Operations Coordinator

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits

Generous holiday package

Pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking an experienced administrative professional to join the Operations Community within Professional Services, Faculty of Medical Sciences. You will coordinate key processes, support the Dean of Research and Innovation, and help deliver faculty priorities.

The role is full-time on a fixed-term basis for two years, with potential for secondment. You will support the Operations Manager and leads, manage meetings and papers, handle enquiries, and maintain office systems

Qualifications

• Working knowledge of relevant systems, equipment, processes and procedures including standard software packages.
• Understanding of policies and procedures, as they affect the role, and the quality standards and outputs required.
• Familiarity with using initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently.
• Familiarity with work priorities and those of colleagues.
• Excellent IT skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office products and aptitude for development in and use of core software and data systems (preferably SAP).
• Experience of managing confidential and/or sensitive information with tact and discretion, and a working knowledge of GDPR.
• Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to triage queries and issues.
• Experience of prioritising workload and handling conflicting priorities.
• Experience of working in a diverse team and with senior managers in a large organisation.
• Experience of acting as a secretary in meetings, producing agendas, minutes and following up actions.
• Where relevant, ability to train/develop and manage other staff.

Responsibilities

• Support the Operations Manager and Operations Leads in the delivery of administrative activity across the Operations team.
• Coordinate and support designated events, selection panels, committees, sub-committee or working groups, including arranging meeting and room bookings; drafting agendas and taking minutes.
• Represent the Faculty at meetings and internal/external events, as appropriate.
• Lead the administration of designated processes in the Unit/Faculty, including handling enquiries and monitoring progress.
• Proactively receive, resolve and respond to enquiries to provide clear advice to colleagues and customers.
• Develop, implement and maintain effective office procedures and systems for efficiency and accuracy.
• Review information and disseminate appropriately to colleagues; manage records and data integrity.
• Provide administrative support to the Management Team, including travel arrangements and drafting correspondence.
• Assist in procurement, payments, and expenses queries to support efficient office operations.
• Co-ordinate recruitment activity, induction, and HR processes; support sickness records and returns.
• Participate in health and safety management and contribute to a safe working environment.

Skills

IT literacy

Communication

Organisational skills

Interpersonal skills

Problem solving

Teamwork

GDPR awareness

Education

GCSE English & Maths A-C

Tools

Microsoft Office

SAP

Job description

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Salary: £29,588 with progression to £31,236 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: 30 August 2026

The Role

The University's Vision and Strategy sets out an ambitious and exciting journey, to be a people focused, world-leading university that harnesses academic excellence, innovation and creativity to advance knowledge and provide benefits to individuals, to organisations and to society as a whole.

You will join the Operations Community within Professional Services in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, providing comprehensive administrative support across a range of business functions. Working collaboratively as part of a dedicated team, you will take a lead role in coordinating key administrative processes that support the effective delivery of Faculty activities.

A key aspect of the role will be providing dedicated operational support to the Dean of Research and Innovation, contributing to the delivery of key Faculty research priorities and initiatives.

This post available on a full-time basis as a fixed term contract for two years. This post is also available as a secondment opportunity.

• Support theOperationsManager andOperations Leadsin the delivery of administrative activity across theOperationsteam
• Responsible for coordinating and supporting designated events, selection panels, committees, sub-committee or working groups, including arranging meeting and room bookings etc., coordinating papers, drafting agendas; taking minutes; maintaining and proactively managing the actions
• To represent the Faculty at meetings and internal/external events, as appropriate
• Lead the administration of designated processes in the Unit/Faculty, including receiving initial enquiries/requests/applications; application of agreed operating procedures (escalating asappropriate)and monitoring progress. Taking responsibility fordeterminingtheappropriate modeof communication and accuracy of the content when conveying information
• Proactively receive,resolveand respond to enquiries received into the designated office to ensure that an effective service and clear advice is provided to colleagues andcustomers
• Develop,implementandmaintaineffective office procedures and systems to ensure that support is efficient,timelyandaccurate
• Review information received in the designated office anddisseminateappropriately to colleagues on behalf of the management team
• Manage records relating to the functions of the designated office, to include taking responsibility formaintainingdatabase(s) of information; gathering data frommultiple sources, extracting reports on data asrequiredand ensuring the integrity of data entered/recorded
• Provide administrative support to the designated Management Team asrequired, including (but not exclusively) in relation to travel arrangements (which may be complex regional,nationaland international), booking accommodation, conducting initial investigations/research or drafting correspondence as required. Correspondence may be complex reports, letters,proposalsandpresentations
• In relation to the procurement of goods and services and/or the making of payments, forthe designated office.To ensure that the receipt of goods and/or services is confirmed, andassistin the resolution of invoice,codingor expenses queries, to provide an efficient service to colleagues in the office andassistthe office in adhering to the University's Procurement Regulations. To act as expenses proxy
• Whereappropriate, to act as first point of contact for general HR issues, liaising with FMS HR Team where necessary. Toassistinco-ordinatingrecruitmentactivityin designatedoffice: advertising, interviewing, appointmentprocessingand paperwork. Toassistco-ordination of new Peopleinduction, leaver processes, PDR co-ordination (tracking progress and input data to SAP) and sickness recordings and returns
• Undertake an active role in the health and safety management of the designated office, contributing to the maintenance of a safe working environment for colleagues and visitors, and in particular undertaking the role of a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessor or Fire Warden
• Contribute to the effective and efficient running of the designated office through a team approach, providing supervision andassistanceto colleagues asappropriate
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade as required by the linemanager

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Working knowledge of relevant systems, equipment, processes and procedures including standard software packages
• Understanding of relevant policies and procedures, as they affect the role, and the quality standards and outputs required
• Familiarity with using initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently
• Familiarity with work priorities and those of colleagues
• Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office products and aptitude for development in and use of core software and data systems (preferably SAP)
• Experience of managing confidential and/or sensitive information with tact and discretion, and a working knowledge of GDPR
• Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to triage queries and issues
• Experience of prioritising workload and handling conflicting priorities
• Experience of working in a diverse team and with senior managers in a large organisation
• Experience of acting as a secretary in meetings, producing agendas, minutes and following up actions
• Where relevant, ability to train/develop and manage other staff

Attributes and Behaviour

• Understands the University values and guiding principles
• People orientated, is approachable and willing to help others and share workloads
• Sees other areas and people as 'customers' and follows through on enquiries and requests
• Has a positive 'can do' attitude towards continuous process improvement
• Able to manage conflicting priorities
• Works in partnership with others and has excellent communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills
• Demonstrates resilience to the demands of the role and pace of change
• Promotes a culture of mutual respect
• Able to work in a matrix organisational model

Qualifications

• Grades A-C in English Language and Mathematics GCSE (or equivalent) or vocational qualifications, plus work experience in a relevant role; or substantial relevant work experience in the unit or a comparable 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 GoldAthena 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.