ENLIGHT Engagement Coordinator

1. Job Advertisement

Applications are invited for an appointment as ENLIGHT Engagement Coordinator, Grade 3, 0.6 FTE, in the Office of the Vice President International at University of Galway.

This post is being offered as a specific purpose contract and will terminate by reason of the expiry of its specific purpose. It is anticipated that the duration of this assignment will be circa 18 months.

Information on the University's Strategic Plan is available at: Strategy | Straitéis 2025–30 - University of Galway

For informal enquiries, please contact aishling.hanrahan@universityofgalway.ie

Salary: €43,274 - €59,995 per annum pro rata for part time/short term roles (applicable to new entrants effective from January 2011) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the University’s Remuneration policy.

This appointment will be made on the Grade 3 pay scale in line with current Government pay policy.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00pm (Irish Time) on Tuesday 7th April 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

Garda vetting may apply.

Appointments will be conditional on work authorisation validation. Further details are available at www.dbei.ie

For more information and Application Form please see Jobs - University of Galway.

Applications should be submitted online. Please see further information on how to apply here: E-Recruit - University of Galway and Guidelines for On-line Applications (universityofgalway.ie)

Please note that appointments to posts advertised will be dependent upon University approval, together with the terms of the Employment Control Framework for the higher education sector.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

2. Role Relationships

Reporting directly to the ENLIGHT Engagement Manager, the post holder will have specific daily contact with:

• ENLIGHT & Global Galway Teams and Office of the VP International.

• ENLIGHT contacts across all partner universities.

• ENLIGHT Student Network.

• Mobility Team, Study Abroad Officers, College Staff.

• Incoming and Outgoing ENLIGHT students and staff.

• Academic and Administration Staff in Colleges, Research and Innovation Office and Research Institutes.

• Examinations Office, Registration Office, Colleges and Schools, ISS (Information Solutions & Services).

• External service providers (hospitality and travel).

• Immigration Authorities (Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, Garda National Immigration Bureau), Foreign Embassies, Cultural Bureaus and Visa Offices.

The post holder has general contact with:

• Local Authorities and Industry Representatives.

• National Agencies engaged in international education e.g. HEA/IUA.

• External agencies involved in European education programmes.

• Government Departments: Education & Science, Justice, Foreign Affairs.

3. Main Purpose of Job

The Office of the Vice-President International seeks to recruit an ENLIGHT Engagement Coordinator, 0.6 FTE, for a specific purpose contract position to provide support towards embedding ENLIGHT at University of Galway.

ENLIGHT is a European University Alliance comprising of ten Universities (Universities of Galway, Ghent, Bordeaux, Groningen, Göttingen, Uppsala, Tartu, Comenius (Bratislava), The Basque Country and Bern) supported by the European Universities Initiative funding, country-specific government funding and the member universities.

The ENLIGHT consortium will jointly transform university education and research to build the knowledge background, skills and innovation potential to shape healthy, sustainable and inclusive cities and communities for the future.

The ENLIGHT consortium has recently secured funding until November 2027 through the European Commission’s European Universities Initiative. The consortia will work closely with each other and external stakeholders to build innovative teaching curricula, enable student and staff engagement and mobility and catalyse research and innovation opportunities.

A key focus of this second funded phase of the project is embedding ENLIGHT in internal university structures. The ENLIGHT Engagement Coordinator will play a key role in supporting key initiatives to enable institutional embedding over the funded period.

The ENLIGHT Erasmus+ project comprises of six work packages, each co-led by three universities within the consortium. University of Galway is co-leading both the Knowledge Creation and Professional Development work packages in partnership with Uppsala University, University of the Basque Country and Tartu University.

The postholder will provide operations support to the ENLIGHT team, enabling the delivery of an agreed programme of work.

4. Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive, professional administrative support to the ENLIGHT team, ensuring efficient day-to-day operations and responsive service to internal and external stakeholders.

• Contribute to the ongoing development and continuous improvement of ENLIGHT administrative processes and procedures.

• Manage general office operations including correspondence to ENLIGHT@universityofgalway.ie

and document management.

• Coordinate all travel arrangements and venue bookings (internal and external) for ENLIGHT-related activities, ensuring compliance with University of Galway procurement policies and procedures.

• Plan and execute event management for ENLIGHT visitors, partner institutions, and stakeholders, liaising with relevant University services (Buildings & Estates, Catering, IT, etc.) as required.

• Manage and maintain administrative systems including processing purchase orders through Agresso, tracking expenditure, and ensuring accurate financial record-keeping in accordance with University procedures.

• Disseminate ENLIGHT opportunities, calls, and updates to University staff and students through established communication channels including Dialann, College newsletters, Student Union platforms, and other relevant media.

• Maintain accurate records and databases documenting University of Galway staff and student engagement with ENLIGHT activities to support institutional reporting requirements to the European Commission and partnership management.

• Prepare agendas, briefing materials, reports, and presentations for internal meetings, external partnership meetings, and European Commission project meetings, ensuring all materials are accurate, professional, and delivered to deadline.

• Record, produce, and distribute accurate minutes of ENLIGHT team meetings and other meetings as assigned, ensuring timely circulation and follow-up on action items.

• Contribute to ENLIGHT project work streams and initiatives as required, supporting project delivery, monitoring deadlines, and assisting with work package-specific administrative requirements.

• Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade and role as assigned by line management to support the effective operation of ENLIGHT.

5. Requirements for the role

The successful candidate will demonstrate the eligibility requirements below in terms of qualification, skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

• At a minimum, pass in 5 subjects at Leaving Certificate level (or equivalent).

• A recognised post Leaving Certificate administrative/office technology qualification.

• Minimum of two years’ employment experience which demonstrates a high level of administrative support in a demanding office environment.

• Experience in service delivery within a higher education setting.

• Excellent administrative, planning and organisational skills.

• Excellent event coordination skills for both online and in-person events required.

• Excellent MS Office skills.

• Proficiency using MS Teams and Zoom.

• Flexibility and problem-solving ability.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, proven ability to produce professional correspondence and reports, including the maintenance of project indicators.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including those relating to confidentiality and discretion, and an ability to interface effectively both within the Office and across the wider university community, as well as with partner institutions, fostering good working relationships and maintaining a focus on customer service and project deliverables.

• Experience of web content management system and the use of online communications.

• Demonstrable energy, initiative, motivation and leadership potential.

• Demonstrable ability to plan and organise own workload in an effective manner within strict deadlines.

• Ability to work both independently as well as part of a team.

• Ability to work on his/her own initiative, operate flexibly and to shift focus when required and assist beyond normal work hours when a need arises.

• Willingness to undertake international travel from time to time.

Desirable Criteria

• Degree level qualification.

• Knowledge of various university IT systems such as Agresso, CORE, AKARI etc. and familiarity with university procurement processes.

• Fluency in a second language relevant to the ENLIGHT consortium.

• Knowledge of academic administration policies and procedures.

• An interest in internationalisation in education.

The above criteria will be utilised to shortlist and select candidates for interview.