Benchmark Role Profile for Administrative Assistant (APML2

Benchmark Role Profile for Administrative Assistant (APML2

Version 2.0

Last amended March 2015

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM

Job Title: Administrative Assistant

School/Department:

Salary:

Job Family and Level: Administrative, Professional and Managerial Level 2

Contract Status:

Hours of Work:

Location:

Reporting to:

The Purpose of the Role:

The purpose of the role is to assist in the financial management and administration of the School by providing support and advice to academic staff and students efficiently and to a high standard.

Main Responsibilities: / % time per year
1. / Accountable for consolidating and processing orders for the School via the Agresso finance system and Sciquest, distributing these orders to suppliers by appropriate means. Accuracy and attention to detail is very important to ensure the purchasing requirements of staff and students are met promptly to enable them to continue teaching and research. Respond to changes in requirements by amending orders, consulting with School staff and external suppliers as required. Maintain records of all orders. / 40%
2. / Receive and respond to internal and external queries from within the School, University, general public and external suppliers to provide advice, resolve both simple and complex queries and ensure a prompt efficient service is provided. / 20%
3. / Agresso housekeeping to ensure all orders are raised, invoiced and then terminated correctly to reduce accruals etc at each year end. / 10%
4. / Administer the documentation and processes for all types of postgraduate studentships to ensure smooth registration, and fees and stipend payments are processed on time. / 10%
5. / Organise office duties such as checking, processing all types of forms (expenses, quotations, delivery notes, etc), sending to relevant suppliers or parts of the University, and then filing the documents to ensure easy access for queries. Administer all quotations and purchasing forms to support University purchasing regulations. Review and adjust office procedures to improve office effectiveness. / 10%
6. / Organise conference registrations, travel and hotel accommodation for staff and students. Administer staff holiday, sickness recording, petty cash sales, issuing of department keys and maintain databases to store information relevant to meet various School/University reporting requirements. Compose letters, memos and faxes to communicate information or liaise with internal and external contacts. / 10%
7. / Any other duties appropriate to the grade and role

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications/ Education / Vocational qualification (NVQ2 Administration with Secretarial Skills) or equivalent and experience of an office/administrative environment or
Considerable work experience in relevant role. / Advanced typing/secretarial skills – audio/shorthand.
Skills/Training / Extensive IT knowledge (MS Office, email)
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Ability to build working relationships within the School/department, University and external suppliers
Experience of planning own work activities in response to differing needs of the School and deadlines / Preferably experience of using Sciquest, Agresso and Saturn
Experience / Ability to work independently to resolve complex internal and external queries and to provide and maintain a high level of customer service whilst working to deadlines.
Accuracy, reliability and willing and adaptable to learn new skills and procedures as required by changing University procedures and legislation
Broad experience of manual processes. / An understanding of different types of postgraduate funding, the rules governing each type and the documentation required.
Statutory/Legal / Awareness of University procedures and relevant legislation.

Decision Making

i) Taken independently by the role holder;

·  All office administration

·  Approval of purchase orders <£1,000

·  Resolving complex queries

·  Placing orders and using the University Purchasing card for ‘one off’ transactions

·  Amend orders to rectify any problems, pass invoices and reduce future queries and financial housekeeping

·  Develop and maintain databases and spreadsheets to match data and reporting required

·  Prepare and prioritise work activities within the School office

·  Ensure order information is correct for projects used

ii) Taken in collaboration with others;

·  Amendments to orders in collaboration with senior staff and suppliers
·  Postgraduate administration
·  Some invoice queries if additional information required

iii) Referred to the appropriate line manager by the role holder;

·  Approval of orders >£1,000

·  Approval of credit card transactions on a monthly basis

Additional Information

The role in the main School office, in conjunction with the Office Manager, enables the smooth running of the main administration within the School, involving interaction with staff, numerous external supplier contacts and visitors. All order processing, expense claims, postgraduate research funding, research project administration and general queries are dealt with by the office and a large amount of the work is to deadlines and involves initiative to meet these deadlines, resolve problems and answer queries quickly and efficiently.

/ The University of Nottingham strongly endorses Athena SWAN principles, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in furthering women’s careers. It is our mission to ensure equal opportunity, best working practices and fair policies for all.