Benchmark Role Profile for School Administrator (APML4)
Version 2.0
Last Amended: March 2015
THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM
Job Title:
School Administrator
School/Department:
Salary:
Job Family and Level:
Administrative, Professional and Managerial Level 4
Contract Status:
Hours of Work:
Location:
Reporting to:
The Purpose of the Role:
The purpose of the role is to manage and advise staff in the School of XXXX on areas of
administration, to ensure that the School is successful in meeting internal and external
requirements. To identify gaps in School policy and co-ordinate/design solutions and systems.
Working with key personnel and School committees, develop and implement School policy and
monitor implementation. To manage quality assurance in order to support School requirements
(e.g. Undergraduate and Postgraduate teaching; Induction; SET). The School is large, complex
and operates over multiple sites.
Main Responsibilities:
1.
Managing, advising and supporting a broad range of academic administrative
matters (administration, teaching and research), including the co-ordination
and organisation of documentation for the QAA, UQA and RAE (or equivalent).
Contributing to the School Planning process. Advising School staff and helping
other administrative units within the University by acting as a central point of
contact within the School. To solve problems, deal with enquiries and advise
staff on policies and procedures in a broad range of administrative areas (often
not of a routine nature).
Identifying gaps in provision on a strategic as well as operational level, making
recommendations for improvement, developing policies and procedures as
necessary. Continually monitoring and reviewing policies and systems.
Liaising and negotiating with staff with whom the role holder has no line
management responsibility to ensure policy/procedure is
implemented/adhered to.
% time
per year
25%
Benchmark Role Profile for School Administrator (APML4)
Version 2.0
Last Amended: March 2015
Co-ordinating the PDPR process within the School and providing advice to staff
and managers of University policy on PDPR. Advising staff and managers
experiencing Human Resources issues including working with staff and
managers to devise appropriate informal solutions. Mentoring/counselling
staff.
Reporting and presenting at School/Faculty meetings. Writing terms of
reference and suggesting membership for School committees.
2.
Inducting all new staff into the School through welcome events held quarterly
and writing and maintaining a School Induction pack. Reviewing this and
amending as appropriate.
Managing and developing the administration processes of the School’s
Postgraduate research students. Contributing to strategic developments
within this area e.g. marketing, policy on admissions, Quality Assurance.
Monitoring changes in external/internal policy; drafting School
policy/procedure documents to meet requirements. Cascading relevant
information to staff e.g. through training sessions and presentations at staff
meetings/committee meetings. Advising staff on policy change and ensuring
the School implements internal and external policy changes.
45%
Admissions officer for Postgraduate Research Admissions.
Mentoring/counselling students. Filtering problems and using initiative and
judgement to resolve problems/find solutions or referring as appropriate.
3.
Co-ordination of the Postgraduate prospectus (hard copy and on line).
Developing the Postgraduate Handbook. Planning, delivering and developing
the student welcome event. Monitoring submission rates/application
statistics/offers to ensure we meet targets. Monitoring Quality Assurance
compliance. Attending marketing seminars and adapting the advice to initiate
marketing activities within our School. Maintaining the Postgraduate sections
of the School web site to ensure a useful marketing presence. Developing
relationships with Industrial contracts to secure funding for PhD studentships
through face to face visits, timely communication.
Overseeing aspects of the Undergraduate teaching programme through the
management and delegation of work to administrative staff. Reviewing all
external examiners reports and student feedback ensuring follow up action is
taken where appropriate.
10%
Line management including appropriate delegation, development and PDPR.
4.
Managing the appointment process and deployment of external examiners.
Making sure the relevant information is supplied to the examiner prior to their
duties and that the report is received and dealt with in accordance with the
University Quality Manual. Ensuring that quality standards, where these are
not being met are brought to the attention of the relevant School Teaching
Committee and ensuring an audit train for QAA purposes exists.
School Staff Development Officer (SSDO). Managing the SD budget; writing
and maintaining the School Staff Development Policy; producing a plan of
expenditure of School Staff Development Funds against identified need:
keeping track of developments within the School to ensure, if training is
required, that this is planned for and pushed forward; suggesting to School
5%
Benchmark Role Profile for School Administrator (APML4)
Version 2.0
Last Amended: March 2015
Committees use of Staff Development Funds in the light of reviews of teaching
or student feedback; planning and organising training sessions in liaison with
other staff or SEDU to meet training needs; raising the importance/profile of
staff development activities.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Writing, maintaining and promoting the School mentoring policy. Organising
training for mentors as appropriate.
School Disability Liaison Officer. Keeping up-to-date with disability legislation.
Writing and maintaining the School Disability Action Plan (DAP). Implementing
either personally or through negotiating and influencing other staff within the
School. Raising disability awareness by presenting at School staff/student
seminars/meetings. Maintain a School web site on disability.
Updating and writing content for certain areas of the School website (e.g.
Undergraduate, Postgraduate and staff resources) to help the School
communicate to staff and existing students and to attract potential students
through marketing of its opportunities.
SET (Student Evaluation of Teaching) Officer. Reviewing SET questions;
identifying relevant staff for SET feedback; advising staff who may receive
negative feedback; Monitoring responses.
Managing or supporting one off projects, sometimes in collaboration with
others.
Any other duties appropriate to the grade and role
Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience
Essential
Qualifications/
Relevant Degree or professional
Education
qualification, or equivalent, plus some
hands on experience in a similar or
related role or
Proven tracker record of extensive
relevant work experience,
demonstrating practical and
theoretical knowledge in field.
Skills/Training
Proven negotiation and influencing
skills.
Tact, diplomacy and confidentiality.
Excellent planning and organising
skills.
Excellent written and oral
communication skills.
Excellent presentation skills
Excellent IT skills in a wide range of
software packages.
Experience
Experience of managing others.
Proven change management and
project management skills.
Desirable
5%
5%
2.5%
2.5%
Benchmark Role Profile for School Administrator (APML4)
Version 2.0
Last Amended: March 2015
Knowledge of Quality Assurance.
Proven coaching and motivating
skills.
Initiative, resourcefulness, problem
solving skills.
Awareness of the current and future
activities of the University/School to
use for planning purposes and
systems analysis.
An understanding of the key working
relationships required with staff at all
levels across the
School/Faculty/University.
Statutory/Legal
Decision Making
i) Taken independently by the role holder;
 Managing own time and the work of others. Prioritising own work and the work of others.
 Use own discretion and judgement to advise/approve mattes for staff and students within the
framework of policy and procedure provided by the University (e.g. HR issues, Quality Manual
framework)
 Day-to-day enquiries about policy and procedures.
 Operational decisions.
 Manage PDPR for administrative staff
 The detail of how a system or procedure will work to get the end result.
 Managing and controlling the flow of information.
 Drafting School responses to consultation documents/drafting policy/procedure documents.
ii) Taken in collaboration with others;
Draft policy and procedure documents (e.g. Staff Development Policy, Postgraduate Admissions
Policy, mentoring policy, responses to consultation documents) but final approval for these would
have to come from the relevant School Committee.
iii) Referred to the appropriate line manager by the role holder;
Problems with Postgraduate Student/supervisor relationship when all procedural steps have been
exhausted these are then referred to the Postgraduate Student Adviser.
Additional Information
The School operates across numerous sites, the role holder is often communicating with staff
remotely. The role holder is required to ensure that the different sites fulfil School and University
policy. This is co-ordinated by building relationships (where no line management authority exists)
with staff at all levels through negotiating and influencing. Taking into account the different
structures of each area and their particular needs and adapting where possible but within policy.
Working extensively with staff and managers providing advice on policy and providing options and
solutions to problems.
Benchmark Role Profile for School Administrator (APML4)
Version 2.0
Last Amended: March 2015
The role holder is a key member of School Committees and attends University meetings to
maintain a good overview of changes within the University and externally to ensure that the
School is meeting requirements and where gaps are identified, either drafting and implementing
policy/systems/processes or communicating and working with other personnel within the
School/University where policy change is likely to affect their role and new systems need
introducing (systems management).
In terms of the management of Postgraduate Research Student this impacts on: quality assurance
(e.g. admissions policy; monitoring of submission/completion rates; general student experience)
and income generation (registration; marketing). Mentoring and counselling students.
The University of Nottingham strongly endorses Athena SWAN principles,
with commitment from all levels of the organisation in furthering women’s
careers. It is our mission to ensure equal opportunity, best working
practices and fair policies for all.