Research Student Administration Assistant - Registry

Position Details

Academic Services - Registry

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £19,581 to £20,939 with potential progression once in post to £25,509/
Band 400
Full Time - Fixed Term Contract until 31st July 2021
Closing date: 8th September 2019

Job Summary

The post is located on the Research Student Administration Team based within Registry.

The post holder will be responsible for the creation, maintenance, review and control of centrally-administered University electronic and hardcopy records relating to postgraduate research students, in accordance with University regulations and office procedures.

The post-holder would be responsible for the data of postgraduate research students in a group of Schools, and contribute to the objective of making the University a welcoming and friendly place for students and visitors.

Main Duties

School responsibilities

• To be the lead contact for all students on postgraduate research programmes in a group of named academic Schools.*

• In doing so to initiate and/or answer enquiries to/from staff and postgraduate research students in those Schools about all aspects of the student record data, progress, and thesis examination.

• To ensure that enquiries are responded to promptly, accurately and helpfully, where necessary consulting with the Deputy Head of RSA in the first instance for advice, or with other areas of the University as appropriate.

• To be proactive in requesting information about postgraduate researchers for each of the assigned Schools.

• To receive and check information against University Legislation and office procedures before accurate and timely transfer to or the correction of the Banner and BIRMS formal University electronic student records databases.

• To receive and check information against University regulations and office procedures before accurate and timely transfer to, or the correction of, Banner, BIRMS and Thesis Processing System - the formal University electronic student records databases.

• To be responsible for the processing of theses for examination and all related tasks through to the completion of the examination process and conferment of the degree (where applicable). (N.B. This may involve some lifting).

• To refer cases to the Research Progress & Awards Sub Panel for consideration and log referrals on the Sub Panel database.

• This work will entail:

o the accurate and timely recording of sensitive and important data;

o supporting School contacts in their use of the BIRMS student records systems and in monitoring data quality;

o providing advice regarding student tuition fees and ensuring that accurate fee charging data is held on the Banner student record;

o the timely and accurate processing of any data correction or review work that may be prompted by audit reports provided by colleagues and senior staff within Registry.

o extensive use of the Banner Student Records System, BIRMS and the Thesis Processing System and BOXI reporting system;

o knowledge of University Regulations and Codes of Practice and procedures

Note: * The portfolio of schools for which the post-holder is responsible is not fixed and will change from time to time in response to conditions prevailing at the time (e.g. change in levels of complexity or in volume of records being maintained).

Customer Service

• To provide a professional and culturally sensitive service to all when answering and initiating enquiries.

• To respond to and resolve student enquiries received through the University's Student Help software promptly and accurately, in accordance with University Legislation and office procedures and Service Level Agreements where applicable.

• To undertake duties at team events (such as the Thesis Submission Event held twice per year), Welcome and degree congregations as required. This work may involve long periods of standing and some lifting.

• To produce in a timely manner accurate statements of registration and transcripts.

Working as part of a team

• To contribute to the development of Research Student Administration, working collaboratively with colleagues on the team; Registry and the wider University.

• To participate in shift rotas as required to ensure the team is adequately staffed across the core working hours of 9-5.

• To assist the Research Student Administration Senior Staff in the regular review and effective improvement of systems and procedures.

• To provide support to senior Registry staff in the development and testing of Banner, BIRMS and the Thesis Processing System.

• To participate in rotas for post and responding to Student Help enquiries.

• To undertake any shadowing, partnering or supervisory duties which may be allocated from time to time.

Statutory Compliance

• Working with the appropriate staff in Registry and Student Services, to University Regulations and Codes of Practice, and ensuring Registry policy and procedures are followed.

• Working to ensure compliance with the University's responsibilities as a Tier 4 Sponsor Licence holder.

• Being responsible for ensuring that Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regulations and Registry procedures relating to ATAS requirements are followed.

• To compile or complete and send reports on students to relevant recognised and other agencies where required.

• To monitor the progress of students updating Banner, BIRMS and the Thesis Processing System as applicable.

• To audit student records to ensure a high level of data quality will be submitted as part of the University's Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) return.

• To be responsible for the maintenance, scanning and archiving as necessary of all centralised records relating to the students for whom the post-holder is responsible in accordance with University records management policy and the Data Protection Act.

• To ensure such records, which may be hardcopy or held electronically, are complete, accessible to others and organised by an appropriate methodology in line with office procedures. (may involve some lifting).

Problem Solving

• To provide information promptly to staff in the assigned schools about their postgraduate researchers using appropriate query tools and resources.

Training and Development

• To attend training and development activities as directed by the Research Student Administration Senior Staff including training on the use of any bespoke systems.

• To take an active role in one's own development and to undertake any projects in support of the team objectives.

Other Duties

• To assist with the support and training for the development of IT systems (Banner, BIRMS, TPS and BOXI) and their upgrades.

• To undertake such other duties as may reasonably be required by the Research Student Administration Team Senior Staff.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience Required

Essential

• An enthusiastic and positive attitude.

• Education to at least Advanced Level (or equivalent qualifications or work experience) and hold grade C or above including Mathematics and English Language (or equivalent).

• Experience of working in a fast paced administrative and customer based environment.

• Ability to work with diverse range of stakeholders courteously, diplomatically and confidently.

• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills

• Proven track record of ability to integrate with, and function effectively, as part of a busy, diverse and established team.

• A high degree of resourcefulness e.g. the ability to transfer existing knowledge to new situations to formulate a solution to a problem.

• An ability to independently and confidently seek out information and apply this, or advise others on such matters.

• Organised and able to prioritize own workload according to changing business needs and daily work constraints.

• Ability work under pressure and deal with confidential and sensitive data in accordance with relevant legislation.

• High level of attention to detail.

• Experience of working within a student or similar environment would be an advantage.

Informal enquires to Matt Phillips, email: M.Phillips@bham.ac.uk

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