Job Description

Role

The University of Surrey are recruiting a Senior School Administrator.

The primary purpose of this role is to offer comprehensive Personal Assistance and admin support to the Head of School of Biosciences, Associate Dean Research and Innovation, and the Associate Head External Engagement, and administrative support to other Senior Academic Staff, encompassing essential tasks such as diary management, travel coordination, meeting facilitation, minute-taking, document preparation, and undertaking miscellaneous duties as necessary.

Additionally, this position entails the supervision and efficient management of a School Administrator, with the objective of ensuring the school/faculty's administrative requirements are met and upheld in accordance to both Faculty and University policies and procedures. This position requires the postholder to be onsite for a minimum of 3 days per week.

17.89 per hour.

2.16 per hour holiday pay.

36 hours per week - Monday to Friday.

Start as soon as possible until the 27th of June 2025.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Comprehensive PA Support: Provide exceptional administrative support to the Head of School, Associate Dean Research and Innovation, and the Associate Head External Engagement, and other senior academic staff, encompassing tasks such as diary management, meeting coordination, room bookings, shared inbox management, minute-taking, expenses reconciliation, document editing and proofreading, travel arrangements, and itinerary creation.

2. Line Management: Assume responsibility for the supervision and guidance of the School Administrator, ensuring their performance aligns with the school/faculty objectives and facilitating the smooth operation of administrative activities within the school and wider faculty.

3. Professional Representation: Represent the school/faculty in a professional manner by handling enquiries, liaising with internal and external stakeholders, and assisting guests and visitors as needed.

4. Central Point of Contact: Act as the primary contact within the school for faculty staff, the broader university staff community and external stakeholders.

5. Meeting Facilitation: Facilitate and service key strategic meetings for the school and faculty, including agenda preparation, scheduling, paper distribution, accurate minute[1]taking/action logs, and follow-up on action items in a timely manner.

6. Key Activity and Event Support: Assist in planning and coordinating school and faculty events and large scale meetings, managing logistics such as dates, venues, catering, travel and communication with internal and external attendees.

7. Finance Administration: Raise and review purchase order requisitions, place orders with suppliers in accordance with university policy, receive goods, and reconcile expenditure in line with university policies.

8. Ad Hoc Support: Collaborate with the Executive Assistant and Business Operations Manager and the wider team to assist with ad hoc tasks and coordinate projects as necessary. 2

9. Policy and Procedure Knowledge: Continuously learn, develop, and maintain a strong understanding of all university policies and procedures, as well as the organisational and key committee structures within the school and across the faculty.

Skills and experience

Essential

HNC, A level, NVQ 3 or equivalent standard in the relevant specialist area, plus a number of years' relevant work experience. Or: Broad practical work experience in a Personal Assistant or relevant role.

Effective organisational and planning skills

Experience of dairy management, including managing multiple dairies

Excellent Microsoft 365 skills (Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and ability/willingness to learn bespoke software systems

Experience of minute taking, working to tight deadlines and managing upwards

Experience of working independently without supervision whilst recognising the need to keep others informed and to work as part of a team.

Desirable

Experience of line management

Experience of the Higher Education Sector

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary
Contract length: 6 weeks

Pay: 17.89 per hour

Expected hours: 36 per week

Benefits:

On-site parking
Schedule:

Day shift Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person

Reference ID: 1096567