Administrative Assistant

Role: Complaints and Student Conduct Administrative Assistant

Grade and Salary: Grade 4- £24,546-£26,707 per annum

FTE and working pattern: 1 FTE (Full time- 35 hours per week) fixed term for 6 months

Holiday Entitlement: 28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday).

Directorate Name: Governance and Legal Services (GALS)

Reporting to: Senior Conduct Officer (Dr Cindy Stubbs)

About our Directorate and Team

The Directorate seeks to deliver, enhance and adapt an effective and sustainable governance framework upholding the rights and obligations of all stakeholders, including international stakeholders. The purpose is to support sound, effective and accountable decision making and stewardship of the University's resources and reputation. The Directorate's core objective is to protect Heriot Watt University's reputation, brand, values and assets and its definition of Success to maintain compliance with standards (legislation, codes of practice etc.) and enhance value.

Purpose of Role

The role holder will occupy an administrative role within the Student Appeals, Student Academic Misconduct and University Complaints Team of the Policy and Governance Division and will have the responsibility for providing supporting the caseload of student complaints, appeals and discipline related issues across the University.

The role holder will work with the Senior Complaints Officer and Senior Student Conduct Officer, to undertake investigations, prepare reports and responses to cases, ensuring compliance with internal and external regulations and best governance practice. In addition, the role holder will support the Policy and Governance of the University, by undertaking clerking responsibilities for sub committees of the University and in ensuring maintenance of University Regulations and Policies in their area.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide a clerical service for the Division's internal process for dealing with student academic appeals, student academic and non academic misconduct and University complaints, supporting on a daily basis the management of cases reported to the University.
• Acknowledge receipt of cases and create appropriate folders within (i) the Microsoft Outlook mailboxes, (ii) on the internal SharePoint folders, (iii) external software platforms.
• Collate evidence submitted from a variety of sources, and ensure they are appropriately allocated to the correct case folders.
• Create case file templates for each case in the manner required, ensuring they are inline with policy and procedures.
• Support the team in arranging meetings with staff and/or students.
• Liaise with the Primary Academic Units, and all campuses, in relation to management of cases, providing relevant background information for consideration by the relevant Committees and, where applicable, Deans of the University, providing advice on Complaint and Student Conduct procedures and on individual student cases that are being reviewed, the stages of cases, and on individual appeals on cases.
• Provide ancillary support for other governance related activities undertaken by the Policy and Governance Division, as requested by the Head of Policy and Governance Division.

Education, Qualifications & Experience

Essential:

1. Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability independently to produce high quality written work.
2. Experience of working on their own initiative with minimal day to day supervision, and proactivity in the approach to managing day to day affairs of their work and identifying and implementing improvements.
3. A flexible and adaptable approach, coupled with the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines.
4. Good all round organisational and forward planning abilities. The post holder will be expected to balance a varied group of concurrent projects and activities.
5. A high degree of attention to detail and accuracy of working in all areas relating to the post.
6. The ability to operate with a high degree of tact and discretion due to the highly sensitive and confidential nature of material that may be handled.
7. A pleasant, helpful and professional manner.
8. Experience of team working and effectiveness as a good team player.
9. IT literacy with good keyboard skills, a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and the Internet.

Desirable:

1. Knowledge and experience of file management (including emails).
2. Relevant tertiary level educational or vocational qualifications.
3. Knowledge and experience of appeal, complaints and/or discipline (misconduct) policies and procedures.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Heriot Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website