Assistant Quality Manager (Common Awards)

Job Description

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer.

We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here .

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Durham University

The Role and the Department

The Common Awards Assistant Quality Manager plays a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of our national Common Awards partnership with the Church of England and Theological Education Institution (TEI) partners across England, Scotland and Wales.

Working within a dedicated and friendly team of 5, this role involves carrying out professional duties across a broad range of areas to support the implementation of the University's core quality management processes as they relate to the Common Awards Scheme, and relating to student records (including student and module registration processes, data entry, marks entry and supporting the campus card production, graduation and Board of Examiner processes) and to quality assurance and enhancement processes (such as programme approval processes, curriculum updating, reviews and external examining, and authoring professional reports for validation and periodic review purposes). The post holder will undertake activity in both areas. This varied and interesting role also provides event support for programmes of student and staff activity related to teaching, learning and research.

On a typical day the postholder might review and respond to complex queries in the shared email inbox, assess the accuracy and quality of a set of TEI data or documentation, author professional reports for consideration in the university committee structure, liaise with other University colleagues over the organisation of events, and generally collaborate closely with other team members including the Senior Quality Manager, Assistant Quality Manager, Head of AQS, and academic lead for Common Awards, Prof Mike Higton.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:


27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 39 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
On site nursery is available plus access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16.
Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
We offer generous pension schemes.

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here .

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.

Your application should cover the following criteria:

Essential Criteria

1. Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

2. Proven IT skills, including the ability to manipulate data sets using Microsoft Excel, Access or similar

3. Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).

4. Relevant office experience.

5. Evidence of personal development to maintain skills.

6. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers, stakeholders and colleagues.

7. Experienced service provider with knowledge and expertise used to contribute to the delivery and development of services, events and activities within the organisation.

8. Experience of implementing policy and procedures and involvement with future changes for a service area.

9. Ability to effectively network and exchange advice and information for development purposes.

10. Capacity to synthesise complex ideas, analyse procedures and requirements, and use own judgement and initiative to solve problems

11. Time management skills with the ability to balance the conflicting demands, work to deadlines and deliver under pressure

12. Ability to work on own initiative, prioritising own workload and work with minimal supervision

13. Ability to operate complex procedures effectively and efficiently

14. Excellent attention to detail and an ability to maintain accuracy whilst working under pressure


Desirable Criteria

1. Experience of committee work not necessarily in a work environment

2. Previous experience of work in education, particularly higher education

3. Experience of working with a Student Record System (e.g. SITS or, in particular, Banner) or other databases

How to apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don't forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

What you are required to submit:

  • A CV
  • A covering letter
  • A mapping exercise which shows examples of how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification.

Contact details
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Emma Harrington ( emma.harrington@durham.ac.uk ) or Rhianne Jones ( rhianne.jones@durham.ac.uk ) would be happy to speak to you.

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery

Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University's values.

Ensure that the University's procedures and values are always reflected in all aspects of the service provided and adapt ways of working where this is not evident.

Provide professional guidance and advice to internal and external academic and professional support services staff external examiners and students with the implementation of policies, processes, and data and information recording.

Manage and organise professional business and administrative service processes, staff and resources (for student records and quality assurance activity), to achieve defined targets and outcomes.

Develop, implement and enforce recognised procedures within the Common Awards Framework to ensure compliance (e.g. with student records formatting requirements and deadlines, for instance), co-ordinate effort and contribute to team goals.

Ensure team activities, budgets and documents comply with internal University and external regulation, policy and procedures.

Record data and information accurately, in line with GDPR, and to provide reports and distribute information to key senior stakeholders, committees and fora..

Implement any changes or processes to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data and information.

Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role and make recommendations based on your findings.

Use a range of digital media and tools (e.g. email, website and bulletins) to communicate with a diverse range of key stakeholders, both verbally and in written format who may need to access information across different geographic and time zones.

Develop, plan and deliver internal and external events and activities for internal and external stakeholders.

Establish, maintain and develop productive and ongoing relationships with stakeholders to influence perception of the University and contribute to the maintenance of the relationship with the Church of England and Theological Education Institutions.

Coordinate and oversee committee working within the Common Awards Framework.

Provide specialist advice and make decisions to resolve problems relating to the services you are responsible for

Provide the best possible service to [staff, students and others who you work with] by reviewing and making suggestions to improve the service.

Planning and Organising

Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.

Plan, manage and deliver assigned projects, activities and events in accordance with agreed objectives.

Supervise the work of the Common Awards Administrator(s).

Communication/Liaison

Develop and improve services by taking part in meetings, working groups and committees.

Create good working relationships, including internal and external networks which allow you to increase your knowledge and skills, while swapping information with peers.

Build relationships with TEIs and the Church of England (and other church partners) to share good practice, exchange information and work together on joint initiatives.

Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

This role will require some travel to meet with Common Awards partners, based in London and throughout the UK.


Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices - Durham University which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

SECONDMENT
The post is full time / part time, fixed term for a 12 month period and may be offered on an internal secondment basis subject to the agreement of the current line manager. There may be scope to extend the appointment.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

]]>