Centre Administrator

Salary: £25,742 to £26,444 with progression to £27,979 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date:13 May 2024

The Role 

We have an exciting opportunity to join the NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Public Health as a Centre Administrator.

This is a key role in the new Specialist Centre for Public Health. Reporting to the Senior Research Administrator and working closely with the Operations Manager, you will provide administrative support to this new £22M NIHR investment.  

Our vision is to develop the infrastructure, capacity and capability to support practitioners and researchers to carry out high quality public health research, outside the NHS, to produce robust evidence to improve population health and reduce health and care inequalities. 

You will be interested in working in a fast-paced and varied environment. As the Centre’s first point of contact, you will develop excellent working relationships with stakeholders across England. You must therefore be a confident communicator, with a passion for outstanding customer service.  You will have a keen eye for detail, developing and implementing effective and efficient administrative systems. Excellent time management and organisational skills are essential, as well as the ability to manage a diverse workload.

To apply for the position, we will need your CV and a personal statement outlining how you are suitable for the role, using evidence to highlight how you meet the essential criteria as listed in the job description.

This is a full-time position, fixed term until 30th September 2028 

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 4th June.

For more information and an informal discussion, please contact Brady Scott, Senior Research Administrator at brady.scott@newcastle.ac.uk or Selina McCarthy, Operations Manager at selina.mccarthy@ncl.ac.uk.

Key Accountabilities

•    Provide administrative support to the Director and Deputy Director of the Centre, Chief Operating Officer and Centre team as required, including (but not exclusively) diary support, meeting coordination, travel arrangements and booking accommodation to ensure that the Centre runs smoothly. This may also include collating information and drafting correspondence which may be incorporated in reports, letters, proposals, or presentations
•    Co-ordinate and support Centre meetings and working groups including arranging meetings, coordinating papers, drafting agendas, taking minutes, maintaining and proactively managing actions
•    Provide administrative support to the Centre’s Pre-Award Research Design Advice Team to ensure the timely provision of research advice.  Administer appropriate systems for triage; response to clients; and the allocation of workload across the Centre and Satellites’ methodological expertise, including inputting and capturing information on the Centre database in accordance with research governance and data protection legislation, and funder (NIHR) reporting requirements
•    Lead the administration of designated processes within the Centre, including receiving initial enquiries; application of standard operating procedures (escalating as appropriate) and monitoring of progress
•    Be the first point of contact for the Centre communicating clearly with the Centre team, Satellites, collaborators and stakeholders and University professional services staff
•    Support the reporting of management information including taking responsibility for maintaining database(s) of information; gathering data from multiple sources, extracting reports as required and ensuring the integrity of data entered / recorded and that data is managed in accordance with data protection legislation and funder guidelines
•    Manage the procurement of consumables and equipment and ensure efficient distribution of items
•    Process and monitor payments including invoices and expense claims ensuring that all expenditure is against the correct budget sub-headings.  Ensure that the receipt of goods and/or services is confirmed, and assist in the resolution of invoicing, coding or expenses queries, to provide an efficient service and assist the Centre in adhering to the University’s Procurement Regulations.  Early escalation of all financial queries to the Senior Research Administrator
•    Organise meetings, conferences and other stakeholder engagement events e.g. Public Involvement and Community Engagement (PICE) events led by the Centre team
•    Develop, implement and maintain effective office procedures and systems to ensure that support is efficient, timely and accurate
•    Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and participate in Professional Support Staff working groups as required

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
•    Relevant recent administrative experience in a large organisation
•    Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate clearly and concisely in writing and verbally
•    Excellent administrative skills, including experience of setting up filing systems, preparing agendas and taking minutes of meetings
•    Ability to work quickly and accurately to deadlines, paying attention to detail
•    Experience of budgetary monitoring including use of financial management systems
•    Experience of working with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders 
•    Excellent IT skills, including competent use of Microsoft Office 
•    Experience of developing and operationalising administrative systems
•    Experience of drafting reports and promotional materials

Attributes and Behaviours
•    Good team working abilities
•    Ability to prioritise own workload and manage conflicting priorities
•    Attention to detail
•    Ability to act with sensitivity in dealing with stakeholders
•    Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with the Centre team and its Satellites
•    Ability to deal appropriately with confidential information
•    A positive and supportive attitude; ability to work flexibly and cooperatively with others
•    Evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development

Qualifications
•    Grades A-C in English Language and Mathematics GCSE (or equivalent) or vocational qualifications

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26992