Team Assistant X2

Interview date: expected to take place week commencing 8th April 2024.

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 approximately once a month.

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

The Faculty is the largest and most diverse at The Open University, with some 50,000 students studying our modules with excellent completion rates and consistently outstanding student satisfaction ratings. Noted for the strength of our interdisciplinary approaches, our scholars of international standing teach and research a very wide range of topics and themes in specific subject areas, recognized as world class or internationally excellent in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014, and having a direct and profound influence on our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

The role

We are looking for an enthusiastic and adaptable person to join our school academic support team. The post-holder will be responsible for providing flexible and timely administrative support to academic staff and senior colleagues across our Schools. Working in conjunction with other members of the Faculty, external partners and other university services as necessary to ensure that the full range of support can be provided.

Skills and experience

You will have general administrative experience, excellent organisation and IT skills along with excellent written and verbal communication skills. A high degree of flexibility will be vital for this role as whilst you will be based in one of the Schools, you will be expected to work across all 3 Schools as required. The ability to be able to prioritise conflicting demands and to remain calm and professional when working under pressure is essential.

You must be open to new ways of working and passionate about fostering high performance with an understanding about those smaller tasks that need to be accomplished intuitively to run a smooth and efficient office.

More information can be provided via a link to the Job Description.

If you would like to discuss the application or recruitment process before making an application, please contact Marian Cattermole at Resourcing Hub on 01908 655544 or email Resourcing-Hub@open.ac.uk quoting the reference 21520.

What you get in return

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs.

We also offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Staff Benefits include an attractive pension proposition and 30 days holiday per annum pro rata, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days.

How to apply

Unless otherwise stated in the advert, all applications are completed online via the instructions on The OU Job’s page. Applications submitted via 3rd party websites will not be received.

Access details for disabled applicants are available from the Resourcing Hub, telephone: 01908 655544, quoting the vacancy reference above.

To apply for this role please submit the following as one document;

• CV
• Personal 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 job and person specification.

Please save your document with the following file name as appropriate to the vacancy you are applying for: “reference no - surname - first initial” e.g. 12345 - Smith - J.

You will need to have your documents ready ahead of submitting the electronic application.

You will receive updates regarding your application from resourcing-applications@open.ac.uk. Please ensure this email address is added to your list of trusted senders so it does not go to your junk folder.

You can view your application communications on the Candidate portal.

Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.