About the Role

To provide a personal and confidential secretarial service within the Executive Deanery in WELS, ensuring that tasks within the portfolios of those supported are completed professionally and to deadlines.
 

Key Responsibilities

• Provides secretarial and administrative support to the Manager, Executive Office and acts as PA to the Executive Dean (ED) and Associate Dean (AD)ensuring that professional, pro-active and highly confidential support is provided at all times.  
• Extensive diary management and co-ordination of arrangements for meetings, seminars, conferences and training sessions, as requested, ensuring that the ED and AD are prepared for such events and appropriate papers are prepared and circulated; venues are booked; IT support and catering are organised.  This requires liaising with colleagues across the University, influencing and negotiating on arrangements whilst meeting the business needs in response to conflicting priorities and understanding the nature of the priorities to judge the importance and responding accordingly.  The role holder will work closely with the Manager, Executive Office, regularly communicating and discussing arrangements to ensure the ED and AD are fully prepared and briefed for meetings.
• Organises travel and accommodation arrangements for the Executive Dean, Office Manager and AD and other Faculty Executive members where required in relation to FEX related visits to the Nation Offices and training sessions.  Compiling travel itineraries and making best use of staff time.
• Ensure papers are ready for the ED and AD in good time and following up on any outstanding papers from meeting organisers.    Working proactively in requesting further information in relation to events to support the ED and AD.  Keeping all documents secure and managing the maintenance and destruction in line with Data Protection rules.
• As required: research information from various sources, including the internet and University Intranet; requesting and collating information from colleagues and posting information on the intranet site for the Executive Deanery staff.  
• Working closely with the Manager, Executive Office, schedules the annual Faculty Executive meetings in the diary, being mindful of higher-level meetings which the ED has to attend such as: VCE, VCE-A, Senate, Council etc.  Being mindful of potential diary clashes from within the Faculty, allowing time for breaks, annual leave and desk time.
• Arrange for payment of goods and services to support Faculty wide events, liaising with external companies in relation to orders, payment and delivery, ensuring brand is adhered to and taking responsibility for proof checking orders on printed material.
• Works closely with other Deanery PAs, providing back-up support during periods of absence, including deputising for the Manager, Executive Office and the PA to the Director, Strategy, Planning and Resources (DSPR).
• In-line with the other Deanery PA staff, takes responsibility for tasks supporting Faculty wide events, such as WELS events run by the Deanery and Faculty Assemblies.
• Secretariat support to the ED and AD on faculty and university wide groups which they Chair, should this be required.
   

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Good general secondary education at least to GCSE Level or equivalent in Maths and English.
• RSA III typing/word processing or equivalent qualification.           
• Excellent information and communication technology skills including the ability to use Microsoft applications and experience of using spreadsheets and templates.
• Wealth of experience in diary management and Outlook/MS Teams.
• Evidence of successful experience in a secretarial, clerical or administrative role.
• Good written and strong oral communication skills and the ability to use a variety of communication methods to suit the occasion.
• Experience of working effectively in a team and being supportive to team members, using tact and discretion when necessary in a timely manner.
• Experience of using an intranet and updating web pages.
• A commitment to equal opportunities policies and practices.
• To work from campus where required.  Attend team meetings face to face on a monthly basis.
• Ability to work independently, flexibly and in an adaptable way, sometimes under considerable pressure.
• Ability to plan and organise own work efficiently and to work pro-actively, co-operatively, and responsively without supervision.
• Evidence of strong negotiation and problem solving.        

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the higher education environment and student market.
   

Essential Requirements

As part of the application process, you will be expected to submit your CV and a Supporting Statement (max 1000 words) that demonstrates how you meet the essential/desirable criteria listed above. 

Key Information

Interview date:  W/C 9th December

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 per week. The successful candidate will also be required to work at least 4 days per week with Friday being a mandatory working day. 

Full time starting salary is £31,387 to £32,296 per annum, with potential progression when in post to £36,924 per annum. Internal candidates already within the salary banding will remain on their current spinal point as per policy.

Early closing date notification 
We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications. 

To apply for this role please submit the following;

CV and Supporting 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 above essential and desirable criteria.