Operations Assistant

Birmingham City University; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 32,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (role dependent)

Pension

Wellbeing support

Job summary

Birmingham City University is seeking an efficient administrator to join the School of Life and Health Sciences at City South Campus, Edgbaston. The role focuses on supporting academic staff and professional services, coordinating meetings and handling procurement tasks.

You will engage casual workers, process payments, and maintain accurate records, while ensuring compliance with data protection and right-to-work requirements. The role is part-time and hybrid in nature.

Qualifications

• Experience in a busy administrative environment.
• Ability to organise meetings, take minutes and manage calendars.
• Ability to prioritise multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Outlook, Word and Excel.
• Experience handling sensitive or confidential information.
• Clear and professional communication with a range of stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide general administrative support ensuring timely and accurate completion of tasks.
• Engage casual workers—process starter packs, conduct right‑to‑work checks, liaise with HR and ensure payments.
• Maintain records of right‑to‑work documentation per legal and university requirements.
• Support organisation and servicing of meetings, working groups and committees, including minute-taking and tracking actions.
• Maintain operational records and databases, handling confidential information securely and in line with data-protection requirements.
• Administer purchasing requests, raise and goods receipting purchase orders, maintain records in procurement system.

Skills

Administration

Meeting coordination

Calendar management

MS Office

Confidentiality

Stakeholder comms

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

Procurement system

Job description

Department School of Life and Health Sciences Location City South Campus Salary £28,287 to £32,006per annum Part time - 0.6 FTE (£16,972.2 Pro-Rata) Post Type Part Time Release Date 11 September 2026 Closing Date 23.59 hours BST on Friday 25 September 2026 Reference LHS26020-R

About Birmingham City University

BCU is a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 30,000 students from more than 100 countries. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world-class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment. Our student demographic reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Birmingham itself, with a significant proportion of students from racially minoritised backgrounds. This diversity is a strength, and it calls for a workforce that is equipped to challenge deficit narratives and thinking — those assumptions that position students from underrepresented groups as lacking rather than recognising their assets and potential.

Role Summary

Reporting to the Director of School Operations, you will provide comprehensive administrative support to academic staff and professional services colleagues. The role will be based at our City South Campus in Edgbaston.

You will contribute to the smooth day-to-day running of school operations, supporting local activities, responding to staff needs, and ensuring an efficient and professional administrative service.

The role involves liaison with academic staff, professional services teams, and external stakeholders such as casual workers who support our Experts by Experience provision, requiring strong communication skills and a commitment to providing high-quality support within a busy academic environment.

Applicants who have previously applied will not be considered.

Key Responsibilities

You will provide general administrative support, ensuring timely and accurate completion of operational tasks. A key focus within this role will be the engagement of casual workers— processing new starter packs, conducting right-to-work checks, liaising with HR where required and ensuring casual worker payments are processed. You will maintain accurate records of right-to-work documentation in accordance with legal and university requirements. You will support the organisation and servicing of school and department-level meetings, working groups and committees, including minute-taking and tracking actions. You will maintain accurate operational records and databases related to school operations — handling confidential information securely and in compliance with data-protection requirements. You will also administer purchasing requests for example raising and goods receipting purchase orders, maintaining accurate records in our procurement system whilst complying the financial and procurement policies.

• You should have experience working in an administrative role in a busy and varied office environment.
• You should be skilled in organising meetings, taking minutes, and managing calendars or shared schedules.
• You should be able to manage multiple competing priorities and meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications — especially Outlook, Word, and Excel — is essential.
• You should have experience handling sensitive or confidential information.
• You should be able to communicate clearly and professionally with a range of stakeholders.

AS the role is part-time, hours per day to be agreed but to work across Monday to Thursday

Why work for us

• Work–life balance – Generous leave and hybrid working (role dependent).
• Career development – Opportunities to grow, develop and progress your career.
• Reward and wellbeing – Competitive pay, pension, wellbeing support and staff benefits.
• Inclusive culture – A supportive, diverse environment where everyone belongs.

Further Information

If you want to be part of a team shaping the future of the School of Life and Health Sciences, we’d love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Jolie Swain, Director of School Operations, at [e-mail] .

At BCU, we welcome applications that clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role. AI tools may be used to support you in preparing your application, but the information you provide must be accurate, authentic and based on your own experience. Applications that rely too heavily on AI, appear generic or do not provide specific evidence against the role criteria are less likely to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to an environment that supports lawful free speech and academic freedom. We will continuously review and improve our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

Disability Confident Employer

Birmingham City University is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.