POST TITLE: Personal Assistant to the Secretary & Registrar and Vice Principal / REFERENCE: RBC270.15
AREA OF WORK: Executive Office / DATE COMPILED –October 2015
Pay Band 5 / HOURS PER WEEK 35 hours per week
WEEKS PER YEAR 52 weeks per year
IF FIXED TERM CONTRACT, STATE DURATION: N/A
IMMEDIATE LINE MANAGER: Executive Assistant to the Principal
DESIGNATION OF ANY STAFF LINE MANAGED BY THE POST HOLDER: N/A
SUMMARY OF ROLE PURPOSE:
To act as Personal Assistant to support both the College’s Secretary & Registrar and the Vice Principal in carrying out the duties of their posts and to take responsibility for the efficient running of their offices. This will include clerking support to the Board of Governors and its sub-committees.
To manage effectively a varied flow of secretarial and administrative work that supports the Secretary & Registrar and Vice Principal.
Thepostholder will have substantial proven experience in a secretarial/administrative role at a similar level. Effective communication is essential together with advanced skills in organisation and prioritisation so as to enable fast, efficient and accurate delivery of the work load. This will be complemented by a flexible and pro-active approach to work.
Thepostholder will ensure procedures are followed and will need to work as part of the Executive Office administration team. The postholder will be required to develop an extensive understanding of the work of the Secretary & Registrar and Vice Principal and how this fits into the broader remit of the Executive Office. The postholder will need to use fully their interpersonal skills, including the need for confidentiality to build effective working relationships.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Board of Governors
- To administer the Board of Governors and its sub-committee meetings which include setting dates, booking rooms and ordering refreshments.
- To distribute papers, as directed by the Secretary & Registrar, to the Board and its sub-committees in a timely manner.
- To liaise with and distribute information to members of the Board of Governors.
- To expedite governors’ expense claims.
- To provide secretarial and administrative support to the Secretary & Registrar. This will include the production of general documentation, report compilation and the production of general correspondence sometimes of a highly confidential nature.
- To develop a working knowledge and understanding of all matters relevant to the remit of the Secretary & Registrar and acting as a pivotal point of contact to all relevant staff.
- To administer Working Groups, chaired by the Secretary & Registrar. This includes taking minutes of meetings, preparing agendas and papers and ensuring that the follow-up actions are taken. (There will be approximately 3/4 Working Groups during any one academic year.
- To Clerk the Registry Management Team meetings. These are scheduled on a monthly basis.
- To Clerk the Examination Appeals meeting.
- To Clerk the Mitigating Circumstances Committee to include the receipt of caseload, liaison with the Programme Directors, communication with students, collection and collation of evidence, preparation of papers, letters of outcome. Liaison with the Student Records Manager and other Registry staff.
- To assist the Secretary & Registrar with the processes and organisation for Graduation and Graduation ceremonies, delegating areas of responsibility where appropriate.
- To maintain the Freedom of Information (FOI) Register and to act as first point of contact for FOI requests.As directed by the Secretary & Registrar, to liaise with relevant staff and to ensure that deadlines are met and information provide.
- To arrange other events and visits in which all relevant staff are involved and ensure that all arrangements are made so that a high quality service is provided.
- To manage the electronic diary of the Secretary & Registrar to ensure that urgent and/or important appointments are given priority and efficient use is made of time. This includes: liaising with all relevant staff to avoid potential clashes of arrangements and using initiative to re-prioritise changing commitments.
- To provide a first point of contact for internal and external telephone enquiries and personal visitors to the Secretary & Registrar, answering routine questions and obtaining and furnishing information. This requires knowledge of College policies and procedures and those of any other organisation with which all relevant staff are actively involved.
- To receive, as requested, all correspondence, providing the Secretary & Registrar with necessary information to assist with replies. This ensures that correspondence is dealt with efficiently and urgent matters are dealt with promptly, not least in the absence of the Secretary & Registrar.
- To manage personal time effectively and to make judgements on constantly changing and often conflicting priorities.
- To arrange travel for the Secretary & Registrar including visits to outside organisations which may be regional or national so that the most efficient use is made of time and costs.
- To communicate the instructions of the Secretary & Registrar to other parties and gather feedback and monitor information flow and the implementation of actions.
- To identify, implement and maintain effective office procedures to ensure that the support to the work of the Secretary & Registraris managed efficiently.
- To monitor budgets held by the Secretary & Registrar, check spending is within budget constraints; and ensuring transactions are charged to appropriate accounts.
- To be aware of emerging issues affecting the College and the sector, for example form incoming correspondence, alerting and informing the Secretary & Registraras necessary.
- To provide appropriate cover as determined by the Executive Assistant to the Principal and agreed in advance by the Executive Assistant to the Principal. To work as part of an executive administrative team led the Executive Assistant to the Principal.
- To provide secretarial and administrative support to the Vice Principal. This will include the production of general documentation, report compilation and the production of general correspondence sometimes of a highly confidential nature.
- To develop a working knowledge and understanding of all matters relevant to the remits of the Vice Principal and acting as a pivotal point of contact to all relevant staff.
- To set up and service Working Groups. These will predominantly be of a ‘task and finish’ nature. This includes taking minutes of meetings, preparing agendas and papers and ensuring that the follow-up actions are taken.
- To arrange other events and visits in which all relevant staff are involved and ensure that all arrangements are made so that a high quality service is provided
- To manage the electronic diary of the Vice Principal to ensure that urgent and/or important appointments are given priority and efficient use is made of time. This includes: liaising with all relevant staff to avoid potential clashes of arrangements and using initiative to re-prioritise changing commitments.
- To provide a first point of contact for internal and external telephone enquiries and personal visitors to the Vice Principal, answering routine questions and obtaining and furnishing information. This requires knowledge of College policies and procedures and those of any other organisation with which all relevant staff are actively involved.
- To receive, as requested, all correspondence, providing the Vice Principal with necessary information to assist with replies. This ensures that correspondence is dealt with efficiently and urgent matters are dealt with promptly, not least in the absence of the Vice Principal.
- To arrange travel for the Vice Principal including visits to outside organisations which may be regional or national so that the most efficient use is made of time and costs.
- To complete expenses and travel claims on the Vice-Principal’s behalf.
- To communicate the instructions of the Vice Principal to other parties and gather feedback and monitor information flow and the implementation of actions.
- To identify, implement and maintain effective office procedures to ensure that the support to the work of the Vice Principal is managed efficiently.
- To be aware of emerging issues affecting the College and the sector, for example form incoming correspondence, alerting and informing the Vice Principal as necessary.
- To monitor the Academic Management budget and to produce purchase orders where necessary.
- To provide appropriate cover as determined by the Executive Assistant to the Principal and agreed in advance by the Executive Assistant to the Principal. To work as part of an executive administrative team led the Executive Assistant to the Principal
- To undertake any other duties as reasonably required by the Principal.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
The post holder will be expected to work flexibly including evenings for which time off in lieu will be given.
All employees are required to comply with the College’s Health and Safety, and Equal Opportunities Policies in the performance of their duties and are required to complete statutory training programmes on Equality & Diversity, Data Protection, Bribery and Health & Safety.
N.B. The post-holder may be required to undertake any other duties which may reasonably be required as within the nature of the duties and responsibilities of the post as defined, subject to the proviso that normally any changes of a permanent nature shall be incorporated into the Job Description in specific terms.
Job description drawn up by Executive Assistant to the Principal, October 2015
Person Specification
Post Title: Personal Assistant to the Secretary & Registrar and Vice Principal / Reference: RBC270.15
Area of Work: Executive Office
Attributes / Essential / Desirable
Knowledge:
- A minimum of two years’ relevant experience in an office administration environment
- Experience of Higher Education administration
- Previous experience of working in a multi-reporting role
Skills & Abilities
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- The ability to manage conflicting priorities and a demanding workload
- Attention to detail
- A flexible approach to work
- Experience of minute-taking and committee service
- The ability to work to deadlines
- Pro-active problem-solving skills
- Previous experience of electronic diary management and filing systems, including bring-forward systems
- To possess tact, diplomacy and discretion
- To understand the remit of confidentiality and work within these confines effectively
- Ability to develop effective and time-efficient office procedures and systems
- Ability to cope with change in a dynamic environment
- A flexible and co-operative working attitude with well-developed and effective team-working skills
- IT skills, i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and other IT applications
- Fast and accurate word processing skills
- Shorthand
Qualifications
- A minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience in a similar secretarial/administrative role
- A good standard of education, preferably to A Level/HND or equivalent
- RSA or equivalent qualification