About
The
Job.
Department of Music
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Student Support Officer
About
The
Job.
Pursue the extraordinary
Overview
About the Department
The Department of Music has 13 members of academic staff, around 150
undergraduates, 80 research postgraduates, and 75 postgraduates on taught courses.
It is one of the largest and most vibrant academic music departments in the UK, covering
musicology, performance, ethnomusicology, composition, psychology of music, music
education and music technology. It is also one of the strongest in research, ranking joint
4th in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. 45% of research was deemed ‘world
leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour’ and a further 35%
‘internationally excellent’.
Job Role
To provide administrative support to the department, particularly in the areas of
postgraduate taught degree programmes (both on-site and distance learning courses).
Assist academic and other support staff in key processes including co-ordination of student
records and assisting with timetabling, preparations for external examiners, expenses forms,
coordinating schedules for residential courses, contact with potential students, enquiry
support to students and staff; dealing with incoming and outgoing post; room and
equipment bookings; record keeping, filing and database/website maintenance.
Job Description
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Deal with first point of contact enquiries from students, staff and members of the public
on the office enquiry desk, and assisting potential students with any enquiries about
their courses and/or department.

Maintenance of departmental databases for staff and student lists and personnel
information. Produce reports from databases as required.

Correspond with University departments and external bodies to provide/exchange
information, including ensuring the smooth running of postal registration for new
distance students.

Supporting undergraduate and postgraduate teaching through: maintaining records,
compiling module/course assessments and module choice information, organising
electronic handing in sessions, stock-taking of undergraduate course packs, scanning
teaching material, archiving, and processing examination assessments eg.
entering/checking exam marks and submitting to the Faculty by appropriate deadlines.

Liaise with External Examiners, assist with the organisation of their visits to the
department, being a point of contact, and liaise with course directors.

Registration of casual and self-employed workers.

Plan and organise twice yearly residential courses, including booking and arranging
accommodation for students and visiting lectures, timetabling, room bookings,
organising catering and equipment.

Compile on-line documentation for teaching purposes from material supplied by
academic staff, and updating on-line student handbooks and module books.

Responsible for liaising with colleagues in other University departments and external
suppliers in relation to open days, graduation, seminars and other ad hoc events e.g.
intro week activities for new students.

Maintain distance-learning web pages, in collaboration with academic colleagues.

Work collaboratively as part of the administrative support team to provide cover for
other members of the team as circumstances require eg. sickness, holiday cover, etc.
Provide support to members of the admin team as and when required.

Assist with departmental marketing strategy. Ensuring effective distribution of print
media, on-line resources for departmental events and events relating to the concert
series.

Prioritise own work within a general plan or schedule to meet deadlines and appropriate
standards and assist other staff in planning for future work.

Perform general admin duties such as filing, photocopying, mail duties, room bookings
and liaising with Portering staff with regards to instrument movement.

Plan work up to 6 months in advance, although workload will be determined by daily
flow of post and requests from senior staff and Departmental Manager.

Carry out a wide range of activities that require constant assessment and prioritisation,
working to tight deadlines and producing work to a consistently high standard.

Other University academics and senior staff within the department delegate work which
is handled by the departmental office, with guidance from the line manager.

Any other duties commensurate with the grade as directed by the line manager.
Person Specification
Applicants should provide evidence in their applications that they meet the following
criteria. We will use a range of selection methods to measure candidates’ abilities in these
areas including reviewing your on-line application, seeking references, inviting shortlisted
candidates to interview and other forms of assessment action relevant to the post.
Criteria
Essential Desirable
Qualifications and experience
1.
Education to GCSE level or equivalent (or have equivalent
X
experience).
2.
Good IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office
X
packages, email and internet.
3.
Knowledge of Google applications, e.g. Google Docs/Drive,
X
Gmail and Calendar.
4.
Previous experience of working in a fast paced office/ customer
X
service environment.
5.
Previous administrative/clerical experience, preferably in a
X
Higher Education environment.
Communication skills
6.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal to
X
communicate effectively with members of University staff,
students and external organisations.
7.
Good communication and interpersonal skills; and the ability
to deal sensitively with students from a wide variety of cultures
in order to provide accurate and comprehensive information.
X
8.
Ability to deal patiently with people whose first language is not
X
English.
Team working
9.
Previous experience of working effectively as part of a team and
X
on own initiative.
Personal effectiveness
10.
Excellent customer service skills, with experience of responding
X
efficiently and effectively to phone and email enquiries.
11.
Excellent organisation skills and ability to work to tight
X
deadlines, whilst having a flexible approach to work.
12.
Experience of handling confidential information appropriately.
13.
Ability to act with discretion, sensitivity, diplomacy and
X
X
confidentiality.
Further Information
This post is part time working 21 hours per week.
This post is open-ended and is available from 9 September 2013 or as soon as possible
thereafter.
Benefits
Terms and conditions of employment: Will be those for Grade 4 staff.
Salary for this grade: £17,678 - £19,802 per annum pro-rata. Potential to progress to
£21,597 per annum pro-rata through sustained exceptional contribution.
More details on salaries, terms and conditions and our wide range of benefits for staff are
available at www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/reward/structures
Closing date:
Informal enquiries:
For all on-line application system queries and support, contact:
e-Recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk .
For informal enquiries about this job and department, contact:
Selection-Next Step
Following the closing date, you will be informed by email whether or not you have been
shortlisted to be invited to participate in the next stage of the selection process. Please note
that due to the large number of applications that we receive, it may take up to two working
weeks following the closing date before the recruiting department will be able to contact
you.
The University of Sheffield is committed to achieving excellence through inclusion.
The University of Sheffield is proud to be a Two Ticks employer
www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/equality/support/twoticks/
Pursue the extraordinary