Job description examples for Professional and Administrative roles
When preparing a job description, complete the new role form/job description template (Office document, 86kB) or request for re-evaluation of role/job description (Office document, 86kB), having read the job description guidance, the Professional and Administrative Grade Descriptors and the examples below. The examples provided can be used to help with drafting the main sections of the job description template for a range of professional and administrative roles. The examples below are not intended to be representative of particular roles, but are provided to help with how to write the different sections.
Section 1.1: Main Job Purpose
An example for a School administration role might be:-
- “Under the overall direction of the Head of School, to take responsibility for the provision of administrative support to the School, and to act as line manager to all support staff in the School”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “To provide full personal assistant and administrative support to the management team”
An example for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “Responsible for the accurate day to day financial management of a number of School accounts, involving the preparation and monitoring of budgets, and investigation of variances”
An example for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “Provision of secretarial and administrative services to the academic staff of the School, in relation to all financial activities connected with the School's research programme”
An example for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “To provide a professional financial service to the Faculty, including the provision and monitoring of monthly accounts, and to assist in the production of University financial statements”
Section 1.2: Statements of Responsibilities
In the examples below, each statement has been put under the most appropriate representative work activity heading, (e.g. ‘Customer Service & Support’), from the Professional and Administrative Grade Descriptors. For further information on writing responsibility statements, read the job description guidance.
An example of Analysis, Reporting and Documentation for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “Set up, monitor and reconcile accounts using the centralised University system, maintain accurate manual and computerised records and audit trails to ensure that correct procedures are followed”
An example of Analysis, Reporting and Documentation for an Assistant Librarian might be:-
- “To upgrade and maintain existing catalogue records to the same standard so that the online catalogue accurately reflects the present status and disposition of the collections”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Assist in providing a secretarial service including typing referees reports, minutes of meetings,forms and labels, including mail-merging documents and e-mail”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To maintain office supplies (stationary, water etc) and order when necessary, ensuring that essential supplies are always available”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Answering the telephone, booking appointments for the management team, dealing with enquiries from the public, staff students etc and passing messages on to other members of staff”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To assist with a range of clerical duties to include filing, envelope filling and photocopying”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To maintain the School's website using the appropriate software, to meet ongoing needs and in accordance with UOB marketing and web content standards”
An example of Customer Service & Support for a Library Assistant might be:-
- “Dealing with customer enquiries including locating pre-ordered books, receiving overdue loan fines, and helping customers to use the photocopier”.
An example of Customer Service & Support for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “To operate the undergraduate admissions system so that applications are dealt with promptly, and applicant numbers can be regularly reviewed”
An example of Planning and Organising for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Provide dedicated support to nominated members of the School’s senior academic staff; diary management and meeting arrangements and travel arrangements (national and international)”
An example of Liaison for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To liaise effectively with other members of the administrative staff to ensure accurate and timely communication of information”
An example of Liaison for a Communications and Marketing role might be:-
- “Build and maintain good relationships with internal academic and support staff, key external organisations, journalists and opinion-forming individuals to promote the University’s reputation and interests”
An example of Decision-making for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “To assist the Head of School in agreeing a budget and to monitor the School’s expenditure against that budget”
An example of Decision-making for a Finance administration role might be:-
- “Maintain and monitor the research accounts of the Faculty/School, resolving discrepancies and escalating issues to budget holders”
An example of Problem-solving for an IT services role might be:-
- “Diagnose and resolve situations where computers do not function correctly (this can be due to issues with hardware and/or the operating system and/or application software and/or the network)”
An example of Continuous Improvement for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To review relevant administrative processes and to contribute to their improvement”
An example of People Management for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “To supervise secretarial staff; including holding staff reviews, managing performance issues, allocating work on a regular basis, assisting with training needs etc”
An example of People Management for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Supervising the work of clerical staff - assisting, motivating, monitoring, and training temporary staff employed at two points in the year, annually”
Section 1.3: Relationships and Contacts
Examples for Internal Contacts
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Communicating to academic and support staff across the Faculty on issues such as details of University policies (e.g. the undergraduate admissions policy)”
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Dealing with student queries on a regular basis which may require basic courtesy, sensitivity and good listening skills”
An example for a Library Assistant might be:-
- “Dealing with a range of customers (such as students and staff) in a helpful and courteous manner, providing clear and correct information, and knowing when to pass an enquiry on”
An example for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Organising meetings of busy academic staff, involving information gathering and requiring elements of persuasion and negotiation”
An example for a Research and Enterprise administration role might be:-
- “To provide advice to the university’s senior managers in order to inform policy development”
An example for an IT services role might be:-
- “Training and assisting support staff throughout the University with deployment and support of PC systems, servers and software, in accordance with IT services guidelines”
An example for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Providing secretarial support to academic staff on a regular basis requiring courtesy, tact and sometimes assertiveness”
Examples for External Contacts
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Dealing with prospective students, teachers and parents on admissions enquiries, to explain policies and procedures, occasionally involving persuasiveness, e.g. to help an unsuccessful candidate to accept the outcome”
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Organising visiting lecturers for the School requiring elements of negotiation and considerable diplomacy to arrange the timetable”
An example for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Answering calls from the media, sometimes requiring tact and confidentiality on aspects of the Faculty’s/School’s work”
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Contact and participation with professional bodies operating within higher education, to represent the interests of the University and to ensure that the University is aware of developments elsewhere in HE”
An example for an IT services role might be:-
- “Liaise with external suppliers to correctly diagnose/clarify specific problems so that the hardware or software problem can be resolved in a timely fashion”
Section 2: Person Specification
Section 2.1: Relevant Experience, Skills and Knowledge
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “The post requires a good operating knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, the Internet and Email, with experience of working in a busy office environment and an ability to plan and prioritise one's own work”
An example for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
- “Ability to draft letters and reports on behalf of the management team, to a high standard of English”
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Ability to design and develop databases using Microsoft Access”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “Accurate audio and copy typing essential”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “Basic training in word-processing and spreadsheets”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “Must be able to deal with a range of ongoing tasks at the same time, and to be able to cope under pressure”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “Must be able to work with a minimum of supervision, and to make administrative decisions based on a broad understanding of relevant policies or operational requirements”
An example for a Finance role might be:-
- “(x) years post- qualification experience”
Section 2.2: Relevant Qualifications
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “Education to GCSE level in Maths and English (Grades A – C)”
An example for an administration role required to give professional advice might be:-
- “A degree and a relevant professional qualification”
An example for a Finance role might be:-
- “An accountancy qualification such as ACCA or CIMA”
Section 2.3: Communication and Interpersonal Skills
An example for an Assistant Librarian might be:-
- “Effective oral and written communication skills and the ability to explain complex information clearly to a wide variety of recipients is essential”
An example for an administration role might be:-
- “A polite and courteous manner is essential”
An example for a Education and Students administration role might be:-
- “Empathy when dealing with students who may be upset”
Section 7: Additional information for UBJES evaluation
Section 7.1:Work Examples
The work examples need to illustrate the degree of autonomy/responsibility in the role, with a focus on planning and organising, decision-making and problem-solving.
An example for an Education and Students administration role might be:-
Range of Administrative Duties
- “During a typical two-day period required to manage the following activities: getting together all the papers for the Annual Programme Review, supervising the invitations to undergraduate interviews, assembling marks and reports for the postgraduate exam board, dealing with admissions enquiries, arranging dates for Staff Reviews, whilst meeting innumerable requests for advice and information from members of the School staff, other University offices, students and members of the public, which come in a steady stream of e-mails, telephone calls and knocks on the door. Some of these tasks require a high degree of concentration, attention to detail and prioritisation, and required to switch rapidly between a wide range of processes and knowledge systems”
An example for a Faculty/School administration role might be:-
Receptionist duties
- “Provides joint cover for the Reception Desk in the School Office as determined by one’s manager, keeping a watching brief on the level of activity and if the desk becomes busy, the postholder is expected to support the Administrative Assistant on her or his own initiative. Deals with enquiries in person, by telephone or by email. When the matter is more complicated (advice or guidance is required) the postholder refers the student to a more senior member of staff. Staff members also contact the office seeking information, reporting problems or issues, requiring services. Where these matters lie within the postholder’s remit he/she deals with the matter, where not, he/she refers on as appropriate. The same applies to contacts from members of the public. At all times the postholder strives to undertake these reception duties with a strong customer care orientation, being polite, open and tactful. He/she must also balance the demands of being ‘on call’ in a busy office environment with the other routine demands of her or his job and display flexibility and adaptability”
An example for an administrative role might be:-
Project Role
- “Undertake all administrative tasks associated with the seminar or conference - these events can have anything from 8 to 150 delegates who come, typically, from UK higher education institutions. Activities include: processing delegate bookings and fees, booking facilities and ordering food, oversee printing, collation and distribution of materials, these can range from 4-page booklets to ring-bound 50-page full-colour glossy packs with software CDs. General guidelines are given to role holder by Project Managers but day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the role holder”
An example for a Finance administration role might be:-
Research grant support
- “Supporting PIs at all stages in dealing with research sponsors of all types. At an early stage this involves reading contracts and guideline documentation from sponsors and RED, advising PIs on eligible items to include in proposals, producing Full Economic Cost proposals for research grant applications, checking the costings included on all proposals to ensure that these achieve optimum benefit to the School. The role holder will liaise with the PI and ensure that the University’s fEC tool is completed properly, assisting with the completion of funders’ application forms and checking these are correct and comply with the funders’ guidelines. It will be the role holder’s responsibility to bring to the attention of the PI any instances where there may be doubts that the application satisfies all the appropriate regulations. The role holder is responsible for managing the submission process to ensure that everything goes in correctly and in time for final approval and submission by the Faculty Financial Controller on behalf of the University. PI’s can be in the UK or overseas at critical moments so at all times it is essential to be clear as to the deadlines which apply so that the effect of time delays is minimised”
An example for a Communications and Marketing role might be:-
Writing press releases
- “Researching, writing and issuing press releases - using network of contacts and proactive investigation to find interesting stories within the University; talking to the academics involved to gain information about their work, editing and re-writing this information in a lively, accessible manner suitable for a press release; getting approval for the release from the academic, any funding body and the academic journal where the academic’s paper will be published; researching and creating a list of media contacts and emailing out the release to them, following up with calls to individual journalists to encourage them to run the story and posting the release on key news distribution websites; responding to calls from journalists requesting more information and interviews”
Section 7.2:Additional Statistical Information
An example for a role with Financial responsibilities might be:-
- “Monitoring the spend on grants - £2 million”
An example for a Faculty/School administrative role might be:-
- “Secretarial support for 4 academic members of staff”
An example for an administrative role might be:-
- “Full line management of a team of 5 administrative staff”
An example for an Education and Students administrative role might be:-
- “Dealing with undergraduate student queries – approximately 250 students”
