Administrator (Staffing Service)

Durham University’s Temporary Staffing Service (TSS) is an internal, pan-university team established to provide reliable, professional administrative support to academic departments and faculties (including other service areas when needed) with fixed-term resource needs such as recruitment gaps, staff absence, peaks in workload, etc. The postholder will form part of a friendly, diverse team and will be deployed (sometimes fractionally) on short-term placements across service areas to work closely and collaboratively with local teams to cover specified administrative roles, duties, and projects commensurate with the grade, ensuring high-quality educational, operational, and research services are delivered. Placements are typically 6-12 weeks in length (subject to business need) and can include, but are not limited to, fulfilling roles such as Learning and Tea ching Administrator, Operations Administrator, and Faculty Administrator. Although the team is based in the Social Sciences Faculty Office for line management purposes, the postholder can expect to be allocated to departments/faculties across the institution.

The TSS Administrator will be required and expected to be able to:

• provide a professional and efficient administrative service, working in accordance with university and departmental policies and procedures to ensure the teams they support on placement function effectively in meeting their priorities;
• display high levels of flexibility and adaptability to enable the service to respond successfully and efficiently to changing business needs as required;
• possess excellent organisational, interpersonal, and time management skills, particularly when working across multiple departments and/or roles simultaneously on fractional assignments;
• support and engage with a broad range of learning, teaching, assessment, and operational processes, tasks, and activities from the point of student enrolment through to graduation, including areas such as absence monitoring, marks entry, and enrolment and registration;
• support networks, committees, and meetings (including scheduling and planning meetings; collating and distributing documents; drafting minutes or other documentation, etc.);
• provide proactive support when working with colleagues on placement in departments and faculties, including: Heads of Department, Department Managers, Learning and Teaching Managers, and other members of Senior Management Teams;
• work independently, using their experience and initiative to decide on appropriate courses of action and resolve routine problems (including those associated with student- and staff-related queries); and
• demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and customer service excellence.

This post is ideal for curious and open-minded individuals who are keen to network and develop strong working relationships across the University. The role also offers an exciting opportunity for the postholder to expand their skill set, gain hands-on training, and acquire experience across a range of departments/functions which can facilitate career development within the service and wider university.

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.

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