Description Position Details IT Services Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £28,397 to £30,210, with potential progression once in post to £33,938 Grade: 5 Full Time (Annualised hours), Permanent Closing date: 14th November 2024 UK travel may be required for this role 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 be able 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 pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens. Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham Background Campus Services (CS) is a commercial organisation operating within the University context and the division plays a unique and significant role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience at the University of Birmingham (UoB). CS employs more than 950 staff and has a turnover of over £59 million. Its portfolio includes student accommodation, sporting facilities, retail and food outlets, Edgbaston Park Hotel (EPH) and three-Day Nurseries. Several campus-wide services fall under the remit of CS including cleaning, security and emergency planning, portering, post, visitor services, transport, waste disposal and recycling. The division also has responsibility for delivering conferences and events as well as managing many of the University’s attractions such as Winterbourne House and Garden, The Bramall and The Exchange. Campus Services is proud to deliver service excellence, identifying innovation and sector leading opportunities for income generation, in alignment with the University’s 2030 strategy framework. Role Summary We are looking for a highly motivated team player to support the delivery of the IT and AV services in The Exchange, the University of Birmingham’s newest venue located in Centenary Square, and on the University’s Edgbaston Campus as required. You will be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of an excellent experience for all our event clients and building users. You will be highly motivated and capable of providing hands-on, efficient, friendly and excellent customer service. You will have prior experience of delivering IT and/or AV for a wide range of events and clients, preferably in cultural and/or educational venues, and a proven track record of delivering excellent service. You will possess first-class communication and organisational skills. Duties include mobilising all IT and AV systems in the room and additional AV mobile kit, supporting the effective operations of AV systems within all spaces, frontline IT support and troubleshooting and supporting the Gallagher access control, telecom, CCTV, BMS, Intruder & Fire Alarms, EPOS tills and printer systems. The IT/AV Assistant, working under the IT AV Specialist, will help facilitate the planning, administration and running of all technical event services. They will provide proactive assistance and support to incoming events and external production companies from a technical perspective. Other activities that require technical support will include rehearsals, commercial events, lectures, conferences, etc. Supervision of casual/part-time and freelance staff/contractors and student workers will also be part of the role. The successful applicant will be able to work weekends, late nights where required, in line with annualised hours and the needs of the business. Main Duties Audio-Visual Equipment Support Assist the technician team with the planning and implement the preparation, get-in, fit-up, and removal of all in house technical services including lighting, sound, staging, and AV/projection, physical, virtual and hybrid conferencing equipment, large-format screens and projection screens for each event. Events can consist of exhibitions, installations, lectures, meetings, conferences and gala dinners. Take a role in the set up and operation of the venue’s in-house technical systems. Working proactively to provide technical support to visiting production companies, other university departments and users of the venue to ensure all needs are met. Management of the venue’s stock of audio-visual equipment and ordering of consumable items, including the keeping of up to date stock inventories and reporting any issues to the IT AV Specialist. Liaise with and manage freelance staff and visiting contractors, ensuring bookings are completed in line with university procedures. Plan staffing rotas for permanent and student staff, for both day-to-day operations and live events, ensuring appropriate skillsets and staffing levels are provided. Provide a first point of technical contact for the Venue & Events delivery team. In conjunction with the Venue & Events delivery team and technical manager, provide “walk rounds” to prospective clients, answering technical queries. Support the IT AV Specialist in both technical and non-technical day to day operations within the venues where required, including the setup of non-technical items and facilities, e.g. furniture and signage. Ability to deal on a day-to-day basis with facilitating customer needs always ensuring a positive outcome. Provide excellent customer service to all building users. Undertake training on non-technical systems where required. Any other duties as outlined by line manager. Produce quotes for IT & AV set-ups for specific events to meet clients’ needs and ensure any on-site contractors are compliant with the venue’s Health & Safety policies and risk assessment procedures. Consult with LRAT (based on the University’s campus) or other system suppliers for advice on complex issues with the University-procured AV systems. Be responsible for the cleaning of fixed equipment (for example, white boards and projector filters) in all venue spaces. Work in collaboration with the Maintenance Officer to ensure that the PAT-testing of equipment at appropriate intervals is undertaken in line with University of Birmingham policies and that lighting systems in all spaces are maintained in full working order. IT Support Set up new users and carry out general system administration to ensure users have access to appropriate networked servers and systems. Deploy new desktop images on installed computers across the venue. Develop specialist knowledge for IT systems within the venue. Troubleshoot problems, some of which may require in-depth knowledge, and develop and implement solutions, referring to ITS and/or venue line managers as appropriate. Monitor the performance and software compliance of laptop/desktop PCs and associated services to ensure reliability and smooth operations of IT systems. Obtain quotations, specifying and making recommendations for the purchase of computer equipment and software, in line with University of Birmingham’s policies and procedures. Initiate approved disposal mechanisms for redundant hardware and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling). Ensure that query resolution details are recorded with the Service Desk for future reference and log all incident tickets. Provide one-to-one or group training and advice on IT and AV systems to venue staff and users, either verbally or via written documentation as required. Provide fast and effective end-user support for the venue’s EPOS till systems. Managed Print Service Support Monitor the operation of the managed print devices in the venue and remedy minor faults such as paper jams. Report routine service calls and more complex issues to the appropriate service contractors. Proactively manage paper, toner and staple supplies and ensure the devices remain stocked, pre-empting potential shortages during busy times and pre-stocking devices in advance of weekends and evenings. Perform testing routines to proactively check functionality of print devices. Room Management Monitor the condition of each space for cleanliness; furniture, fabric and room repairs, and IT-AV equipment maintenance and cleaning schedule. Take remedial action as necessary to keep the spaces in immaculate running order, and escalate issues to the FM service desk or senior management as required. Assist colleagues and event organisers with all aspects of room set-ups for events and activities. Daily room checks of equipment and accessories before and after events. Health & Safety Observe all Health & Safety at Work Regulations as set out by the University of Birmingham. Report accidents, near misses, and incidents in line with venue policies. Comply and support the duty team with fire evacuation procedures. Undertake First Aid training. Be willing to undertake SIA training. Flag or deal with any potential hazards. General This post is employed on an annualised hours contract, and therefore the post holder must be capable of working flexibly (including weekends, evenings and bank holidays) based on the programme of events and activities in the venue. Assist line managers to produce IT and AV policies and procedures for the venue and train staff and users in these areas providing training and user documents. Undertake work and training at the University’s Edgbaston Campus and other locations as required by line managers. Support the wider University desktop service, working closely with campus-based ITS End-User teams to ensure smooth resolution of support calls. Supporting equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others. Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role. Relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience. Minimum of grade C in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualifications. Professional experience in an events technical role, specifically in relation to providing specialist technical support. Highly proficient IT skills, including MS Office and industry specific software. You should be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required. Proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively planning own to manage time effectively, progress tasks concurrently and work to deadlines. Excellent interpersonal skills. You must inspire confidence and provide excellent customer service, at all times. A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues. A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach. Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work. Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these. Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace. Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures. Ability to proactively recognise possible challenges and provide innovative solutions before they become an issue. Ability to work well under pressure and to deadlines and targets. Go about duties in a resource-efficient way, minimising impacts to the environment wherever possible. Any relevant Health and Safety qualifications (working at height, manual handling). Able to move furniture and equipment around venue spaces on a regular basis, including lifting heavy objects as appropriate. Desirable Knowledge of Higher Education in general and its environment. Familiarity with event lighting systems. Experience of setting up and supporting EPOS till systems. Dimensions You will have no direct financial or staff management responsibility. The role is focused on the delivery of a quality service to customers, working collaboratively with colleagues. Planning and Organising You will be working in response to more complex customer enquiries and you will need to prioritise your own workload in order to deliver on schedule and at quality. Problem Solving and decision making You will work collaboratively with the wider teams but you will have a significant degree of autonomy. You will deal with more complex queries and be expected to resolve any problems that may arise. You will need to proactively recognise possible challenges and provide innovative solutions before they become an issue working with the IT AV Specialist. Internal and External relationships You will liaise with internal colleagues and stakeholders University-wide, and also with external stakeholders. Develop and maintain a professional working relationship with the team, clients and stakeholders and lead and deliver departmental briefings. Informal enquiries to Matt Booth, email: m.j.boothbham.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 .