Job Location: Milton Keynes, Remote/Hybrid
Department: School Office (ECYS)
Closing Date: Monday 6th January
Weekly Working Hours: 16
Contract Type: Permanent
Welsh Language: Not Applicable
About the Role
The Open University is recruiting for a School Office Assistant who will provide professional secretarial and administrative support to Associate Heads of School and administrative support to the school in general to ensure the efficient day-to-day management of information, tasks, and events within the department.
Please note that there is a requirement to work Tuesdays and Wednesdays; however, the hours can be flexible and may include another day.
Key Responsibilities
* Coordination of numerous Outlook calendars, including for members of the senior management team. This will include arranging a high volume of individual and departmental meetings, dealing with clashes as they arise. It will also include arranging the University development and appraisal appointments for the School ensuring they make best use of people’s time and are in line with competing priorities.
* Meeting support: to set up regular meetings; administer all paperwork (distribution of agenda, minutes of previous meeting, and associated papers); provide administrative support during the meeting (notes, minutes, etc. as appropriate) and follow up on tasks/actions accordingly.
* Collating supporting documents and chasing outstanding items/information for meetings and ad-hoc requests from Associate Heads of School.
* Monitoring of generic mailboxes, dealing with enquiries in a professional, prompt, and resourceful manner using agreed administrative processes.
* Organisation of conferences/events – to include travel arrangements using the OU approved systems, detailed itineraries where necessary, checking logistics and ensuring suitable venues or accommodation are booked as required, arranging catering, room bookings, IT, and AV equipment and support.
* Maintaining appropriate electronic filing systems in line with GDPR; maintenance of spreadsheets and other recording methods in supporting the School’s sub-unit budget.
* Purchasing items using an OU credit card or OU Procurement system and reconciling records using Power BI.
* Producing documents (reports, letters, presentations) including an Education Childhood Youth and Sport Annual Report and Quarterly Newsletter.
* Updating the School’s Intranet pages including the organisation chart.
* Monitoring and ordering school-related materials including stationery and paper supplies.
* To undertake specific tasks as outlined by the PA to the Head of School and cover other duties as reasonably required.
* Undertake a supporting role as required in the Faculty as a fire warden, first aider, and/or DSE assessor.
Skills and Experience
Essential
* Educated to GCSE level, or equivalent including English and Maths.
* Track record of providing support at manager level including experience of managing a complex diary and taking follow-up action.
* Experience of working in a busy office environment, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and unpredicted workload.
* High level of written and oral communication skills, including the ability to review and draft responses on behalf of a senior member of staff.
* Organisational ability, flexible approach to work, resourcefulness, and ability to prioritise effectively.
* Accuracy, attention to detail and competence in presentation of work.
* Discretion, judgement, and tact when dealing with matters which are confidential and/or sensitive.
* Professionalism, confidence, and diplomacy in communicating effectively with a wide range of people.
* Ability to work collaboratively as an effective team member, alongside experience of independent working and active problem solving.
* Ability to proactively manage own workload.
* Adaptable and responsive to changing duties and working practices in a fast-moving environment.
* Excellent IT proficiency especially with Microsoft Office packages, Teams, or equivalent software.
* Commitment to equal opportunities, policies, and practices and a strong commitment to excellence in working with a diverse student population.
Desirable:
* Experience of OU systems, such as SAP Ariba, PowerBi, Click Travel, and Mailerlite.
Essential Requirements
As part of the application process, you will be expected to submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (max 1000 words) that demonstrates how you meet the essential/desirable criteria listed above.
Key Information
Interview date: Thursday 16th January
Flexible working patterns will be considered.
It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office, it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be every Wednesday.
Full-time starting salary is £26,642 to £27,344 per annum, with potential progression when in post to £29,659 per annum. Internal candidates already within the salary banding will remain on their current spinal point as per policy.
Early closing date notification
We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.
To apply for this role please submit the following:
CV and Supporting Statement, up to 1,000 words. You should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the above essential and desirable criteria.
If you have any queries or questions about the recruitment process, or regarding your application, please contact: Careers@open.ac.uk.
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