Mathematics and Statistics Support Officer - Library Services

Position Details

Library Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30.942 to £40,322, with potential progression once in post to £42,797

Grade 7

Full Time - Permanent

Closing date 10th January 2021

Job Summary

The Mathematics and Statistics Support Officer will directly contribute to the University's Education Strategy by supporting a positive student learning experience. As the primary operational co-ordinator of the Mathematics Support Centre, the post-holder will develop, deliver and evaluate Mathematics/statistics skills support for taught students and develop a vision for how the centre might move forward, be responsive to emerging needs and provide input to the national agenda.

The primary responsibility will be to tutor students either on a one-to-one basis and/or in small groups. This tutoring will require professional judgement to gauge the development needs of each tutee and to prioritise and offer formative feedback on limited extracts of assignments. The role will develop additional models of support in response to requirements across Colleges, including maintaining a range of online resources. The post-holder will also manage a range of postgraduate teaching assistants.

The Learning Enhancement Team will support the objectives of all divisions within Library Services:

Academic and Digital Skills Centre; Collection Management & Development; Library Customer Support; and Special Collections. Collaborative working across teams is expected. The postholder will also be expected to collaborate closely with stakeholders across Professional Services as well as engage with key College stakeholders to develop new models of mathematics/statistics support which complement the provision made directly within programmes.

The Mathematics/statistics Advisor is required to show strong capabilities in the areas of organisational understanding and communication.

Main Duties

Development of Mathematics/statistics services through, for example:

• Developing knowledge and understanding of the University's strategies and corporate plans, including those relating to Education, to contextualise mathematics/statistics support for Library users.
• Supporting the Heads of Learning Enhancement to ensure the Learning Enhancement Team's activities effectively align with broader strategic priorities.
• Supporting the Heads of Learning Enhancement with monitoring service demand and quality, and planning for sustainable service development accordingly
• To support the Heads of Learning Enhancement with evaluation and monitoring of the impact of academic transition support activities on student progression and retention, e.g. through the collection of usage data and reporting on this data.
• To undertake evaluation and monitoring of the Mathematics Skills Centre Service, including monitoring of student attendance at activities- online, face-to-face, and group resources/ activities etc. This will include ensuring that attendance figures are captured and recorded on central systems.
• Maintaining a good knowledge of broader education developments within the University, and how they impact on the needs of Library users.
• Contributing to, and where appropriate to role, leading approved projects, to time and within budget.
• Maintaining knowledge and understanding of good practice and service developments nationally in equivalent services, through membership of appropriate professional bodies and networks, and contributing this awareness to planning within the University of Birmingham's Library Services.

To provide expert advice, support and training on a range of mathematics/statistics skills. This will done by, for example:

• Supporting the implementation of Library Services policy frameworks and service levels relating to academic skills delivery. This will include delivering tutorials/ training sessions, producing guides and learning materials using current and appropriate pedagogic principles.
• Taking responsibility for designated areas of activity, as directed, including planning and managing programmes of academic support in conjunction with others in the team.
• Ensuring that mathematics/statistics skills provision is inclusive of the needs of all students. This includes ensuring the requirements of under-represented groups, widening participation and students with specific learning needs are met.
• Supporting skills mapping, skills curriculum design and review activities relating to taught students.
• Contributing to the design and maintenance of online mathematics/statistics content to students, re-using, adapting, sharing and repurposing materials to ensure effective use of resources, where appropriate.
• As directed, evaluating and monitoring programmes and online and printed resources.
• Contributing, as directed, to providing an enquiries service to complement the frontline Customer Support provision.

To support collaborative best practice, and cross-service promotion. This will be done by, for example:

• Liaising with other key stakeholders both from the Colleges and from other departments within the University to ensure that Library Services does not duplicate mathematics/statistics skills support that is provided elsewhere, and sharing good practice.
• Proactively identifying effective and innovative practices Nationally for adoption/adaptation in Birmingham
• Promoting the mathematics/statistics resources of these key stakeholders to students in order to provide students with information on the wealth of generic and discipline-specific support that is available to them at the University of Birmingham.

As directed, to manage casual worker recruitment and training within the Academic Skills Team:

• To manage the recruitment and performance of casual workers providing mathematics and statistics skills support within the Academic Skills Centre, reporting the outcomes of this to the Head of Learning Enhancement (Academic Skills).
• Organise and deliver training and development activities for casual workers and student interns, as appropriate.
• Plan and manage the roles of casual workers (setting up schedules, allocating work etc).

Other Duties

• To represent Library Services both inside and outside the University as required, including occasional participation in University Open Days
• Promoting equality and valuing diversity including: (a) actively acting as a role model in own behaviour and fostering a non-discriminatory culture; (b) actively applying internal processes in a fair and equal way.
• To undertake other such duties as may be required from time to time in furtherance of the work of Library Services.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience Required

Qualifications

• Formal education to degree level or equivalent in a mathematics or statistics intensive discipline is required.
• A teaching qualification, e.g. full or Associate membership of the Higher Education Academy, or another relevant professional body.
• Specific expertise in statistics and/or providing statistics support.

Previous experience

• Experience gained in a skills development role, with a demonstrable ability to plan and develop learning activities, adapting to suit different discipline requirements, undergraduate levels and learning requirements, evaluating activity and responding to feedback
• Experience of service development
• A proven track record in the provision of quality services to a diverse range of end users within a framework of accountability
• Experience of service planning at an operational level
• Experience of project management would be an advantage.
• Experience of supporting/training others in providing maths support.

Knowledge and skills

• Customer-oriented approach to design and delivery of services.
• Good information technology skills, including familiarity with the MS Office suite.
• An awareness of and skill in applying appropriate technology to service delivery.
• Good interpersonal skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, preferably with experience of communicating with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders with diverse professional and academic backgrounds
• An ability to prioritise and to schedule workloads in the face of conflicting demands
• An awareness of wider developments in library and information services which might enhance academic skills services at the University of Birmingham.
• Evidence of familiarity of the changing culture of Higher Education, including the importance of the teaching quality agendas.
• An understanding of pedagogic issues as applied to Higher Education.
• An understanding of how Virtual Learning Environments, Managed Learning Environments and institutional portals can be used to support academic skills development would be an advantage.

Informal enquires to Mike Stanford, email: M.J.Stanford@bham.ac.uk

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