School Administrator - School of Government - 50592 - Grade 4

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham is looking for a School Administrator to join the School of Government. This role provides essential administrative support across various departments, requiring excellent organizational skills and a strong focus on detail. If you're looking to contribute to a dynamic team, this is an excellent opportunity.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday a year

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Subsidised day nurseries

Volunteering day

Qualifications

• Experiencing administration tasks and supporting educational operations.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain high accuracy.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to engage effectively with staff.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support within the School, including organizing travel and booking rooms.
• Offer secretariat support for departmental committees and take meeting minutes.
• Respond to enquiries and handle administrative requests from staff.

Skills

Customer Service

Attention to Detail

Teamwork

Communication

Organizational Skills

Education

GCSE Level (English and Maths) or Equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office 365

Oracle Systems

Clarity Travel Booking Systems

Job description

Position Details

School of Government

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £27,166 to £28,768, with potential progression once in post to £32,145

Grade: 4

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 13th July 2025

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, andweare equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.With almost 5,000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai, there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are,and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops,places to eat and drink,our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Role Summary

Are you ready to join a dynamic team committed to providing exceptional support for our staff and students at the School of Government? This is your chance to be a part of a professional services team that takes pride in delivering high quality administrative support.

About Us:

The School of Government is dedicated to excellence in teaching and groundbreaking research. We are now seeking a School Administrator to join our School Operations Team. The role will deliver on general administration duties and all staff related non-student-facing activities across all departments within the school. The post holder will also work collaboratively across the School supporting the Education Support Office as required during peak periods.

Your Role:

Within this varied functional role, the Administrator, as part of a wider team, will provide administrative support across a number of tasks ensuring effective administrative support in the School and adapting to changing circumstances.The role works functionally and flexibly across all departments in the School. Tasks will include organising travel, booking rooms, ordering supplies, and providing administrative support to senior professional services staff in the School, under the direction of the Senior Administrator. In addition, the post holder will provide secretariat support to the departmental committees and other ad hoc meetings in the School as required.

The post holder will suit a highly organised, detail orientated individual, with excellent interpersonal skills, who will work as part of a team providing professional, comprehensive and pro-active administrative support the staff community in the School. The role will require the post holder to have excellent team working skills, with an enthusiasm and willingness to meet challenging and competing demands under the direction of the Senior Administrator, who will be Line Manager to this post.

To provide proactive administrative support in the relevant department, working as part of a team or on own initiative. You will have the ability to manage your work without needing to refer to others for most of your time. In order to flexibly use resource you may be given the opportunity to work in different areas of the department or wider University.

Administrators may work in any area of the University; with large groupings in HR, Finance, and School/College Hubs. You will be able to develop a wide range of skills, both technical and administrative, and may also have the opportunity to lead on specific tasks within a team.

Main Duties

• Working entirely out of the School’s generic email inboxes, responding in a timely and professional manner.
• Under the direction of the Senior Administrator, work to a set of standards, processes and procedures, which will be of benefit to the team and its customers.
• Seek guidance and direction from the Senior Administrator, to resolve queries and respond to customers, even when wider support or expertise is required.
• Developing sound customer relations, by working collaboratively with team colleagues in dealing with a full range of functional administration tasks by responding to enquiries in person and by telephone and email.
• Working responsibly in administering requests made by all academic and professional services staff, for example, travel bookings, room bookings, catering, stationery, post, etc, ensuring University policies and procedures are followed.
• Working collaboratively with the Senior Administrator to meet deadlines and in supporting other senior professional services staff in the School as appropriate and directed.
• Working across all departments in the School to provide secretariat support to departmental and ad hoc meetings as directed, which will include distributing agendas, and supporting papers, taking and drafting accurate minutes to a set standard.
• Under direction, maintain up to date electronic filing systems and databases, filing accurately, including ensuring that all documentation is correctly logged, stored and destroyed as required.
• To be familiar with and adhere to the University’s financial process, e.g. to raise purchase orders, invoicing processes etc.
• Booking suitable venues for meetings; meeting rooms are set up appropriately in advance; booking AV if required; and arranging suitable hospitality/catering.
• Projecting an efficient and professional image when acting as initial point of contact when liaising with staff in the School, customers and suppliers.
• Contribute to regular team meetings, 1-2-1s and performance reviews ensuring that own skills are aligned to the team, School and university requirements.
• Providing support and cover for other team members to balance workloads and colleague absence as part of own personal development, as required.
• Developing own professional skills through CPD, proactively gathering knowledge and best practice through practical experience and related project work.

Other Duties

• Provide support to the Education Support Office during peak periods by acting as the first point of contact providing relevant and timely information to students, staff and external providers, answering queries promptly and handling any issues from initial contact to resolution. This will include recognising when queries need to be referred elsewhere.
• To proactively assist the Head of Operations (or nominee) in the on-going development of the School’s administration, its values, standards, service levels and professional ethos within the overall strategic objectives of the School and the Birmingham Professional agenda.
• To undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required by the Head of Operations (or nominee).
• The specific areas of responsibility and/or tasks may change from time to time in accordance with the requirements of the School and its priorities at the time.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to GCSE level (English and Maths) or equivalent qualifications/experience along with demonstrable experience of administration.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 programmes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Co-Pilot etc) and be prepared to learn new software packages.
• Excellent customer service skills with the ability to work as part of a team and to build productive working relationships with others.
• A team-working ethos and ability to flexibly meet team objectives.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to a range of staff at all levels.
• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail, with experience of servicing committee meetings and taking minutes.
• Ability to take responsibility for specific tasks, carrying out duties without needing to refer to others, with scope for some choice and using your own judgment.
• Demonstrable ability to identify improvements to existing processes.
• Well organised with the ability to prioritise work proactively, independently and as part of a team.
• Proven ability to undertake several different tasks simultaneously and effectively to deadline.
• A willingness to learn and develop within the role and successfully demonstrate a commitment to their own continuing professional development.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

DesirableKnowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Experience of working with Oracle systems and Clarity travel booking systems.

Informal enquiries to Sobia Baig, email: [e-mail] Heather Cooper, email: [e-mail]

View our staff values and behaviourshere

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .