Job Description

Job Category: Estates/Facilities
:
Position Details
Nurseries
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range 29,647 to 31,460, with potential progression once in post to 35,388
Grade: 5
Part Time (21 hours per week)
Permanent
Closing date: 10th November 2025
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about the
Role Summary
This post is responsible for the development and maintenance for a range of administrative and financial procedures, primarily in the Nursery's business, including admissions, events, invoicing and planning, as well as high quality clerical support to the Nursery Managers and the Childcare Services Manager (CSM). The post involves a great deal of interaction with senior Nursery staff and parents so the applicant must be able to deal effectively and positively with people at all levels in a business- like and engaging manner. The post holder may also be responsible for managing other staff or for supporting colleagues and sharing knowledge. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking the day-to-day administrative activities without heavy supervision, except for highly complex or very unusual matters, where guidance may be sought.
The post holder will be required to work from the Maples nursery site, respond flexibly to variations in work content and develop expert knowledge of the Connect nursery management system to facilitate and support all business activities undertaken by the CSM.
Main Duties
Administration Duties

• To be responsible for undertaking the administration activities relating to the work of the Nursery business and the Managers, which include all forms of communications, finance, registration of children, admissions, planning and others as indicated by the Childcare Services Manager
• To centrally be responsible for the compilation and maintenance of accurate records at both sites relating to all aspects of the Nursery business and for ensuring that appropriate management information is compiled and analysed using the Connect system, and that appropriate correspondence is made to key stakeholders such as parents, finance office and staff team
• To be responsible for assisting the developments and centralisation of processes, procedures and associated protocols relating to the work of the Nursery managers and the development of the Nursery business. Maintain a comprehensive and extensive filing system for all paperwork related to mandatory OFSTED and University directives covering all aspects of childcare operations
• Maintain high profile working relationships with key stakeholders on your own initiative, fielding enquiries and ensuring that appropriate information is disseminated to stakeholders as appropriate
• Liaising with Childcare Services Manager and University HR Department on matters of general employee administration - a high degree of confidentiality will be expected in undertaking this task
• Access and manage all Nursery Managers diaries ensuring parents appointments, meetings, training sessions, team briefs, etc are all diarised
• Work with the Childcare Services Manager and the Nursery Accountant to improve the efficiency of the financial administration processes
• Monitoring budgets including processing payments, authorising expenditure, raising concerns where finances are not in line with the budget
• Maintain confidential and accurate children, staff, and parent record
• Liaise with parents via email, telephone, and face to face
• Preparing, organising, and storing information in paper and digital form
• Deal with queries on the phone and by email
• Manage diaries, schedule meetings and book rooms
• Greet visitors at reception

Financial Duties

• Support the managers in maintaining meticulous financial accounts in accordance with the University's financial rules and regulations for each childcare setting. Be fully conversant with university financial systems and procedures and ensure these procedures are adhered to
• Using the Connect system monitor for income and expenditure at each site (e.g., occupancy levels, staff costs, disposable furniture / equipment)
• Ensure monthly financial documentation is received from Nursery Settings Managers and collate findings onto record sheets. Report findings to Childcare Services Manager
• Track and co-ordinate purchasing and delivery of new resources up to an approved value
• Creation and maintenance of all processes related to the EEE funding
• Prepare monthly fee invoices
• Collection of fees (mostly by Direct Debit), pursuing outstanding fees. Resolving any account queries, and undertake the banking process
• Be fully conversant with university financial systems and procedures and the salary sacrifice scheme available to parents
• Preparing and reviewing salary sacrifice calculations from quotes and bills on the Nursery Management system to send to payroll. There is a peak in this activity in July in preparation for the new academic year and for the renewal of all annual salary sacrifice agreements and a regular monthly/ad hoc activity for fewer parents throughout the year
• Sending contracts and quotes for salary sacrifice to parents and answering any queries that arise from these
• Monthly preparation and reconciliation of Nursery billing to send to Treasury Management, liaising with the Nursery Administrative Team to ensure the bills on the Nursery Management system are accurate and suitable to be charged
• Reconciliation of the Nursery deposit holding account
• Transfer of the salary sacrifice balance from the holding account to income on a monthly basis
• Review of the government funding allocation and payments monthly, reconciling the expected balancer from the Nursery Management system to the payments received in the Finance system
• Process funding claims
• Add new starters to Connect

Marketing & Occupancy

• Collate enquiry reports
• Action all marketing activities because of occupancy meetings ensuring key dates and deadlines and met whilst monitoring cost and effectiveness
• Promote the nursery to current parents and prospective parents

General

• Effective professional communication is a key skill to this role
• Undertakes such other duties as may be required from time to time in furtherance of the work of the Day Care Nurseries or at the request of the Childcare Services Manager

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
Essential

• A minimum of 5 GCSE's Grades A*-C or equivalent is essential, including passes in English Language and Mathematics
• Significant experience of office administration or extensive relevant proven experience in a Nursery setting
• Good communication skills; ability to communicate effectively with staff at a variety of different levels and from different professional backgrounds
• Excellent attention to detail and thoroughness
• Excellent office IT skills, including word processing, e-mail, mail merge, spreadsheet, and database skills
• The capacity to operate effectively and efficiently in a busy multifunctional environment, to prioritise a heavy workload and to work to tight deadlines
• Discretion, confidentiality, self-motivation, and flexibility are essential requirements for this post
• Proven ability to develop an in-depth knowledge of specialist software applications e.g., Connect
• Proven ability of good team working skills is essential, as is the proven ability to be able to adapt to change well
• Strong organisational skills
• Attention to detail and thoroughness
• Patience and ability to work in stressful situations
• Excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritise effectively
• Flexibility and openness to change

Desirable

• Knowledge of or familiarity with Nursery administration in HE sector would be an advantage
• Experience of using web content management systems (e.g., UCMS), or other Web authoring packages, is desirable

DBS required
The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
Informal enquiries to Sarah Perrott, email:
View our staff values and behaviours
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone .

Skills Required