JOB DESCRIPTION
TITLE:CLERICAL/ADMINISTRATIVE – HELPDESK (ECR21)
GRADE:BAND 7
DEPARTMENT:EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AND RIGHTS
LOCATION:FIRST FLOOR LAZARUS HOUSE, DONCASTER
(Note – this is also the base for our Yorkshire Midland Regional Office)
RESPONSIBLE TO:DEPUTY HELPDESK MANAGER
ROLE OF DEPARTMENT
The Employment Conditions and Rights Department of the National Union of Teachers is responsible for the Union’s work on contractual and workplace issues relevant to the rights of teachers. This includes policy development and casework support on health and safety, conditions of service and employment rights matters. It provides guidance on matters of law affecting teachers and assists with the provision of legal services to members in pursuit of claims. It is also responsible for the Helpdesk Unit (located in Doncaster).
The Union’s legal assistance service includes the defence of members and the pursuit of claims in negligence, breach of contract, defamation and other cases arising out of or in the course of the professional life or Union activity of members. The Department will work closely with the staff of Union's regional offices/Wales office who have also a responsibility to give casework assistance to members through collective union and legal processes. The Department works alongside the Union's Senior Solicitor who has responsibility for litigation conducted in the name of the Union and who has oversight of legal services. The Department also coordinates local solicitors instructed by the Union on behalf of members.
The Department operates under the direction of the Assistant Secretary – Employment Conditions and Rights and the oversight on legal issues of the Senior Solicitor.
GENERAL DUTIES
The General Secretary has overall responsibility for the management and administration of the Union and all Assistant Secretaries and staff work under her or his general direction. The Senior Solicitor has overall responsibility for legal aspects of the Union's work. The departments of the Union are headed either by Assistant Secretaries or senior members of staff who have supervision of the staff of their departments and are responsible for the management of staff and their effective deployment to allow the Union to respond to and initiate activities in the most dynamic way.
Clerical/Administrative Assistants are responsible to an Assistant Secretary or other senior employee as their Head of Department and to a Principal Officer who has day-to-day managerial and administrative responsibilities for the relevant areas of work within the department. Professional/Administrative Assistants, where specified, may assist Principal Officers in this regard.
Clerical/Administrative Assistants are responsible for providing assistance of an organisational, administrative, secretarial and clerical nature relevant to their particular areas of work, including the use of new technological developments where advantageous.
Broad responsibilities are allocated to particular Clerical/Administrative Assistants in their departments. Clerical/Administrative Assistants are also expected to co-operate and liaise with other departments, under the guidance of their Head of Department or responsible Principal Officer, where there may be overlapping policy responsibilities.
Where reasonable, staff may be required to work across departmental boundaries on the understanding that no member of staff will be expected to undertake tasks outside their scope or talent. The general expectation will be for employees to undertake the work for which they are employed within the employing department. On occasions where the General Secretary identifies specific tasks requiring special attention, such work may be co-ordinated by another department on a basis to be agreed by departmental heads.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- To provide administrative, secretarial and clerical assistance to the helpdesk team based at Lazarus House, with particular responsibility for the functioning of office systems.
- Under the direction of the Deputy Helpdesk Manager, to ensure the efficient operation of telephone, photocopying and IT facilities.
- To be responsible for the ordering of office stationery/materials and stock control and completion of relevant budgetary systems.
- Under the direction of the Deputy Helpdesk Manager to be responsible for undertaking regular health and safety checks of office systems and arrangements.
- To deal with telephone calls and enquiries relating to processing of compromise agreements and to assist with Word processing of relevant correspondence and documentation.
- To assist with record-keeping of the Helpdesk, in particular to maintain up-to-date paper and electronic filing systems and the compromise agreement database.
- To assist generally as a member of the Helpdesk team undertaking duties appropriate to grade.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
1.SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES
Essential Criteria
(a)Excellent standard of Word processing skills.
(b)Good numeracy skills.
(c)Ability to work flexibly and as part of a team.
(d)Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines.
(e) Excellent attention to detail.
(f)Ability to organise and prioritise workload.
(g) The organisational skills to ensure the efficient operation of office systems.
(h)Ability to deal with people by telephone clearly, calmly and diplomatically.
(i)Ability to draft simple letters and memos.
Desirable Criteria
None.
2.QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION
Essential Criteria
(a)High standard of written English.
Desirable Criteria
None.
3.EXPERIENCE
Essential Criteria
(a)Experience of providing administrative, secretarial and clerical support.
Desirable Criteria
(a)Experience of working within an educational, trade union or public sector environment.
4.SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Essential Criteria
(a)Understanding of and commitment to the NUT's Equal Opportunities Policy Statement.
(b)A commitment to the trade union movement and to the role of teacher trade unions in particular.
Desirable Criteria
None.
Clerical Admin-Helpdesk
(July 2013)