Department Coordinator (Fixed Term) (Job Number: 26000646)
Department of Management and Marketing
Grade 5: - £27,319 - £30,378 per annum
Fixed Term - Annualised Hours (Full Time)
Contract Duration: 6 Months
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Working Arrangements: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Closing Date: Ongoing
Disclosure and Barring Service Requirement: Not Applicable.
The University
At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.
Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer.
We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here
The Role and the Department
The Department of Management and Marketing seek to appoint a full time Departmental Coordinator to join their professional services team on a fixed term contract, for a period of 6 months. The post may be offered on an internal secondment basis subject to the agreement of the current line manager.
The position is an exciting opportunity to work with academic colleagues and a variety of administrative teams across the Business School and central University, to deliver operational and administrative excellence. They will work closely with a range of teams and functions situated at University and School level, senior members of the Department, in particular the Head of Department and Deputy Head, the Director of Education and Senior Departmental Officer.
The Departmental Coordinator will ensure the provision of a professional, efficient administrative service, primarily supporting our education portfolio. The postholder will work in accordance with University and Departmental policies and procedures, providing comprehensive information to assist the Head of Department in the allocation of academic staff workload and liaising with central timetabling to ensure teaching is scheduled accurately and an efficiently. Also working closely under the direction of the Director of Education, liaise with teaching staff and in particular programme directors to support the curriculum development process and governance by holding secretarial responsibilities to relevant Committees.
The Departmental Coordinator will work independently, taking day to day decisions and using their initiative to decide on appropriate courses of action. They will possess excellent organisational and time management skills, display initiative and flexibility to resolve complex problems, and demonstrate a commitment to customer service excellence. The ability to work collaboratively and effectively is also essential in order to deliver a coordinated and professional level of administrative support across a full range of departmental activities.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:
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27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 39 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
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No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
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Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
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On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.
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Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
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There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
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The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community.
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Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
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We offer generous pension schemes.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion
Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.
We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.
How to apply
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.
Submitting your application
We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails
What you are required to submit:
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A CV
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Optional - A supporting statement which shows examples of how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification.
Contact details
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Stacey Lackenby would be happy to speak to you. Please contact [email protected]
If you have any general queries about the recruitment process, please contact [email protected]
Service Delivery
Deliver support services to ensure the effective and efficient running of business processes and systems, ensuring staff, visitors and students receive appropriate guidance and support.
Develop, coordinate and monitor the implementation of University policies and departmental procedures relating to your service area.
Ensure that operational and administrative policies, procedures, and business systems effectively support the services being delivered.
Monitor and analyse the use of resource to ensure efficiency and report your findings to senior colleagues.
Monitor and evaluate service delivery to ensure compliance with regulatory and professional procedures and standards, including GDPR, UK Border Agency Requirements, Health and Safety and EDI.
Ensure that data is accurate and provide reports and analysis of patterns and trends to senior colleagues.
Accurately capture, record and share information and data that needs to be shared and disseminate with relevant networks, including committees.
Use your initiative to respond to queries and provide information/advice, while raising more specialist or complex queries with more experienced team members (professional and academic colleagues).
Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role and make recommendations based on your findings.
Use digital media such as MS Teams, SharePoint and Learn Ultra to update team members, colleagues, students and external contacts.
Prepare reports for senior management team, where required.
Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.
Planning and Organising
Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.
Organise and schedule assigned resources, such as collating and disseminating complex information that allows for scenario planning, to assist senior management in making informed decisions.
Monitor processes and activities to ensure departmental policy is met.
Provide committee servicing to relevant departmental committees.
Teamwork
Provide specialist support and advice to team members on educational operational procedures.
Collaborate with team members to implement service improvement to practices and processes in the Department Office.
Explain and provide instruction to other team members when necessary.
Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.
Seek feedback from stakeholders on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.
Communications/Liaison
Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.
Provide instruction and demonstrations on processes and systems to others within the Faculty.
Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role, to work together on joint activities where appropriate.
Liaise with colleagues across professional and administrative areas to ensure that services are being delivered in an efficient and collaborative way.
Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint activities.
Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.
Liaise with internal and external providers to plan the delivery of services and events.
Any other reasonable duties.
Person Specification
Your application should cover the following criteria:
Essential Criteria
Qualifications/Experience
1. Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics or a Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.
2. Experience of working in a busy office environment delivering front line administrative services to a high standard.
3. Experience of managing your own time to meet deadlines and working under pressure without compromising on quality.
4. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers and senior colleagues.
5. A high level of attention to detail and accuracy.
6. A high level of trust and discretion with the ability to maintain confidentiality.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
7. Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.
8. Strong digital competence across a range digital devices and apps including digital communication tools, Microsoft 365 applications, business systems and Power BI.
9. Ability to solve complex problems yourself and as part of a team and resolve issues, plan solutions and make pragmatic recommendations/decisions.
10. Committed to continuing professional development.
11. Ability to participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.
Desirable Criteria
Experience of timetabling/workload allocation or organising complex events and activities.
Committee servicing skills.
Demonstrable experience of working within a Higher Education Environment.
SECONDMENT
The post is full time, fixed term for a 6 month period and may be offered on an internal secondment basis subject to the agreement of the current line manager.
If an internal member of staff is appointed to this role on a secondment basis, for pension purposes this will be processed in line with Step-Up arrangements. For further details please click here.
When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
