Information Governance Assistant

Grade and Salary: Grade 4 - £24,215 - £26,707 per annum FTE

Working Pattern: Full Time (1 FTE), Open Ended

Directorate Name: Governance and Legal Services (GALS)

Holiday Entitlement: 28 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days per year after 5 years service, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full‑time staff.

About our School/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. The Information Governance Division works collaboratively with colleagues within the Directorate and across the University to support the University’s mission and contribute to its strategic priorities, promoting effective information governance to support University business worldwide and managing information risk to meet relevant legal, regulatory and audit requirements.

Purpose of Role: The role holder will be an important member of the Information Governance Division and will be one of the two administrative roles that support the timely and efficient delivery of our service. The role holder will support the Information Governance team in managing and responding to freedom of information and data subject requests, providing advice and guidance to the University community, and supporting effective information governance across the global University.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide high‑quality and efficient administrative support to the Information Governance team across its service functions.
• Maintain accurate and efficient case‑handling records systems for managing data protection, freedom of information and information governance requests and enquiries.
• Assist the Information Governance Officer (Information Rights) and work together with the Senior Information Governance Assistant in managing and providing an appropriate response to freedom of information and data subject requests from students, staff and external requesters within statutory deadlines; liaise closely with colleagues in professional services and Schools as required to retrieve, collate and process relevant information.
• Provide support by ensuring that appropriate responses are issued in a timely manner.
• Clerk and take concise formal minutes for the Global Information Governance and Data Protection Committee and working groups.
• Assist the Records Manager in managing contracted records storage and retrieval services and providing advice on record keeping.
• Contribute to a productive and cooperative team ethos, building a wide network of mutually beneficial relationships across the University.

Education, Qualifications and Experience:

Essential:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability independently to produce high‑quality written work.
• Experience of working on one's own initiative with minimal day‑to‑day supervision, and proactivity in their approach to managing day‑to‑day affairs and identifying and implementing improvements.
• A flexible and adaptable approach, coupled with the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines.
• Good all‑round organisational and forward‑planning abilities.
• The post‑holder will be expected to balance a varied group of concurrent projects and activities.
• A high degree of attention to detail and accuracy in all areas relating to the post.
• The ability to operate with a high degree of tact and discretion due to the highly sensitive and confidential nature of the material that may be handled.
• A pleasant, helpful and professional manner.
• Experience of team working and effectiveness as a good team player.
• IT literacy with good keyboard skills, a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (especially Teams, SharePoint, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and the Internet, and the ability to develop a good working knowledge of the specialist systems used by the Information Governance Division (which include eCase and OneTrust).
• Maintain awareness of own digital wellbeing by being mindful of the length of time spent at a screen and the impact on mental and physical health when using digital technologies.

Desirable:

• Relevant work experience within a higher education or public‑sector environment.
• Relevant tertiary‑level educational or vocational qualifications.

How to Apply: Please submit your CV via the Heriot‑Watt online recruitment. Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Wednesday 17th June 2026. Interviews expected to take place on 30 June and 01 July 2026. We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns, e.g., part‑time working and job‑share options.

Equal Opportunities: 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 under‑represented groups.