About
The
Job.
Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Student Support Officer
About
The
Job.
Pursue the extraordinary
Overview
About the Department
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is committed to contributing to the knowledge and
understanding of arts and humanities through excellence in research and teaching. We aim
to attract high calibre students and offer them a first class higher education.
The Department of History is one of the major History departments in the UK, with a
total of over 40 staff in all categories. It is committed to achieving and sustaining
excellence in its research and teaching, and its planning is directed to this end. It was
rated 5 in the 1996 and the 2001 Research Assessment Exercises; in the 2008 exercise we
were in tenth position nationally ranked by the proportion of our research judged
'world-leading': 35% of our research was judged to be in this category (4*) and 30% to be
internationally excellent (3*), In 2011 a regular process of Periodic Review commended
the
Department’s strong
commitment
to
research-led
teaching.
A
previous
Independent Evaluation of Teaching had confirmed the Department’s excellent quality
of education, imaginative thinking about the curriculum, and innovative methods of
delivery. The Department also has a particular expertise in the application of IT to
research and teaching in the Humanities.
Job Role
This role is in a rapidly changing environment, and will require an adaptable, enthusiastic
and forward thinking approach with excellent communication and organisational skills, and
an ability to work collaboratively with administrative and academic staff to provide excellent
services to students. The post holder’s main areas of responsibility will be timetabling at all
levels, examinations, research support and servicing meetings. We are looking for
candidates who have a real commitment to their role, and who have a good track record of
being able to work on their own initiative and have good attention to detail.
Job Description
Report to: Undergraduate Support Team Leader
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Examination support including checking marks, formatting papers, liaising with
academic staff and external examiners.

Coursework and dissertation support including administering hand-in procedures,
checking marks and liaising with staff, as above.

Production of the academic timetables for all levels of students including allocation and
booking of rooms. This will involve the use of the timetabling software (CMIS) for which
training will be provided.

Provide support for Research, including Research Excellence Framework (REF)
co-ordination.

Collate completed student evaluation questionnaires, monitor and check the results.
Produce a report summarising the qualitative comments made by students.

Take minutes and produce draft agendas for the Department level Committee Meetings.

Provide guidance and support to students in person, over the phone and via email.

Plan your own workload in consultation with appropriate colleagues, and manage
unscheduled tasks as required.

Ensure tasks are completed in a timely and efficient manner prioritising effectively to
plan for conflicting deadlines.

Work on own initiative, flexibly and largely unsupervised; recognising when to refer
matters to senior colleagues.

Work collaboratively as part of the administrative support team and providing cover for
other members of the team, as required (including sickness, holiday cover and the
service needs of the department).

Responsible, as part of a team, for the smooth running of the departmental office, as well
as working with the team to maintain high levels of student satisfaction

Other relevant duties, commensurate with the grade of the post, as reasonably required
by the Team Leaders, Departmental Manager and Head of Department.
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.
Experience of working in a high volume customer facing office
X
environment.
2.
Experience of working in Higher Education.
3.
Excellent IT skills including the use of Microsoft Office, Internet
X
X
and Email, and the ability to learn new software.
4.
A-levels or equivalent qualifications (or have equivalent
X
experience).
5.
A working knowledge of the Data Protection Act.
X
6.
Experience of servicing meetings, including note taking.
X
7.
A good level of numeracy to handle statistical data.
8.
Experience of using Excel to work with and manipulate large
X
X
amounts of data.
9.
Experience of the timetabling software (CMIS) and timetable
X
practice.
Communication skills
10.
Proven communication skills, both written and verbal to deal
X
effectively with staff, students and members of the public.
11.
Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience of responding
efficiently and effectively to phone and email enquiries.
X
12.
Ability to respond efficiently and effectively to phone and email
X
enquiries.
Team working
13.
Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a
X
team.
14.
Willingness to assist other team members and to work
X
collaboratively with others to ensure work is completed to
deadlines.
Problem solving and decision making
15.
Highly motivated and able to work and make decisions
X
autonomously combined with an understanding of when to refer
more complex issues to senior colleagues.
16.
Ability to analyse and solve problems with an appreciation of
X
longer-term implications.
17.
Ability to develop creative approaches to problem solving.
X
18.
Ability to manage, collate and summarise a range of information
X
and data.
Personal effectiveness
19.
Proven ability to manage workload and meet deadlines while
X
maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
20.
Ability to undertake work of a confidential and sensitive nature,
X
and act with discretion and diplomacy.
21.
Flexible approach to tasks.
X
22.
Experience of adapting own skills to new circumstances.
X
23.
Ability to concentrate and work methodically on routine tasks
X
over an extended period while maintaining a high degree of
accuracy.
24.
Ability to prioritise multiple tasks and effectively use time
management skills to meet deadlines.
Further Information
X
This post is open-ended
This post is full-time:
This role has been identified as a full-time post, but we are committed to exploring flexible
working opportunities with our staff which benefit both the individual and the University.
Therefore, we would consider flexible delivery of the role subject to meeting the business
needs of the post. See www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/wellbeing/info/wlb.html for more
information.
Benefits
Terms and conditions of employment: Will be those for Grade 5 staff.
Salary for this grade: £20,374 - £23,585 per annum. Potential to progress to £25,759 per
annum 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
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