Administration Assistant

Welsh Language: Not Applicable

Change your career, change lives The Open University is the UK's largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

About the Role The Admin Assistant plays a pivotal role providing a confidential, proactive, high quality administrative service within the Academic Services (AS) Admin Hub, Business Services, in the Open University (OU).

This role is to provide comprehensive administrative support to sub-unit Associate, Assistant and Deputy Directors (Service Users) across the entire Academic Services unit, encompassing sub-units; Central, Student Support Hub (SSH), Student Support Services (SSS), and Tuition, Assessment, Curriculum and Quality (TACQ), whilst being responsible for a specific sub-unit of focus. The Admin Assistant will be a versatile team member, capable of seamlessly transitioning between sub-units as required, ensuring effective support across the broader Academic Services team.

The role requires a high degree of professionalism and discretion, whilst having a good understanding of business administration and the importance of working in a fast-paced support function. This role will also involve coordinating projects and helping to support the wider AS colleagues in setting up events. The Admin Assistant reports to and takes direction from the Admin Hub Manager.

Key Responsibilities Administrative Support:

• Provide proactive general administrative support to Academic Services Associate, Assistant and Deputy Director Service Users, prioritising and managing competing demands across all sub-units.
• Support the Academic Services sub-unit meetings, ensuring efficient coordination, documentation and action/decision notes.
• Maintain and manage email groups and creating mailing lists that span the entire Academic Services Department.
• Adhere to established governance, processes, and procedures, ensuring compliance in all administrative activities.

Communication and Collaboration:

• Act as a central point of contact for administration for Service Users, liaising with colleagues across all four sub-units and external contacts where necessary.
• Work closely with the PAs who support the Executive Directors, supporting and enabling seamless coordination of administrative activities across Academic Services.
• Collaborate effectively with other Admin Assistants within the Amin Hub team, fostering a culture of open communication and mutual support.
• Collaborate with colleagues from different sub-units, building relationships and fostering a cohesive and supportive working environment within the Admin Hub.
• Handle enquiries with tact, diplomacy, and discretion, maintaining a high level of professionalism in all interactions.
• Be open to innovation and actively share and communicate ideas on improving service delivery for both Assistants and Service Users.

Documentation and Record Keeping:

• Maintain the Academic Services (AS) documentation, including but not limited to organisational charts, distribution lists, handbooks, CDSA trackers and compliance training trackers.
• Assist with the preparation and updating of documentation for AS sub-units including but not limited to action trackers, decisions logs, meeting agendas, and SharePoint collaboration sites.
• Induction, Leavers and Equipment Support:
• Working with the Operational Support Hub to request new IT equipment and procurement activities on behalf of Service Users.
• Working with the Operational Support Hub to support Service Users in the retrieval of equipment, the organising of departures and arranging exit interviews of Leavers.
• Supporting the effective induction arrangements for new staff, facilitating a smooth onboarding process.

Event Planning

• Support the planning and preparation of events which Service Users require, using the tools and checklists available, ensuring:
• Meeting rooms are booked university-wide, ensuring the availability and suitability of equipment, stationery, and essentials.
• Catering requests are managed, taking account of dietary requirements and numbers catering for in a cost-efficient manner.
• Ensure a risk assessment form is completed for medium to high-risk events, one month prior to an event.
• Look to implement technology solutions and tools to facilitate effective and efficient event planning and coordination.

Cross-Functional Coverage:

• Provide cover for the Admin Hub Assistants when they are on leave, with the ability to step in and cover Admin Assistant roles across all sub-units.
• Have a dedicated sub-unit as an area of focus on a day-to-day basis while supporting the entire Academic Services Unit.
• Provide ad-hoc planned administrative support to sub-units during peak times as appropriate to workload.
• GCSE English and Maths at Grade C/4 or equivalent experience.
• Strong IT skills, with proven experience using Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, OneNote and the ability to adapt quickly to new systems and tools (experience of using Visio is desirable).
• Proven experience providing high-quality administrative support in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment, supporting multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to accurately prioritise workloads, manage competing demands and meet deadlines during peak periods.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to liaise professionally and confidently with colleagues at all levels and external stakeholders.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail, including strong data entry, record-keeping and document management skills.
• Strong interpersonal and team-working skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and contribute positively.
• Professionalism, discretion and integrity, with proven ability to handle confidential and sensitive information.
• Proactive and self motivated approach, demonstrating initiative, flexibility and a willingness to contribute to continuous improvement and change.
• Experience or confidence in using screen sharing and collaboration tools across multiple devices and platforms to support meetings and events.
• Experience using Microsoft PowerPoint, with the ability to create clear, engaging draft presentation materials, including basic graphics, layouts or animations.
• Strong problem solving skills, with the ability to identify issues, propose practical solutions and improve administrative processes.
• Experience of working in a large organisation, supporting senior stakeholders or cross functional teams.

Support with your application If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on or email quoting the advert reference number.

What's in it for you? At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it's a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work Location It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We'd expect this to be every Thursday and ad hoc to support activity such as Unit meetings and away days.

Next steps in the Recruitment process Interviews are expected to take place 30 & 31 March. The interview stage will consist of a panel interview and a short presentation task. Candidates may be required to complete a series of online assessments.

Early closing date notification While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications has been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented. If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply To apply for this role please submit the following as separate documents;

CV

Supporting statement of up to 1,000 words. You should set out in your statement why you're interested in this role and provide clear examples of how you meet the essential and desirable competencies for this role, as detailed in the About You section.
. click apply for full job details