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 experienced candidate for a specified purpose post of Executive Assistant to join our team in the Department.

The person appointed will have a proven record of administrative work to support a range of activities relating to the work of the Department. The role will involve a broad range of administrative duties in support of the Department’s activities. We are seeking a person with excellent organisational, administrative and IT skills, and extensive experience of working in a busy office environment. The candidate must be able to demonstrate an ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines on their own initiative.

The person must be discreet, trustworthy and capable of dealing with confidential material. The successful applicant will work as part of an administration team with the Administrative Manager. While the candidate will be assigned to the social policy programmes in the first instance, they will be expected to collaborate with the Admin Team to provide cover across the Department.

Principal Duties

Administrative and other duties:

• First point of contact dealing with queries from current and prospective students, internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicating with students pre- and post-registration and directing students to appropriate services throughout the academic cycle.
• General office administration duties.
• Filing of physical and electronic documents.
• Ordering stationery and other supplies.
• Room and catering bookings for meetings.
• Circulation of information to staff.
• Taking minutes of meetings.
• Supporting Programme Leaders to manage course administration, including organising assessments.
• Processing examination data, including coordination of scripts, uploading of marks, and preparation of results for examination board meetings.
• Supporting financial administration.
• Updating Department website regarding news and events.
• Helping to organise and administer departmental events – conferences, seminars, workshops, launches – and assisting with communication, promotional and recruitment activities.
• Data entry and other use of university systems.
• Provision of administrative and technical support.
• Maintaining spreadsheets and databases for administrative and academic support processes.
• Participating in ongoing training and development as opportunities arise and as recommended by the Head of Department.
• Undertaking any other duties which may be assigned from time to time by the Administrative Manager, Programme Lead or Head of Department.

Applicants should note that at certain critical periods, there may be a requirement to work outside normal office hours to meet specific deadlines.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

Essential

• A third level qualification and/or extensive relevant administrative experience.
• Excellent IT skills, in particular MS Office suite – including at least intermediate level Excel and MS Teams skills – and electronic file management, and the ability to learn and use new information systems.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Initiative and ability to work professionally under pressure with accuracy and attention to detail.
• An ability to liaise with staff and students in a professional manner.
• An ability to exercise discretion in dealing with sensitive data and documentation.
• Experience of working to deadlines in a busy office environment.
• Demonstrable drive and initiative.
• An agile, flexible approach to work, proven ability to handle a variety of tasks, and a demonstrated willingness to contribute to a team’s overall objectives.
• A proven ability to work in a team environment and share tasks with colleagues.

Desirable

• Experience using Moodle, Maynooth University Exams systems, procurement and finance system.
• Third-level education and knowledge of same.

Faculty and Research Institutes

The Faculty of Social Science comprises a range of academic Departments including the Department of Applied Social Studies. 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 a number of interdisciplinary institutes to support excellent research and to build research capacity across disciplines.

Department

The Department of Applied Social Studies has 15 academic staff and offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, based on its teaching and research strengths in Social Policy, Social Work and Community and Youth Work in a vibrant learning environment.

The Department of Applied Social Studies has an established record for innovative, transformative professional and academic work reflecting its mission which is:

“To promote human rights, social justice and equality, nationally and internationally through excellence and innovation in education, research and public engagement that contribute to the development of the social professions and applied social sciences.”

Forty years ago, in the early 1980s, Maynooth University was the first university in Ireland to offer professional programmes in Community and Youth Work. Since then, the Department of Applied Social Studies has earned an unrivalled reputation for teaching, research, and development in these areas.

Professional programmes are offered at both Bachelor and Masters levels. The Department also offers a professional Doctor of Social Science programme. More recently the Department has introduced a professionally approved postgraduate Masters programme in Social Work.

In 2002 the Department established Social Policy as the core subject in a Bachelor of Social Science Degree programme, which has grown in popularity since. A Master of Social Science (Rights and Social Policy) programme was introduced in 2011.

Staff in the Department supervise a growing number of PhD students in Social Policy and Applied Social Studies. Particular areas of interest currently include inequality and poverty; inequality and identities; state-civil society relations and public policy; policy analysis; social policy as it relates to community, youth, children and families, gender, age, sexuality, disability, race and ethnicity; criminal justice, drugs, housing, education, mental health, care, domestic violence, human trafficking, hate crime; comparative and European social policy; environment, sustainability and social justice.

Tenure

This is a full-time post for a specified purpose, anticipated to be 1 year in duration.

Salary

Executive Assistant (2025): €32,530 – €48,930 (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.