Internal Applicants Only -Research Services Officer: Services Delivery

The Research Service is seeking to appoint a Research Services Officer: Services Delivery in Cardiff Business School (CARBS) to support the delivery of services primarily focused on postgraduate research (PGR).

The Research Services Officer: Services Delivery will work with the CARBS PGR Manager and Research Services team located in the Aberconway Building and will work as part of the wider Research Service in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS). The post holder will support the delivery of the Research Service’s research professional service in Cardiff Business School, providing advice, guidance and support. The post holder will be focused on providing advice and guidance to the 150+ PhD students in CARBS, from arranging events to running the thesis submission and viva organisation process. The post holder will support the applications of international student visitors and provide cover for other processes and services offered by the team. They will work with colleagues on the development of consistent processes which support students and academics, whilst minimising bureaucracy, and placing students at the centre of service delivery.

The post holder will work with Pro-Deans for Doctoral Studies and Research, Innovation and Impact and the academic and PS teams in CARBS, providing specialist input on matters of PhD administration, and supporting the general activities and culture of the School.

A positive, collegiate, and compassionate approach will be vital in the role, and the postholder will lead by example in exhibiting positive behaviours and promoting a values-led approach to people leadership, management, and effective service delivery and collaboration., * Take responsibility for the coordination of all administrative work for the CARBS Research Services Team, working with Research Service colleagues in the School, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) and across the University to ensure the delivery of a professional service.

• Act as the first professional point of contact for academics across the School, interpreting and prioritising requests received. The role holder will provide advice and guidance as appropriate and will re-direct queries and relevant requests across the Research Office team if required.

• Provide regular information across the School to raise the profile of support available from the Research Office and ensure academic colleagues are aware of the core services and support available to them that are provided by the administration team.

• Maintain workflow documentation and advise the Research Services Manager on options for improvement across the work portfolio, including desk instructions, work logs, correspondence and filing to ensure resilience to services during periods of absence and quality information for service reports.

• Establish working relationships with key contacts and stakeholders, developing appropriate communication links with internal and external stakeholders to help improve service levels.

• Compile, analyse and interpret data, carrying out independent background investigations into topics and issues as required by the Research Services Manager, or relevant academic lead, preparing and providing management information reports and documentation to the highest standards.

• Contribute to the success of the team, leading others through example, and supporting the supervision and management of the team

Specific Duties

As a member of the core team for service delivery, contribute to the full range of work undertaken within the team, with specific duties described below:

• Induction, registration and enrolment

• PhD thesis submission support, including extension requests

• PhD viva processing

• Extenuating circumstances processing

• PhD expenses administration

• Support the CARBS Research Development Officer – Postgraduate Research in delivering a suite of activities, events and meetings to support and enhance the PGR student experience and research culture within the school

• Servicing committees and similar, e.g. student/staff panel

• Student rep coordination

Additional duties

Given the very broad range of support provided by the Research Services team, additional services that the post holder might be expected to contribute to on occasion include:

• International student visitor processing

• PhD application processing

• PhD studentship support

• Circulation of research-related information across the School

• Internal schemes – applications and post-award reporting as required by the Research Development Officer (Funding and Programmes)

• Quality Review processing of new publications

• Supporting the production of REF related information

• Drafting service reports based on routine information collated through undertaking research services and processes

• Events delivery support

• SIMS monitoring support

• Supporting marketing initiatives for the PhD programme such as FindaPhD, open days etc., * Ensure familiarity with the full range of administrative tasks within the Research Services team

• Abide by all University and undergo appropriate personal and professional development

• Perform other duties which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.

• Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

We are looking for a team player who will work with colleagues to provide a great service to staff and students. You don’t need to have worked for a University before; this is an opportunity to show your potential and start or continue your career at Cardiff University.

This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role or environment with particular interest in an editorial role showing your transferable skills and aptitude to be successful in the role. You should be enthusiastic about developing your knowledge and skills to become a valued member of the team., 1. Ability to communicate in writing clearly, concisely, and effectively to provide detailed advice and guidance on research and/or postgraduate research administration matters.

1. Evidence of a good standard of numeracy and IT literacy.

2. Experience of working in an administrative role or environment and ability to set up standard office systems and procedures, making improvements to these as appropriate.

3. Specialist knowledge of research and/or postgraduate research.

4. Ability to communicate specialist and complex information effectively and professionally to a range of customers with varying levels of understanding.

5. Ability to advise and influence key stakeholders in your area of work.

6. Ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service you provide accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered.

7. Ability to use your initiative and creativity to solve problems, respond to queries and make recommendations, identifying and proposing practical solutions.

8. Ability to work unsupervised to deadlines, planning, setting and monitoring your priorities and those of the team.

9. Ability to work effectively as part of a team, providing advice and guidance to other team members.

Desirable Criteria

1. Experience of working in a similar role or environment, e.g. Higher Education.

2. Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.

Please note that this is a one-year fixed term appointment to cover for a period of secondment, and would be suitable for internal candidates to undertake on secondment, with permission of their home department.

Interested candidates can contact the PGR Manager, Lydia Taylor taylorlr27@cardiff.ac.uk for an informal conversation about the role.