Executive Assistant

The Role

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued.

We are seeking an applicant with outstanding administrative skills to join our staff as an Executive Assistant. The successful candidate will join the School administration team and will report to and work closely with the Administrative Officer and the Head of the School of Law & Criminology. In addition, the successful candidate must be willing and able to work well with others. The position involves a significant amount of interaction with students and with academic and administrative colleagues across the School and University, and with key stakeholders outside of Maynooth.

This position offers an excellent opportunity for talented individuals to make a mark in a growing School. The position affords both the autonomy to develop skills and potential, and a friendly and co-operative working environment. This is a front of house role so is not conducive to working from home, although, on occasion, some flexibility will apply in this regard.

Principal DutiesAdministrative and Other Duties

The Executive Assistant will provide a comprehensive first point of contact service for the School of Law & Criminology. This will involve significant receptionist and clerical duties which include:

• Providing a comprehensive first point of contact service for the School of Law & Criminology, effectively answering a wide range of queries from staff, students and other stakeholders.

• Working extensively with existing students, in terms of communicating with students, pastoral care, directing students to appropriate services, and other operational and student support duties that may arise in the academic year.

• Working extensively with prospective students and their families, in terms of advising on the School’s programmes, providing tours of facilities, and engaging in similar tasks.

• Providing extensive administrative support to the Head of School, in managing schedules, assisting with travel arrangements, and editing and proofing documentation.

• Supporting interaction between academic staff and University systems as appropriate.

• Working in a collegial manner to build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues across the University.

• Assisting in organising events on behalf of the School.

• Assisting in developing promotional materials, notably multimedia content, including for key social media outlets.

• Assisting in the running of the day-to-day functions of the Administration Office, including data entry, checking and matching data to ensure accurate records are maintained, occasionally under tight timescales.

• Preparing and distributing confidential documents, including exam papers, on behalf of the School.

• Assisting with the operational development and administration of timetables.

• Processing of examination results as required and supporting relevant academic staff in the examination functions as needed.

• Processing of financial and budgetary tasks as required.

• Assisting in developing and maintaining spreadsheets and databases to produce management information that is accurate, reliable and available for decision-making within the School.

• Other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

• Relevant qualifications and/or relevant experience relative to the role.

• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.

• Skills in marketing and promotion, including event organisation.

• Experience in using, and managing, social media tools.

• A flexible approach in handling a variety of tasks, occasionally outside standard office hours.

• A full range of secretarial skills.

• Relevant experience of administrative work in a busy office environment.

• Initiative and ability to work professionally under pressure with accuracy and attention to detail.

• An ability to exercise discretion with sensitive managerial and ethical data and documentation.

• Excellent IT skills, in particular MS Office suite and electronic file management.

• Experience and understanding of working in an educational institution.

Faculty and Research Institutes

The Faculty of Social Sciences comprises the Departments of Adult and Community Education; Anthropology; Applied Social Studies; Design Innovation; Economics; Education; Geography; Sociology; the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education; the School of Business; and the School of Law and Criminology.

The role of the Faculty is to co-ordinate the academic activities of individual departments, to oversee the strategic development of departments and to support interdepartmental programmes. The University has also developed several interdisciplinary institutes to support excellent research and to build research capacity across disciplines, including the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI) and the Assisted Living and Learning (ALL) Institute.

The School

The School of Law and Criminology has 66 permanent staff. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, based on its research strengths in Law and Criminology, in a vibrant learning environment. The School is one of the newest academic units within the University and is amongst the largest common law academic units in the European Union. It offers a number of popular undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, educating over 2,500 students.

The School places a very strong emphasis on research and is home to two European Research Council (ERC) awardees. Five research centres anchor the School’s approach to research: the Centre for Criminology, the Centre for European Law, the Centre for International Justice, the Centre for Legal History, and the Centre for Technology Law and Policy.

Staff members regularly publish in leading international academic journals and with leading international publishing houses. The School has particular research strengths in the areas of international justice and human rights, law and technology, environmental law, European Union Law and policy, intellectual property law, health law, global business perspectives, criminology and criminal justice, and comparative legal theory. In addition, our programmes highlight the practical application of legal study and underline the importance of legal skills, such as negotiation and advocacy.

Tenure

This is a full-time, permanent post, at the grade of Executive Assistant.

Salary

Executive Assistant (2025): €32,030 – €48,430 per annum (13 points).

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.

Hours of Work

A 35-hour working week is in operation in respect of full-time positions (pro-rated for part-time positions).

This can be reviewed or adjusted from time to time through national agreements.

Location

The place of work is the campus of Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.