UCL ADVANCES
Job Description & Person Specification:
DECIDE service assistant & community engagement (as and when contract)
1. Background Information
UCL – a university, a community, a world-class reputation …
UCL is one of the UK’s leading universities, a world-class multidisciplinary research and teaching
institution, whose staff and former students have included 26 Nobel Prize winners. Founded in
1826, UCL was the first university in England to admit students regardless of race, religion or
gender. It continues to thrive on the creativity and diversity of its community, which today
comprises 10,000 staff, 13,000 undergraduates and 9,000 graduate students from 130 countries
across the globe.
Constitutionally part of the federal University of London, UCL is in practice an independent
university, with an annual turnover of over £800 million. Its 70 departments span arts and
humanities, social and historical sciences, law, architecture and the built environment,
engineering sciences, mathematical and physical sciences, life and clinical sciences, and
medicine. UCL includes academic units as diverse as the UCL Slade School of Fine Art, the UCL
Bartlett School of Architecture and the UCL Institute of Child Health, which is associated with
Great Ormond Street Hospital.
UCL was ranked 4th in the QS World University ranking for 2012. As a result of its track record,
UCL receives substantial funding from government and charities, and more than £250 million is
currently being invested in state-of-the-art facilities for cutting-edge research and teaching.
Situated at the heart of one of the world’s greatest cities, UCL’s historic central campus in
Bloomsbury is within easy reach of several rail and underground stations, the Eurostar terminal
and Heathrow airport.
UCL Advances
UCL Advances was launched in August 2007 to enhance UCL’s role as a hub of technical
innovation benefitting its status as one of the top 10 universities in the world. UCL Advances,
UCL’s center for entrepreneurship, has been formed to develop new links between UCL and
businesses of all kinds, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs and small and medium–sized
enterprises (SMEs).
Programme Summary
UCL Advances, has provisional approval for funding from the ERDF (European Regional
Development Fund) to work on a programme called DECIDE (Digital Enterprise: Collaborative
Innovation, Development and Evaluation) which will deliver a unique, in-depth service helping
innovate London SME¹s to test their new products and services, gain customer feedback and
ensure its technical feasibility. UCL DECIDE will help them achieve that by offering access to
UCL as a 'living-lab' that provides controlled conditions for testing their innovations through
access to UCL¹s 32,000 members, extensive physical estate, IT infrastructure and other assets.
The DECIDE programme was approved by the ERDF in October 2012. It was launched in
October 2012 and runs until September 2014. This post is on an ‘as and when contract’ so
salary will be paid on timesheets approved by the line manager.
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The importance of evaluating and validating the efficacy of products for early stage businesses
cannot be underestimated. UCL DECIDE will assist SMEs to interact with customers in
demanding client settings, to commercially develop and validate their products and provide a
sustainable commercial base from which to create jobs, secure expansion capital, export revenue
and additional customers.
The key outputs from DECIDE will flow from enabling innovative new products and services to
make it to market with validated impact on potential customers. This will protect jobs, create new
innovation-led roles and help develop London as a leading centre for innovative small
businesses.
In summary, UCL DECIDE will:
1. Assist 200 small businesses in two years
2. Deliver a new model for university-SME engagement
3. Leverage huge additional resources from commercial partners for the benefit of London’s
SMEs
4. Support key policy initiatives, including the development of a world-class digital
businesses cluster at TechCity
5. Stimulate new economic development, create jobs and safeguard existing workers
Activities
The main activities under the Programme will be to assist in pre-market validation of new digital
products and services. Each company will need a different package of activities to come together
to allow their idea to be tested and validated. After the trial is complete, an evaluation process will
determine whether the outcome is sufficient for the participant SMEs requirements of if a modified
version needs to be considered, which may be possible where some of the factors that could be
changed are comparatively minor.
2. The Role
Job Title
DECIDE Service Assistant and community engagement
Location
IDEALondon, 69 Wilson Street, LONDON, EC2A 2BB
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
Assist the Service Co-ordinator with testing, administrative work and community engagement
including:
Principal Responsibilities:
2.1 Administrative:
 Carry out testing with the Service Co-ordinator and assist in running any errands
as necessary for this
 Responsible for the day-to-day administration and coordination of the service together
with the Service Co-ordinator
 Liaise with UCL staff & students in the development of DECIDE services as directed by
the Service Co-ordinator and / or Programme manager
 Arrange collection and distribution of incentives from SMEs for participants (UCL
students and staff)
 Arrange meetings, meeting rooms & catering as required
 Take minutes during meetings, file appropriately & follow up on actions to be taken
 Correspond and liaise with clients to ensure all information and paperwork required is on
hand
 Collect outputs for the project
 Data entry and ensuring the existing data in the database is accurate
 File service records
 Assist research, create and check reports
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Assist the programme team on analysis of data and subsequent report writing, publication
and dissemination of programme results
Assist with events, which may take place outside of regular office hours
Work with the Advances marketing team to promote news and events amongst the UCL
community
Assist in compiling data for our regular e-newsletters
Prepare and update the website and blog content as needed
Keep up to date with testing and pre-market validation for digital SME’s and use this to
prepare content for social media
Man the reception desk and welcome visitors as and when needed
Assist with enquiries received via email, phone or in person
Develop and maintain a full and up to date knowledge of all Enterprise services /
partnerships, their applications and benefits
Adhere and comply with the provisions of the College’s Health and Safety Policy
Any other duties as may be reasonably expected and which are commensurate
with the level of the post
2.2 Other Duties
 To continue to develop skills and knowledge in work practices, policies and procedures
 To undertake other tasks as appropriate as directed by the Service Manager or
Programme manager
3. Person Specification: Knowledge, Skills and Attitude Required
Relationships
You will work closely on a day-to-day basis with all members of the UCL Advances Team and
their clients.
You will develop key relationships with staff in other UCL Departments.
Person Specification
You must be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, the ability
to take on responsibilities and to have a hands-on attitude to the post.
Specifically you need to be able to demonstrate the following experience and competencies,
or their equivalents in other fields:
Essential
 Applicants must have a minimum of 5 A-C GCSE passes or equivalent
 A high level of oral and written communication and numeracy is required
 Proactive with an ability work on own initiative, with minimal supervision and able to
prioritise own workload and that of the Service Co-ordinator
 Excellent use of all Microsoft Office-suite programmes and the internet
 Tact and discretion in the handling of highly confidential and sensitive information
 A high level of accuracy and consistent attention to detail
 Proven flexibility and an ability to prioritise a busy workload
 Ability to successfully manage a variety of tasks to deadline and to work calmly under
pressure
 Ability to communicate well with people and develop effective working relationships
 Outgoing and able to engage with strangers in order to carry out testing within the
community
 Strong interest in digital SME’s and the startup culture in London
 Demonstrable skills in student and / or staff engagement within a Higher Education
Institution
Desirable
 Administrative experience within a Higher Education Institution
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Experience of taking minutes/notes of meetings
Experience of working in a commercial environment, particularly a small business
First hand Start-up and SME product development cycles and Agile methodologies
Strong interest in pre-market validation and testing for startups and SMEs
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