Faculty Coordinator

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer.

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here.

The Role and the Department

The Faculty of Science is seeking to appoint a Faculty Coordinator to work within the Faculty Office as part of a small, friendly team. This exciting role will be responsible for the provision of a professional, efficient, comprehensive administrative support to members of the Faculty Executive Team.

The position is varied, interesting and an opportunity to work with the members of the Faculty Executive Team as well as other Faculty and Departmental colleagues to deliver operational and administrative services, consistently applying Departmental and University regulations, ensuring that records are accurately maintained in accordance with policy and legislation. This is a responsible role where you will be required to liaise with staff at all levels, including very senior external stakeholders and must maintain strict confidentiality at all times.

Working as a member of the Faculty Office Team you will provide PA/administration support to members of the Senior Management Team to ensure the effective and efficient running of business processes and systems. In addition, you will also provide administration support to the Faculty Administration Manager for processes that span across all eight academic departments.

This role will suit someone who is able to work collaboratively as part of a small friendly team and effectively share information is essential in order to deliver a coordinated and professional level of administrative support. The role holder will also take forward tasks independently; acting on their own initiative to solve problems seeking advice and guidance from other team members and managers as needed.

The role holder will be supported with a mix of informal and formal training to ensure they have the necessary understanding, skills and confidence to complete their work. Workloads and tasks prioritisation will be discussed and agreed with the Faculty Administration Manager. The role will require on-site working but, once the role holder has successfully completed training and induction, there will be opportunities to agree hybrid working arrangements with the Faculty Administration Manager in line with University policies and business needs of the Faculty Office.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

• 27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 39 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
• Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• We offer generous pension schemes.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.

Your application should cover the following criteria:

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience

1. Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics or a Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.

2. Experience of working in a busy office environment delivering front line administrative services to a high standard, including Committee meeting support and minute taking

3. Experience of managing time to meet deadlines and working under pressure without compromising on quality.

4. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues. Including appropriate handling and management of confidential and sensitive information.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

5. Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both within the team and with other people form within and outside the organisation.

6. Strong digital competence across a range digital devices and apps including digital communication tools (e-mail, Teams/Zoom etc), Microsoft 365 applications, digital booking systems.

7. Ability to solve problems yourself and as part of a team and resolve issues, plan solutions and make pragmatic decisions.

8. Committed to continuing professional development.

9. Ability to work collaboratively in teams and participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information whilst maintaining confidentiality throughout.

Desirable Criteria

10. Working knowledge of SharePoint, BANNER or other digital systems.

How to apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

Contact details
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Lizzie Moore, Faculty Administration Manager would be happy to speak to you. Please contact Lizzie via elizabeth.l.moore@durham.ac.uk

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery

• Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.
• Ensure that relevant regulatory and professional standards are being used within services delivered by your team, particularly with regard to handling, sharing and storage of confidential or sensitive data or information relating to students, staff and/or Faculty/University business.
• Help to develop and implement policies and procedures relating to the operation of the processes delivered by the Faculty Office.
• Respond to queries and provide information/advice, while raising more specialist or complex queries with more experienced team members.
• Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role such as dealing with staff and student enquiries; working with colleagues to deliver student processes such as appeal investigations and make recommendations based on your findings.
• Continually review what is required from staff, students and others who you work with to make sure the best possible service is provided.
• Ensure that processes and business systems effectively support the services being delivered by the team for example Faculty level Committees and Board meetings including minute and record taking; student appeals.
• Monitor and analyse the use of equipment and resources to ensure efficiency and report your findings to senior colleagues.
• Ensure that data is accurate and provide reports and analysis of patterns and trends to senior colleagues.
• Capture and share information and data that needs to be shared with relevant networks and committees.
• Use digital media e.g. SharePoint, Social Media to update team members, colleagues, students and external contacts.
• Prepare reports for senior managers.

Planning and Organising

• Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.
• Organise and schedule assigned resources, activities and events, such as Faculty Committee and Board meetings, Faculty Away Days.
• Monitor processes and activities to ensure team priorities are met.

Teamwork

• Provide specialist support and advice to team members on areas where the Faculty Administration Manager has asked you to take lead responsibility for.
• Explain and provide instruction to other team members on how to correctly record and manage data.
• Make changes to the services provided by your team in discussion with other team members.
• Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.
• Seek feedback from students, staff and anyone else that you come across as part of your role on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.

Communications/Liaison

• Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.
• Provide instruction and demonstrations to others within the Faculty Office team and also to colleagues from academic departments within the Faculty.
• Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to work together on joint activities.
• Liaise with staff in other areas in the University, particularly academic departments, the other Faculty Offices and the Executive Office to ensure that services are being delivered in an efficient and collaborative way.
• Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint activities.
• Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.
• Liaise with internal and external suppliers, contractors and service providers to plan the delivery of services and events.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas