/accommodation producing travel plans and itineraries.
* Managing email using the most relevant and up-to-date software available (e.g. Board Intelligence, SharePoint etc.) for the Head of College and, where applicable, independently manage correspondence, determining which items should be actioned by self and others, composing correspondence, delegating tasks to other members of staff, ensuring that background papers are prepared and available and urgent items drawn to the attention of the Head of College or appropriate person.
* To support the Head of College and Director of Operations in the management and delivery of projects, as appropriate. This will involve compiling information and writing short reports on particular topics, tracking and reporting back.
* To organise hospitality events and travel schedules associated with the Head of College’s work, including identifying and booking suitable accommodation, equipment and hospitality, organising invitations, delegate lists, preparing event programmes, agendas and delegate packs etc. Ensure that events and travel are managed within budgets.
* To proactively manage the College Hub administrative team (i.e. PAs and Administration Assistant(s)) to ensure that the Hub’s processes and procedures for its smooth running are carried out effectively and accurately. The post holder will assume overall responsibility in managing the College Hub administrative team, including being responsible for staff engagement with the performance development review process, ensuring staff attend regular meetings and participate in full team briefing as appropriate.
* Working and networking with Senior PAs (including VC office and UEB member EAs) from across the College and campus in sharing best practice and imparting new ideas.
* Collaboratively working across the College, to ensure that all committees are well-supported and effectively organised.
* Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
* Any other duties commensurate with the grade as directed by the Head of College/Director of Operations.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
* Education up to preferably degree or ‘A’ level standard.
* Significant previous experience as a Personal Assistant at Director/senior officer level, preferably in a higher education environment, preferably with a professional secretarial/administrative/office practice qualification.
* Experience of leading, managing and developing a team, preferably with a team leading/management qualification or willingness to undertake a qualification.
* Proven excellent organisation and interpersonal skills, with ability to work on own initiative with minimal supervision, manage a diverse workload, anticipate problems, work under pressure, determining priorities and managing conflicting deadlines.
* Demonstrate exceptionally high level communication skills, including establishing effective working relationships with a wide range of people and the ability to work as part of a team.
* Ability to deal courteously, diplomatically and confidentially with an extremely wide range of people, including individuals of national or international standing.
* Proven ability to adapt to change and develop services to meet changing needs to deliver a customer-focused service and to work flexibly in order to ensure tasks are achieved on schedule.
* Ability to make decisions, using own discretion and judgement and be able to work under pressure to tight deadlines.
* Significant previous experience in servicing committees including minute taking and drafting skills of a high order.
* Knowledge and experience of managing and tracking projects.
* Wide ranging IT skills, to an advanced level, including an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the Microsoft suite of programmes and in particular, Outlook; an ability to learn the use of bespoke packages as required.
* Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
Core competencies/transferable skills
All role holders working at this level will be able to develop and demonstrate the following core competencies/transferable skills and will be expected to be flexible as required in supporting their department and wider University.
Planning and organising
Role holders at this level will have the ability to:
* prioritise and schedule work and resources to ensure on time and (where applicable) on budget delivery;
* set priorities and quality standards for a wide range of tasks and duties;
* as applicable, manage a team of staff who are carrying out similar kinds of work;
* operate with limited supervision as they will have considerable scope for initiative, within established work procedures.
Problem solving and decision making
Role holders at this level will have the ability to:
* anticipate and identify issues in own area based on experience;
* make appropriate suggestions for improvements and implement these when agreed in own area;
* facilitate change, and articulate the implications and benefits of change to others;
* focus on determining short-term priorities of work area, and how to maximise quality, efficiency and continuity.
Relationships and communication
Role holders at this level will have the ability to:
* develop and maintain excellent working relationships in own area, and more widely as required for collaborative working opportunities;
* communicate clearly and openly with others both within and external to the University, and use a range of communication skills and strategies to gain commitment to a course of action;
* demonstrate collaborative working at all times, including with others outside the immediate work area.
Informal enquiries to Rhiannon Sharp, email: r.sharp@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.
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