Role Title: Senior Administrative Assistant (Department Support)
Grade and Salary: Grade 5, £26,707 - £31,236 per annum
FTE and working pattern: Full-time (35hrs per week) Open-ended
Reward and Benefits : 28 days annual leave   plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday). 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.
Purpose of Role
The school is looking to appoint a full-time Senior Administrative Assistant who will be responsible for providing high quality day-to-day administrative support to one of three Head of Department roles that exist in the Edinburgh Business School. The role holder will work within an academic department as the key administrative support within the department, for the Head and to assist other academic colleagues in their department. The role is also expected to operate as a member of the School's Support Team and work alongside administrative colleagues located in various areas of the wider School. The role will also act as a key administrative liaison point between a range of University Central Directorates in the best interests of their academic department.
The successful applicant will have a proven track record in the delivery of administrative services in an education context, they will be a self-motivated individual who enjoys working with young people and who is able to work flexibly as a member of a team within challenging and dynamic environment.
The work will be varied, and the post holder will be expected to be able to deliver a fair, friendly and timely service to students and staff. All the support services within the School are committed to delivering a customer focused service to students, staff and visitors. To achieve this commitment all support staff, need to be adaptable, flexible, and prepared to support other teams and individuals within the School.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Provide high quality administrative and secretarial support to the Head of Department.
Provide administrative support for Department- 's routine activities, projects, and local governance activities etc. including scheduling, preparation of agendas, circulation of documentation, minuting meetings, following-up actions and managing associated TEAMs and SharePoint sites. Examples include Boards of Studies, Programme Boards, and Staff/Student Liaison Committees.
- Provide administrative and planning support to departmental project working groups and departmental events series for staff delivered locally and globally via TEAMs or Zoom as and when required (e.g. CPD events, and occasional conferences etc.).
Work closely with the relevant University Central Services to help organise the work of the department and to optimise the support for the department- 's staff in understanding and following the correct practices and procedures in a timely manner.
- Play a central role supporting the Departmental Leadership Team and building a sense of community for the students and staff of the department.
- Responsibility for the upkeep of the Departmental WorkSpace (SharePoint) and various Departmental Microsoft Teams
- sites, ensuring consistency of approach in how departments are presented to the wider university both internally on the intranet and externally on the corporate website.
- Prepare relevant documents and information required from the department to facilitate School governance and to respond to requests from wider service departments of the University on behalf of the Head of Department.
- Act as a champion for continuous improvement in administrative processes and procedures and Departmental and School levels to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
- Signpost Academic Tutors to where they can find general advice for their tutees relating to L&T policies, procedures, and practices to enhance the student experience across the department.
- Administrative support for academic colleagues in key roles across the Department to enhance the staff and student experience via local projects, initiatives, and events.
- Help with the organisation and facilitation of induction events designed to build and sustain excellent staff-student relations.
- Provide cover for colleagues working in a similar role during periods of annual leave
Person Specification
These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be made.
Essential
- Educated to at least SCQF Level 6
- Experience of working within a similar role
- Competent in the use of relevant IT packages
- Well-developed interpersonal skills
- Demonstrable professional and proactive approach
- Demonstrable ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment
- Demonstrable provision of excellent customer service
Desirable
- Experience in Higher Education
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel
- Experience in organising events such as conferences and seminars
- Experience of booking travel and accommodation
- Commitment to on-going personal development
- Experience of minute taking
- IT skills in web management and content editing and/or use of SharePoint
How to Apply
Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV
Applications can be submitted until 23:55 on Wednesday 12th August 2026.
About the Team
The School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University comprises of Edinburgh Business School, the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies and the Department of Psychology.
We specialise in industry-focused degree programmes which embrace a truly international outlook. Our degrees are taught by experienced professionals and highly regarded academics, and we are proud to produce high-calibre, career-ready graduates and offer a full range of degree choices at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Social Sciences is the largest of five academic schools at Heriot-Watt University and we provide teaching and research across our core disciplines:
- The Edinburgh Business School:
- â—¦ Accountancy, Economics, and Finance
- â—¦ Management
- â—¦ Marketing and Operations
- Languages and Intercultural Studies
- Psychology
The site for SoSS is https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/schools/social-sciences.htm
The site for Edinburgh Business School is https://www.hw.ac.uk/ebs/
About Heriot-Watt University
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.
