Receptionist

Job Purpose

Student Accommodation is part of the Hospitality and Accommodation Services directorate at the University of Birmingham. The majority of student accommodation has been developed or refurbished over the last 10 years at an investment in excess of £100m. The University of Birmingham currently provides accommodation for c6000 students who are predominantly 1st year undergraduate and postgraduate students, the vast majority of 2nd and 3rd year students live in the neighbouring community in private sector housing.

Further information on Student Accommodation can be found on our website at www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/accommodation.

The Living team is responsible for the delivery of an efficient accommodation service to all students and staff members of the University of Birmingham. The team play a major role in ensuring that University owned and managed bed spaces are fully occupied and that excellent customer care is provided at all times, with Student Accommodation often being the first point of contact a prospective student has with the University. Living also provides advice, information and support to students living in the private sector and is a liaison point for matters relating to the local community.

The Receptionist will provide customer facing and administrative support within the Living team, who deliver an accommodation service to all students and staff members of the University of Birmingham. The Living team are based in a shop and office which is located in the retail area of campus. The team play a major role in ensuring university owned and managed bed spaces are fully occupied and that excellent customer care is provided at all times, with Student Accommodation often being the first point of contact for prospective students. The team also provides advice, information and support to students living in the private sector, and is a liaison point for matters relating to the local community.

The post holder will provide support to a number of functions within the service, including accommodation allocations, transfers, private sector contract checking and advice, responding to customer inquiries either in-person, via email or telephone and providing general office administration.

The Receptionist will report to the Accommodation Officer, but will work closely with colleagues across Student Accommodation.

 

Person Specification

• Experience of working in an office administration or Reception role within a customer service environment.
• Excellent written and spoken English; English language to GCSE grade B standard or above
• Ability to communicate with a diverse range of customer groups including students (including home and international students) parents, departments and schools, academics and employees,
including senior managers).
• Cheerful, friendly and professional disposition with a customer-focused approach.
• Ability to remain calm and professional in difficult or stressful situations.
• Strong listener and ability to build a rapport with customers.
• Good team working skills and the ability to work as part of a team of core and student staff.
• Excellent personal presentation, timekeeping and attention to detail.
• Excellent IT and word processing skills, and proven ability of using databases and spreadsheets e.g. Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Access, Word and PowerPoint. Able to suggest and implement
improvements to data collection and storage in order to improve service delivery.
• Proven ability to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines, adaptable and flexible when faced with change.
• Approachable and friendly with the ability to deal with challenging circumstances calmly and professionally when they arise.
• Ability to prioritise own workload.
• Ability to use initiative in problem solving and escalate concerns where necessary.
• Ability to work with a wide range of people from culturally diverse backgrounds, have an understanding of diversity and equality issues.
• Strong listener with ability to build a rapport with customers.
• Excellent personal presentation skills, timekeeping and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a team of student staff and maintain high standards of work across the team.