Administrative Officer

The Purpose of the Role

Trinity College Dublin seeks to appoint an Administrative Officer to join the administrative team in the Office of the Dean of Health Sciences.

The Administrative Officer will have responsibility for providing high-level support to the Dean of Health Sciences, a member of the University’s senior leadership. The Administrative Officer will also provide high-level support to the University’s Level 3 Research Ethics Committee, as well as providing wider administrative support to the busy Faculty Office team.

Context

The Dean of Health Sciences provides overall academic leadership within the Faculty of Health Sciences and coordinates its strategic direction as well as having authority over the Faculty budget.

Under the Dean’s leadership, the Faculty Office is responsible for staff recruitment, professional accreditation, inclusion, risk assessment and quality processes. Health Sciences is comprised of four schools – Medicine, Nursing & Midwifery, Dental Science, and Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Research Institutes including Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI), Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, and the Institute of Population Health. The Dean’s Office coordinates strategy across these schools and institutes and curates opportunities for interdisciplinary activities both within Trinity and across our partner clinical sites. The office is therefore exceptionally busy and fast paced.

The Administrative Officer will be based in the Faculty of Health Sciences Office, Chemistry Building, and will be an integral part of the Faculty Office team. The team is comprised of the Faculty Administrator, HR Partner, Finance Partners, and Athena Swan Project Manager. The postholder will report to the Faculty Administrator.

Main Responsibilities

As a member of a flexible team, the successful candidate’s duties may include but are not restricted to the following:

Organisation

• Provide support and PA assistance to the Dean of Health Sciences as well as wider support to a very busy Faculty Office team.
• Oversight and management of the diary, correspondence, and activities of the Dean of Health Sciences.
• Responsible for complex travel arrangements including flights, transfers and visa applications on behalf of the Dean.
• Management of an extensive events calendar for the Faculty Office team, and coordination of events across multiple schools in the Faculty to maximise impact of same.
• Management of meeting rooms and operability of AV systems therein.
• Act as a resource to the Faculty team in the running of the office and the wider Faculty.
• High-level administrative support for Trinity’s only Level 3 Research Ethics Committee (F-REC), including implementation of ethics policy.

Administrative Support

• Provision of high-level administrative support to the Dean of Health Sciences in all aspects of their workload and assisting with implementation of their work programme.
• Providing briefings for the Dean ahead of meetings, including the preparation of briefing notes.
• Leading and facilitating meetings, communications and engagements with internal and external stakeholders to progress projects and initiatives on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences.
• Convene meetings for the Dean and other Faculty team members.
• Assist with the management of research programmes on behalf of the Dean.
• Organise and manage all group meetings, events and research talks within the Faculty Office.
• Drafting letters, memoranda and other high-level correspondence on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences.
• Operating multiple email accounts on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences and maintaining operational efficiency during peak times.
• Preparation of presentations, reports and position papers on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences following the carrying-out of appropriate desktop research, data collection and analysis, discussions and surveys where appropriate.
• Management of subgroups/working groups of the Faculty Executive Committee, chaired by the Dean of Health Sciences, as they arise, with responsibility for the coordination of agendas and papers, follow-up of actions and timelines, and the updating of project tracking documentation.
• Writing minutes and maintaining accurate records of meetings held by the Dean of Health Sciences.
• Managing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences.

Systems

• Responsible for procurement for the Faculty Office using the FIS system.
• Creating expense reports on behalf of the Dean of Health Sciences.
• Processing casual pay claims for staff and students working on Faculty projects, as required.
• Maintenance of accurate records in accordance with data protection requirements.
• Maintenance of Faculty SharePoint site, and any future systems which may emerge over time.
• Responsible for maintaining the Faculty Research Ethics webpages.
• Have an understanding of University processes with an ability to improve Faculty processes and systems including optimising IT solutions with a special emphasis on Faculty Research Ethics Committee administration.

General

• Working collaboratively with the Faculty Administrator and Faculty Office team to ensure support is in place for the Dean and Faculty initiatives at all times.
• Working on own initiative, make appropriate decisions and act on behalf of the Faculty Administrative staff and Dean where necessary.
• Carry out day-to-day office tasks (photocopying, ordering of stationery and office supplies, maintenance of files, dissemination of information, electronic scanning of documents, record filing, organising couriers and handling deliveries, manage the Faculty Office diaries etc.).
• Any other task assigned by the Dean or Faculty Administrator.

Person Requirements

The role-holder will require the following knowledge, skills, and attributes for successful performance in the role.

Qualifications

• A third level qualification (desirable).

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience in a similar organisation i.e. in a university or hospital administration (desirable).
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a relevant role providing administrative support to senior leadership (desirable).
• Experience in report writing, desktop research, and collation and analysis of data in a timely manner (desirable).
• Experience of finance systems such as Oracle (desirable).
• Experience of event management (desirable).
• Experience of website management using software such as Dreamweaver or Terminal4 (desirable).
• Experience in working in a rapidly changing environment, working flexibly.
• Experience of managing customer relationships on behalf of an organisation.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent time management, organisational skills and self-motivation skills.
• Proven ability to manage various projects simultaneously in a very busy environment and prioritise accordingly.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, including presentation skills and the ability to build effective relationships with a variety of stakeholders, as demonstrated from previous experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent digital skills in MS applications, Outlook, Adobe, Teams, SharePoint, and webpage maintenance.
• Ability to set priorities and monitor their implementation, and to manage diverse packages of work and prioritise competing demands.
• Ability to manage changing priorities, changing contexts and workload.
• Proven ability to contribute effectively as a member of a team.
• Ability to work under instruction, as part of a team, and on own initiative.
• Strong attention to detail.

Personal Attributes

• Takes pride in providing excellent customer service, providing a helpful and courteous approach to colleagues, students, staff and all other stakeholders.
• Fast learner in an ever-changing higher education environment.
• Pays close attention to detail and quality standards.
• Responsive to feedback and demonstrable ability to cope under pressure.
• Committed to achieving results, putting in additional effort as required.
• A commitment to own professional development.
• Conducts themselves with professionalism and discretion at all times.