Post Details / Last Updated: 05/04 / 2016
Faculty/Administrative/Service Department / IT Services
Job Title / Office Manager
Job Family / Professional Services / Job Level / 4
Responsible to / Business Planning Manager
Responsible for (Staff) / 1 Contract Manager and 2 Admin & Procurement Assistants
Will be responsible for ITS Receptionist
Job Purpose Statement
To provide professional leadership and coordination for the IT Administration team with particular accountability for ITProcurement and general office administration to maximizeefficiencyand to contribute to the development and overall running of IT Services.
Key Responsibilities This document is not designed to be a list of all tasks undertaken but an outline record of the main responsibilities (5 to 8 maximum)
  1. Take lead accountability for the procurement of IT goods and services. This includes working with the Contracts Manager on tenders and contract management and with the IT Admin and Procurement Assistants on the accurate and timely processing of purchase requests from across the University for IT Hardware, software, consultancy and training.
  2. In conjunction with the Business Finance Manager, lead and manage the local finance activities relating to month and year end processes, ensuring that these are completed to a high level of accuracy and to the timetable required by the Finance Department.
  3. Provide general administrative support forIT Services including responsibility for record management of staff for annual leave, TOIL, sickness, short term & emergency leave and Working from Home as per University's HR policies.
  4. Act as Health & Safety rep for IT Services, convening H&S Committee meetings (chaired by the CIO), ensuring that all actions are followed up. Arrange H&S inductions for new starters and on-going training for existing staff members, maintaining the H&S records for the department
  5. Provide Office Administration Management for IT Services, taking decisions and advising the IT Leadership Team on the optimum seating allocations, equipment and communications. Liaisewith E&FM on the maintenance of the office environment. On request, arrange Temp staff, book training and conferences for staff and manage, bookable meeting rooms, travel booking and storage facilities.
  6. Manage and develop the open plan office space for the IT Services Department including a new Receptionist / Reception areas ensuring that that Admin team is motivated to deliver a high level of performance in customer services.
  7. Line manage and provide mentoring for the IT Admin Team.
  8. Support the CIO in the absence of their EA due to leave, sickness and etc.
N.B. The above list is not exhaustive.
All staff are expected to:
  • Positively support equality of opportunity and equity of treatment to colleagues and students in accordance with the University of Surrey Equal Opportunities Policy.
  • Work to achieve the aims of our Environmental Policy and promote awareness to colleagues and students.
  • Follow University/departmental policies and working practices in ensuring that no breaches of information security result from their actions.
  • Ensure they are aware of and abide by all relevant University Regulations and Policies relevant to the role.
  • Undertake such other duties within the scope of the post as may be requested by your Manager.
  • Work supportively with colleagues, operating in a collegiate manner at all times.
Help maintain a safe working environment by:
  • Attending training in Health and Safety requirements as necessary, both on appointment and as changes in duties and techniques demand.
  • Following local codes of safe working practices and the University of Surrey Health and Safety Policy.

Elements of the Role
This section outlines some of the key elements of the role, which allow this role to be evaluated within the University’s structure. It provides an overview of what is expected from the post holder in the day-to-day operation of the role.
Planning and Organizing
  • The post holder is expected to ensure that medium-long term plans are in place for recurrent activities such as month- and year-end processes, annual appraisals and regular management reports on key departmental performance indicators such as sickness absence. They must ensure that these activities are delivered on time whilst also handling the shorter term but equally high priority requests coming in to the team.
  • The post holder will be expected to work not just with colleagues within IT Services but across the University to organise activities such as annual appraisals, mandatory training and procurement reporting has been completed to the required deadlines.
  • The post holder will work in a proactive and independent manner, organizing and prioritising their work in order to establish an effective and professional service to the respective teams within IT Services.

Problem Solving and Decision Making
  • The post holder is expected to provide first line advice to the department on general administrative queries and will be expected to make decisions on local matters such as the correct finance project code for departmental spend.
  • The post holder will work within established processes and procedures with minimum day-to-day supervision in the delivery of their work. They will have the freedom to work in a proactive manner and to decide how to achieve the end result, generally based on their judgment and previous experience.
  • The post holder is required to think broadly within their specialist area and is likely to encounter many different and often unusual problems such as sorting out budgetary issues/requests and ensuring we comply with procurement rules when there are tight deadlines. They will have to apply their knowledge, experience and judgment as well as analytical and interpretive skills in order to devise appropriate solutions. Where the post holder faces issues/problems that are of a more complex/specialist nature and fall outside of the scope of the post holder's experience, guidance may be sought from line manager, central HR team and Finance team to enable them to provide solution.

Continuous Improvement
  • The post holder is expected to suggest improvement, challenging approaches that are less effective and take a pro-active approach to identifying ways to address issues and implementation under the guidance of Line Manager, where appropriate.
  • It is very important that the post holder demonstrates good communication and customer service skills. This will help develop strong and positive working relationships within individuals and departments across the University.
  • With budget in mind, the post holder will be expected to consider ways of ensuring value for money without compromising on Health & Safety, quality or customer services
  • The post holder will be expected to continually seek to improve the customer service of the Administration Team.

Accountability
  • Under the guidance, and in support, of the IT Leadership Team the post holder will help develop the annual financial plans. The post holder is accountable for ensuring procurement of IT-related equipment is processed and coded efficiently, accruals are correctly entered and that the ledger reflects the true financial position.
  • The post holder is also responsible for the liaising with the Business Finance Partner to ensure timely month and year end reviews of financial performance, undertaking appropriate investigation, analysis and interpretation on the income and expenditure.
  • The post holder is accountable for ensuring that the office is run efficiently and safely.
  • The post holder is also accountable for ensuring that HR processes are followed across the IT Services Department, including the recording of absence, including sickness, and the authorization and payment for overtime and on-call duties.

Dimensions of the role
  • The post holder is expected to organize and supervise all the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth running of the IT Services Department. This involves a range of administrative responsibilities, managing the stock and ordering of IT equipment and overseeing the store and meeting rooms.
  • The impact of the role, given the scale of the budgets is considerable (IT Services non-staff I&E budget is approx. £5M);
  • The post holder is also responsible for overseeing Human Resource Administration Management, under the guidance of the Central HR team, for IT Services Department (approx.120 staff)
  • The post holder will also be responsible for the management of the IT Services open plan Reception area once this is in place.

Supplementary Information
N/a
Person Specification This section describes the sum total of knowledge, experience & competence required by the post holder that is necessary for standard acceptable performance in carrying out this role.
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
Degree, HND, NVQ 4 qualified or equivalent in relevant subject/relevant formal training, plus a number of years’ experience in similar or related roles
or:
Significant vocational experience, demonstrating through involvement in a series of progressively more demanding relevant work/roles, and the acquisition of appropriate professional or specialist knowledge / E
Technical Competencies (Experience and Knowledge) This section contains the level of competency required to carry out the role (please refer to the Competency Framework for clarification where needed and the Job Matching Guidance). / Essential/
Desirable / Level
1-3
Highly developed knowledge of the principles and practice of own work with awareness of the broader developments relevant to own area. / E / 3
Developed knowledge of systems/services for own area, across functions / E / 3
Developed understanding of University Finance and Procurement regulations and procedures and the implications of non-compliance. / E / 3
Excellent IT skills with working experience of Microsoft Packages / E / 2
Broad relevant experience in a customer service role / E / 2
Special Requirements: / Essential/
Desirable
n/a
Core Competencies This section contains the level of competency required to carry out this role. (Please refer to the competency framework for clarification where needed). n/a (not applicable) should be placed, where the competency is not a requirement of the grade. / Level
1-3
Communication
Adaptability / Flexibility
Customer/Client service and support
Planning and Organising
Continuous Improvement
Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills
Managing and Developing Performance
Creative and Analytical Thinking
Influencing, Persuasion and Negotiation Skills
Strategic Thinking & Leadership
Leadership/ Management / 2
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
This Job Purpose reflects the core activities of the post. As the Department/Faculty and the post holder develop, there will inevitably be some changes to the duties for which the post is responsible, and possibly to the emphasis of the post itself. The Uni2versity expects that the post holder will recognise this and will adopt a flexible approach to work. This could include undertaking relevant training where necessary.
Should significant changes to the Job Purpose become necessary, the post holder will be consulted and the changes reflected in a revised Job Purpose.
Organisational/Departmental Information & Key Relationships
Background Information.
With an operating budget of ca. £11M and complement of approx. 120 staff, University IT provides a wide range of administrative and academic computing and information services for all staff and students at the University. Increasingly seen as mission critical, IT underpins both the operational heartbeat of the University and enables strategic developments. The University is expanding with new buildings regularly coming online. These buildings are highly reliant on the IT infrastructure; physical installation of AV, data and telephony must in fit for purpose and on-going monitoring of these services must be established to ensure continued operational effectiveness.
ITS aspires to be a professional partner with the University to develop strategy and constantly improve the student, academic and research experience, and drive effectiveness and efficiency through the use of technology. The IT Support Analyst is an essential contributor to this aspiration and its associated high quality performance and delivery.
The Vision for ITS at the University of Surrey is:
“To champion IT as a trusted partner and expert adviser, to enable the University to keep fulfilling its aim to make wonderful things happen here.
To develop a seamless, supportive, flexible and capable team of IT professionals, welcomed into a close partnership with Faculties, staff and students.
To create and foster an effective, productive and stimulating environment which harnesses IT to enhance the working lives and experience of all members of the University.”
Department Structure Chart

Relationships
Internal
  • Human Resources
  • Finance
  • Estate & Facilities
  • Safety Office
  • Security
  • Conference & Catering
  • Lakeside
  • Faculties
  • Marketing & Communications
  • Surrey Design & Print
  • PAs/EAs
External
  • Suppliers
  • Visitors to the University