Year Abroad Administrative Officer

Salary: £27,319 - £28,031, with progression to £29,588  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: 07 September 2025

The Role

We’re looking for an organised and proactive administrator to join our Education Team in the School of Modern Languages (SML). You’ll help deliver an excellent experience for students and colleagues by supporting the smooth running of our activities.

In this role, you’ll play a key part in organising the Undergraduate Year Abroad programme, providing administrative support to staff and students, and helping with both outgoing and incoming exchange students.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Enjoys working in a busy, varied environment
• Has strong communication and teamwork skills
• Can manage a diverse workload with attention to detail
• Is confident in planning and organisation

To apply, please complete the online form and upload your CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, show how you meet the essential requirements of the role, giving examples where possible.

This post is full time, fixed term for 12 months.

If you would like to discuss this vacancy, please contact Nicola Davison, Deputy School Manager, via email: nicola.davison@ncl.ac.uk.

Key Accountabilities

• Responsible for providing expert guidance to students and academic colleagues regarding standard and non-standard queries and requests
• To work closely with the Deputy School Manager to contribute to regular reviews of the procedures in connection with Year Abroad administration, looking for new ways to improve procedures, liaison and communication between the school and the students while abroad
• To support the Education Team by servicing designated meetings and committees which will include agenda preparation, circulation, producing bullet point actions and monitoring progress of actions
• To lead on the collation of university documentation and data collection for Education processes
• To provide assistance with coordinated student activities such as external audits, student support on extenuating circumstances, Boards of Examiners processes, module selection, tutor allocation and inputting, uploading of student marks and liaising with the Director of Year Abroad and with Incoming and outgoing Year Abroad officers
• To provide support for school events such as student induction, student social events and University and School visit days
• To work as part of a wider education team and to undertake other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• A flexible attitude to work demands and customers and a commitment to excellent customer service 
• Good IT skills with experience of Microsoft suite of programmes
• An excellent communicator both verbally and in writing with the ability to tailor messages to the appropriate audiences
• Ability to follow and implement policies and procedures
• Ability to use initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently
• Ability to work calmly under pressure and to manage competing deadlines
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Experience of administrative duties, including but not limited to general meeting support, diary management, dealing with enquiries
• Ability to train/develop and manage other staff

Attributes and Behaviour

• A positive, proactive and professional customer focussed attitude
• Excellent communication skills and ability to tailor communication skills to different audiences
• Works in a planned and structured way
• Uses own and others time effectively
• Ensures that all activities are completed on time
• Keeps fellow team members up to date with progress
• Willing to help others and share workloads
• Maintains flexibility in work plans to allow for changing circumstances
• Plans team workload and tasks in a systematic way 
• Takes responsibility for achieving own targets
• An aptitude for utilising software tools and technologies to enhance, improve and simplify day to day functioning/organisational skills

Qualifications

• Maths and English at GCSE Level 4 or equivalent plus relevant experience in an administrative or customer service setting

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: 28547