School Administrator - School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies

The School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies is looking to recruit a School Administrator to provide comprehensive support to the management team and academic staff across the School.

The post holder will be the first point of contact for visitors, callers and general staff enquiries. He/she will undertake general financial processing, completing purchase requisitions and ensuring that goods are delivered, processing expense claims and supporting the tracking of expenditure throughout the financial year. Support for staff recruitment and other Human Resources processes, including filing of paperwork will also be integral to the role. The post holder will provide administrative support to key academic staff in the School which may include Heads of Department, Head of Education and Head of Research including arranging ad-hoc meetings, booking rooms, preparing and distributing paperwork and minuting meetings. Facilities and IT support, including logging calls on behalf of staff for specialist support and following responses through to task completion will also be part of the responsibilities of the post holder. The post holder will undertake some events management too. In all areas of activity the post holder will be required to provide outstanding customer service and support and be confident in dealing with confidential information.

The School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies is a large School (130 staff teaching in excess of 2000 students) with five constituent units.These are the Department of English Literature, the Department of English Language and Linguistics, the Department of Film & Creative Writing, the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts (based in Selly Oak) and the Shakespeare Institute (based in Stratford-upon-Avon).The School Administrator will be based in the Arts Building on the Edgbaston Campus and will be required to visit the University’s Selly Oak campus and the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford on an occasional basis.

Applicants will need to demonstrate the following on their application in order to be short listed:

 

Essential

• Experience of working in Higher Education administration
• Proficiency in Microsoft packages Word, Excel and Email
• RSA Level II Typewriting or Word Processing or other equivalent IT qualification or experience
• A good level of education including a minimum of Grade C in GCSE English and Mathematics (or equivalent)
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a commitment to customer service for internal and external customers
• Experience of diary management
• Proven ability to communicate confidently (verbally and in writing)
• Experience of servicing committees and drafting minutes
• A flexible approach to work with willingness to adapt working hours on ad-hoc occasions through discussion with the line manager
• Experience of working effectively as a team player and being proactive in support for colleague during busy periods
• Experience of dealing calmly with frequent interruptions in a small busy office
• Experience of dealing with and managing confidential information
• Experience of proactively managing your own workload and to work within deadlines
• Ability to work independently using your own initiative as well as with direction from others
• Experience of maintaining spreadsheets and tracking basic budgets
• Experience of organising events for large groups of staff
• Willingness to travel to the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts in Selly Oak and to the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon on an occasional basis.

 

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of University systems (eg Canvas, BOXI, BIRMS)