AVID Project Administrator

The University of Manchester; Manchester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous employer pension contribution

Christmas closure across all depts.

Purple Place employee discount

Job summary

The University of Manchester is seeking a Project Administrator to support the LIPF Programme Manager with administrative and financial tasks across the Atom Valley Innovation District programme. You will help plan meetings and events, manage records, and coordinate stakeholder communications.

Ideal candidates will have strong IT skills in Microsoft packages, proven experience supporting project teams, and excellent organisational abilities.

Qualifications

• Experience providing administrative and financial support to project teams and senior staff.
• Experience organising meetings and events and providing secretariat to boards and committees, including minute taking.
• Proven IT skills with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and collaboration tools (Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics).
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time-management skills.
• Good standard of education with literacy and numerical skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to project teams, including managing correspondence, maintaining records and filing systems, formatting documents and presentations, and ensuring compliance with GDPR, university, and funder requirements.
• Support planning and delivery of meetings, workshops, and events, including diary management, invitations, venue and catering bookings, travel arrangements, minute-taking, action tracking, and circulation of papers.
• Act as a first point of contact for project enquiries, managing shared mailboxes, responding to routine queries, escalating issues, and maintaining stakeholder relationships.
• Support financial administration and compliance, maintaining financial records, processing purchase orders, invoices, expenses and claims, and liaising with internal finance teams and external suppliers.

Skills

Administrative support

Financial support

Meeting coordination

Minute taking

MS Office

Time management

Organisational skills

Numeracy

Education

Good level of education

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Teams

SharePoint

Dynamics

Job description

The University was recently awarded £16m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund funding for a triple-helix project to accelerate collaboration, unlock new supply chain opportunities and strengthen Greater Manchester’s ability to attract and grow innovative advanced materials and manufacturing businesses. We are seeking a Project Administrator to support the LIPF Programme Manager with the development of activities and provide administrative and finance support for the Atom Valley Innovation District programme. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key support role at the intersection of academia, industry and local government, helping to accelerate innovation and enable inclusive economic growth.

You will be responsible for:

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to project teams, including managing correspondence, maintaining records and filing systems, formatting documents and presentations, and ensuring compliance with GDPR, university, and funder requirements.
• Support the planning and delivery of meetings, workshops, and events, including diary management, invitations, venue and catering bookings, travel arrangements, minute-taking, action tracking, and circulation of papers.
• Act as a first point of contact for project enquiries, managing shared mailboxes, responding to routine queries, escalating issues where appropriate, and maintaining positive stakeholder relationships.
• Support financial administration and compliance, maintaining financial records, processing purchase orders, invoices, expenses, and claims, and liaising with internal finance teams and external suppliers.

We welcome candidates who bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and approaches to their work.

About You

We encourage applications from individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. You should demonstrate:

Essential Criteria

• Experience of providing high-quality administrative and financial support to project teams and senior staff.
• Experience of organising meetings and events and providing secretariat to boards and committees, including minute taking.
• Proven IT skills including use of Microsoft packages (including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics).
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously.
• Good standard of education, including literacy and numerical skills.

Desirable Criteria

• An understanding of University operational process.
• Experience of supporting projects and coordinating project-related activities.
• Experience of externally funded projects, e.g. ERDF, EPSRC, UKRI.
• Experience of working in the Higher Education sector and/or in a research or innovation environment.

We value transferable skills and real-world experience as much as formal qualifications.

Our benefits include:

• Generous employer pension contribution
• Christmas closure across all departments outside of annual leave and bank holidays
• Purple Place employee discount platform

For more information, please see University of Manchester Benefits. You can also find information on our Flexible and Hybrid working here.

We are an open place of enquiry and challenge. We embrace and celebrate difference, diversity and debate, and we pride ourselves on being a place of education, learning and community where we are able, within the law, to question and test received wisdom, express new ideas and explore controversial or unpopular topics and opinions. Find out more from our Freedom of Speech Policy.

Enquiries About The Role, Shortlisting And Interviews

Name: Jill Brown

Email Address: [e-mail]

General enquiries and administrative support

[e-mail]

Technical and job portal support

https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home

This role is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must demonstrate the right to work in the UK.