Senior Administration Assistant – Academic Operations

Role: Senior Administration Assistant – Academic Operations

Grade and Salary: Grade 5, £25,138 – £29,605 per annum

FTE and working pattern: 1 FTE, 35hrs per week, Monday – Friday

Holiday Entitlement: 28 days, plus 9 or 10 business closed days

Purpose of Role

The role-holder will be responsible for supporting key academic operations processes, such as clerking boards of examiners and studies committees, processing marks and grades, triaging mitigating circumstances; processing the outcomes of appeals and discipline cases; or answering staff enquiries or student enquiries related to their studies including difficult enquiries. The role-holder will also support other key functions of the Academic Operations Team, such as timetabling and examinations; as well as other Divisions of the RAS, for example, answering general student enquiries, supporting graduations, or helping to gather quality-related information.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Co-ordinate all aspects of processes related to academic boards and committees – including Boards of Examiners and School Studies Committees – from scheduling, to organising, clerking, minuting and post board/committee processing in the student administration system.
• Support all aspects of processes which can impact students marks, grades and awards – including mitigating circumstances, appeals and discipline cases. Monitoring the processes; ensuring applications or cases are directed to the correct people; making decisions, where required, according to pre-set criteria; and updating the student record.
• Support all aspect of processes related to Examinations and Timetabling.
• Undertake particular administrative tasks related to the other divisions of the RAS directorate as agreed with line management.
• Undertake particular administrative tasks related to student and academic processes according to an agreed division of labour with the School retained services.
• Staff academic-facing services, such as enquiry management systems, enquiry email accounts, or face-to-face support.
• Staff student facing services, such as student helplines, enquiry management systems, or face-to-face support.
• Collaborate in redesigning processes related to the work of the Academic Operations Division.
• Advise and support colleagues in Scotland, Dubai and Malaysia on the processes related to Academic Operations.
• Provide secretarial and admin support to RAS management; and to other Directorates and Schools when agreed with their line management.
• Undertake other tasks related to academic operations as required by their assigned Team Leader, the Academic Operations Manager, or the Head of Academic Operations.

Education, Qualifications & Experience

These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be based. 

Essential

1. Educated to SCQF Level 6 or similar or equivalent experience
2. Experience of working within a similar environment as outlined above
3. Competent in the use of relevant IT packages
4. Well-developed interpersonal skills
5. Demonstrable professional and proactive approach
6. Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
7. Demonstrable provision of excellent customer service

Desirable

1. Experience of redesigning and improving processes or procedures
2. Collaboration with multi-location teams

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Tuesday 12th November 2024.

Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team. 

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

About our School/Directorate and Team

The Global Registry and Academic Support Directorate supports our students and staff colleagues across the full student life-cycle from enrolment to graduation. The Directorate has responsibility as the definitive record-keeper of all student information and programme and course details, and leading services that help students settle and stay at the University with professional help and advice, through a range of wellbeing services. 

It supports academic and professional services staff across the University in a number of areas, including: academic, institutional and student related Regulations and Policies and global, national and institutional quality matters. It delivers these services through four Divisions, each managed by a Global Head, and two Head of Campus Registry:

• Student Life
• Online Students
• Academic Operations
• Academic Quality
• Head of Registry – Dubai Campus
• Head of Registry – Malaysia Campus

The Academic Operations Division consists of five teams: Academic Operations Liaison, Academic Operations Support, Timetabling, Examinations, and Postgraduate Research Student Support. The work of the Senior Administrative Assistant will be primarily related to the Academic Operations Support, but will collaborate across all five teams.

The Academic Operations Support Team is responsible for supporting all aspects of academic operations. These are activities where the primary service users are academics; or else the primary service users are students; but with significant academic input into the process. The team also helps to support the work of other divisions providing a pool of staff who can be assigned where administrative support is needed.

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