Centre for Doctoral Training in DRIVE-Health Administrator

Job description

Building on the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Data-Driven Healthcare (DRIVE-Health; DRIVE-Health.org.uk) four-year pilot, the new EPSRC CDT in DRIVE-Health will train a minimum of 85 PhD students in health data science over five cohorts in the next 8 years. Co-created with NHS Trusts, national and international industry and charity partners, DRIVE-Health will deliver impactful research to enable health data science and tech skills for the future. 

In partnership with the CDT Manager, you will undertake a range of administration tasks supporting the student lifecycle processes from pre-enrolment activities, through induction and registration to graduation and beyond. You will work closely with the Core Management team (Co-Directors, Training Lead, Scientific Themes Leadership Team, Clinical Lead, and PPI and Engagement Lead) to provide high-quality administrative and day-to-day support to ensure the smooth running of all administrative activity in the Centre, and support the Communications and Engagement Manager in the delivery of EDI and training programmes. 

You will be working proactively across faculties and King’s central services (finance, student services, research management and innovation, IT, etc.) liaising with colleagues to support the management of our Centre. Reporting to the CDT Manager, you will have diverse responsibilities, including supporting various student data entry updates and maintaining student records. You will also assist with the administration of the DRIVE-Health studentship competitions, which involves processing applications, preparing shortlisting documents, and monitoring application statuses. Additionally, you will aid the CDT Manager in the management of the annual budgets for studentships, including the preparation of monthly forecasts. 

You will be responsible for supporting the work of the CDT EDI Lead and Communications and Engagement Manager in overseeing EDI practices in all areas of the CDT, e.g. recruitment, selecting PhD candidates, supervisor diversity, and delivering the CDT’s EDI action plan; as well as supporting the CDT Training Lead with administrative tasks to deliver the DRIVE-Health’s training programme. 

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates who are passionate about administration systems and who wish to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities as HE professionals, promoting excellence in business and administration in higher education. 

This post is offered as a full-time post but we are happy to talk about part-time, job-share and other flexible working options. 

This role is not eligible for sponsorship. Successful applicants will need to demonstrate their right to work in the UK via another means. 

This post is a full-time contract until 30th September 2032, requests for part-time will be considered.

Key responsibilities

•  Assist the CDT Manager with creating and maintaining student funding records using both external and internal systems and databases, which include the Student Database. You will be responsible for generating simple Excel reports for team meetings and contributing to the overall reporting process. 
• Support the administration of the DRIVE-Health ‘call for projects’ for each academic year, creating the project proposal form, and gathering information entries for review and analysis by the Co-Directors and CDT Manager. 
• Support the administration of the CDT studentship competitions, including advertising, downloading and processing applications, supporting applicant shortlisting and tracking the status of applications, and assisting with the interview process. 
• Lead the students' registration process, from project approval form through to award letter, which involves liaising with various internal and external stakeholders. 
• Provide administrative support for designated areas of work and activities with the Research Management and Innovation team (contracts), which may include the provision of specific administrative support to the Partnership Development Director. 
• Support the Training Lead with the delivery of the DRIVE-Health training programme (including collecting student feedback, disseminating course materials, organising travel and accommodation of the annual residential retreats/away day/team building activities, and any other administrative support as required). 
• Assist the EDI Lead and Communications and Engagement Lead with administrative tasks to deliver the DRIVE-Health EDI strategy (including planning resources to support EDI efforts, collecting and reporting on EDI-related data to track progress and identify areas for improvement, and any other administrative support as required).  
• Monitor and manage the shared email inbox, distributing and answering stakeholder enquiries as appropriate, responding to routine emails professionally and precisely, and ensuring emails are responded to in a timely manner.   
• Support the administration and delivery of DRIVE-Health events for students and staff, as directed and required by the CDT Manager (including booking venues and rooms, ordering catering, liaising with suppliers, etc.). 
• Support the CDT Manager with finance-related tasks, including raising purchase orders, ensuring invoices are paid, retrieving reports from the King’s financial system and administering payments to students (Student Grants) and suppliers (Business World).  
•  Provide high-quality and flexible administration to all activity within the Centre, liaising with academics and central professional services staff across the College, and providing non-academic support to students regarding studentship administration queries.    
• Support the scheduling and servicing of the Centre meetings, setting up online meetings and briefings, circulating committee papers and minutes, taking notes, and arranging catering.   
• Work closely with the CDT Communications and Engagement Manager to support (a) the co-ordination of the Vacation Internships scheme for UG students from under-represented backgrounds student placements, (b) the management of the visits with Industry and other partners, and (c) the organisation of the annual partner engagement evening. 
• Work closely with the Centre for Doctoral Studies and other CDTs providing strong administrative support to shared initiatives and projects, as well as preparing reports to share findings, feedback and procedures. 
• Undertake other activities, as directed by the CDT Manager and the Core Management Team as appropriate. 
• Participate in Centre, campus and university-wide events where possible and as required, which may include some out-of-hours work. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria

1. Educated to degree level, or equivalent qualification. 

2. Professional experience within business, administration, office management, or similar sectors. 

3. Strong proficiency in Microsoft 365 including Teams, SharePoint, and  Outlook, and the ability to work on new systems. 

4. Experience with core financial tasks e.g., budgeting, raising purchase orders and invoices. ​Excellent numerical and data management skills and the ability to manipulate and interpret data via Excel. 

5. Excellent written and oral communication skills including the ability to draft documents and correspondence and work with a broad range of stakeholders in a professional, approachable and assured manner. 

6. Highly proactive approach to stakeholder engagement as the role involves actively and consistently pursuing various stakeholders, including but not limited to chasing invoices, correspondence, and project updates. The ability to take initiative, follow up diligently, and ensure timely responses from stakeholders is essential. 

7. An understanding of event management and the commitment to working collaboratively to ensure a smooth running of events such as conferences, workshops, student placements and complex multi-faceted events in an academic environment. 

8. Keen and proven attention to detail. The successful applicant must have a track record of meticulously completing tasks and projects with precision. 

9. An understanding of EDI, wellbeing, engagement and workplace culture activities. 

10. Able to work to deadlines, as well as a strong commitment to teamwork are essential qualities. 

Desirable criteria

1. A degree or professional qualification in business, administration, office management or equivalent subject. 

2. Knowledge and experience of working in the higher education sector. 

3. Experience in or understanding of the use of databases, particularly student records systems (such as SITS) or website content management systems.