Customer Services Assistant

Salary:  £25,249 with progression to £26,707 per annum (pro rata)

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: 28 October 2025

The Role

Are you passionate about engaging with others and providing customers with a fantastic service? Accommodation Services are the first team to welcome new students to their university experience, providing a stepping stone to independent living.

We are looking for a Customer Services Assistant who will be a friendly face to all residents and visitors, as well as ensuring that all reception services run smoothly and efficiently.  We are looking for people who have the communication skills to work well in a team, as well as the organisation skills to be able to work alone if needed. 

Our receptions are open 08.00 – 18.00 each day and we have colleagues working various shift patterns during this time.  The post we have available is a 25 hour per week role with the following working pattern:

Monday – Friday 1pm - 6pm

The stated salary is pro rata based on a 37 full time working week.  

If this sounds like it might be for you, why not get in touch to find out more by emailing James Croydon, Assistant Customer Services Manager. james.croydon@newcastle.ac.uk

To see more about what we do in Accommodation Services at Newcastle University click here

To apply, please upload copy of your CV along with cover letter evidencing how your skills and experiences align to the person specification as outlined within job description.

Key Accountabilities    

• Greet all customers visiting reception in a friendly and welcoming manner, providing them with helpful and professional assistance
• Follow our policies, procedures, and standards to support a professional, customer–focused reception service.  Ensure that reception services (and reception-based tasks e.g. key management, fault reporting, post/parcels) are delivered efficiently, with guidance from your Team Leader
• Maintain effective control of keys held at reception for residents, visitors, contractors and staff. Co-ordinate the arrival and departure of residents, checking appropriate documentation and updating records accordingly.  Work with colleagues to ensure delivery of a consistently superior level of service
• Work closely with the Customer Services Team Leaders to develop and maintain service standards, so that all enquiries are handled in an efficient and helpful manner. Be proactive in seeking feedback from customers and suggesting improvements, looking for opportunities to demonstrate what you and Customer Services can do
• Work with Customer Services Team Leaders to develop broader two-way communications between Accommodation Services and our customers
• Provide administrative support to colleagues, including preparing professional communications to our residents
• Ensure the appearance of receptions is welcoming and all information displayed is up to date. Ensure a safe environment for staff, residents, and visitors by following University and Service guidelines, policies and procedures (e.g. Health and Safety legislation, UUK Code of Practice for Student Accommodation)
• Using our parcel tracking software, log incoming student mail and distribute to residents for collection
• Work with Customer Services Team Leaders to deliver friendly and attentive service for University Open Days and summer residential business e.g. large conferences
• Fully engage with our commitment to training by participating in courses and/or events to develop personal skill levels and knowledge to perform duties of the post
• Work across both of our main campus accommodation receptions as required
• Work occasional weekend days to support key business dates (e.g. Student intake weekend, Open days, Conference business).  This would usually be 4/5 weekend days per year

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Excellent customer service skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and able to work effectively as a member of the team to develop effective working relationships with colleagues and external contacts
• Good organisational and administrative skills with the ability to handle a variety of tasks and prioritise efficiently
• Good levels of numeracy and accuracy
• Relevant IT skills, including experience of using Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook
• Able to deal with confidential information appropriately

Attributes and Behaviours

• Understands how own job contributes to the aims of the organisation 
• Makes positive contributions  
• Effectively solves problems  
• Utilises all skills and talents to deliver great work  
• Prioritises and organises effectively  
• Adapts to change positively and is responsive to new challenges/ways of working.  
• Recognises and manages own emotions 
• Builds collaborative/respectful relationships and overcomes barriers to good working. 
• Shares learnings & ideas with others 
• Trust's self and colleagues 
• Sees other departments and colleagues as “customers” and follows through on their enquiries and requests  
• Strives to deliver high quality results  

Qualifications

• Educated to a minimum of 5 GCSE grade A-C/ 9-4(including Maths and English), NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard by experience

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 gold 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: 28711