Operations Administrator

Operations Administrator

Salary: £27,319.00 - £29,588.00 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 18 September 2025

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join our highly motivated teams in the School of Engineering Professional Services. As a member of the Operation Team, you will supervise and deliver comprehensive administrative support and outstanding customer service, developing excellent working relationships with colleagues and students.

You will be interested in working in a fast-paced and varied environment and be a proactive team player, with excellent communication, planning and organizational skills.

For more information about the School of Engineering please click here.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment and we would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working.

If you would like to discuss this vacancy, please contact Jenny Conn, Deputy Head of School Operations via email: jenny.conn@ncl.ac.uk

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples.

Working as part of the Operations Team, you will lead on the successful delivery of an excellent student and colleague experience. You will ensure the smooth and effective running of administrative duties in your area and operational support of the Unit's activities.

Key Accountabilities

• To provide a professional and proactive service to colleagues, students and visitors with a clear focus on customer service.
• Supervise a team managing the allocation of duties and workload, where appropriate.
• Lead the administration of designated processes within your area, including adhering to agreed operating procedures, escalating as appropriate and monitoring progress.
• Develop, implement and maintain effective office procedures and systems to ensure that support is efficient, timely and accurate.
• Act as secretary to meetings including logistical arrangements such as room bookings, agenda preparation and circulation, minute taking and monitoring progress of actions.
• Undertake an active role in the health and safety management of a designated office, contributing to the maintenance of a safe working environment for colleagues and visitors.
• Take the lead on general administrative support to colleagues and students as required, including (but not limited to) purchasing, travel, assisting with the running of events.
• Work as part of a wider Faculty and unit team and to undertake other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• A flexible attitude to work demands and customers and a commitment to excellent customer service.
• Good IT skills with experience of Microsoft suite of programmes.
• An excellent communicator both verbally and in writing with the ability to tailor messages to the appropriate audiences.
• Ability to follow and implement policies and procedures.
• Ability to use initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure and to manage competing deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Experience of administrative duties, including but not limited to general meeting support, diary management, dealing with enquiries.
• Ability to train/develop and supervise other staff.

Attributes and Behaviour

• A positive, proactive and professional customer focussed attitude.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Works in a planned and structured way.
• Uses own and others time effectively.
• Ensures that all activities are completed on time.
• Keeps fellow team members up to date with progress.
• Willing to help others and share workloads.
• Maintains flexibility in work plans to allow for changing circumstances.
• Plans team workload and tasks in a systematic way.
• Takes responsibility for achieving own targets.
• An aptitude for utilizing software tools and technologies to enhance, improve and simplify day to day functioning/organizational skills.

Qualifications

• Maths and English at GCSE Level 4 or equivalent plus relevant experience in an administrative or customer service setting.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.