Accommodation & Allocations Coordinator

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

The Role and the Department

The Accommodation and Allocation Office's purpose is to ensure that all Durham University students are allocated openly and fairly to a college for membership and to provide information, advice and support to students seeking accommodation either University managed or in the private sector.

Every Durham University student, full-time, part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate is allocated membership of a Durham college with many new full-time students also applying for or being guaranteed an offer of University accommodation. The Office provides information on student housing to the Division and links with offices across the Division and wider University to ensure the Division contributes effectively to the University's strategic aims.

You will work closely with and be responsible to the Accommodation and Allocation Manager. You will need to be highly organised, pro-active, and able to work independently. You will have a high level of administrative competence and will have experience of working in a pressurised environment, preferably within Higher Education.

You will be lead user of the new College Room Management System, updating information and running reports for a wider audience as well as producing management information as part of accommodation planning.

The role requires a high level of responsibility and initiative, and the ability to work with minimal supervision. In addition to your own workload, you will manage the workload of the Accommodation and Allocations Administrator.

You will be working with staff across the University and responsible for the training of relevant college staff in the use of the Room Management System. You will be dealing with confidential issues and documents requiring the highest levels of discretion and professionalism.

The role involves dealing with current and prospective students, and their parents, as well as Landlords and Purpose- Built Student Accommodation providers. You will use the Banner student record system extensively and knowledge of the University financial and procurement systems is required.

You will be involved with all aspects of the college admissions, college membership process and be responsible for dealing directly with staff and student accommodation queries.

Please note: This role is a fixed-term position until 30 September 2024, with the potential of a permanent position from October 2024

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 and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.
• 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.

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

Qualifications/Experience

1. Five GCSE's at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics or a Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.

2. Experience of working in a busy office environment delivering front line administrative services to a high standard.

3. Demonstrable ability to proactively work with team members to ensure the delivery of high-quality services.

4. Experience of managing time to meet deadlines and working under pressure without compromising on quality.

5. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

6. Excellent spoken and written communication skills including the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

7. Strong digital competence across a range digital devices and apps including digital communication tools, Microsoft 365 applications, business systems.

8. Ability to solve problems yourself and as part of a team and resolve issues, plan solutions and make pragmatic decisions.

9. Excellent communication and presenting skills including experience of ensuring complex ideas are understood by a variety of audiences.

10. Committed to continuing professional development.

11. Ability to participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.

12. Demonstrable supervisory experience.

Desirable Criteria

13. Experience of using a database and the ability to create queries from data and extract information.

14. Experience of Banner and Banner Reporting system and/or another CRM system.

15. Knowledge and experience of Durham University's collegiate structure and the work and impact of its colleges.

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 matrix table showing how you meet all of the criteria

Contact details
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Hayley Elvin would be happy to speak to you. [email protected]

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery

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

• Monitor and evaluate service delivery to ensure compliance with regulatory and professional procedures and standards, e.g., UUK Student Accommodation Code, Tenants Fees Act 2019 and Equality Act 2010.

• Help to develop and implement policies and procedures relating to your service area.

• Resolve queries and requests for information and advice, and act as a key contact in relation to accommodation and allocations issues, signposting to other staff or colleges where appropriate and escalate more specialist and complex queries or issues to more experienced team members.

• Provide guidance and advice to resolve problems and queries for a broad range of service users, developing expertise in relation to accommodation and room management policies and processes.

• Provide feedback to team members about the monitoring and achievement of team objectives and performance expectations.

• Apply professional and regulatory procedures and processes and use of systems, including the Banner Student Records and Room Management Systems.

• Advise others and make recommendations into work processes and procedures for consideration by senior management to improve services.

• Ensure that data is accurate and provide reports as required to team members and more experienced staff across the Division.

• Capture and share information and data that needs to be shared with relevant networks and committees.

• Update data and information on systems and media for recording, storing, communicating and informing service users and team members.

• Analyse data and statistics and provide reports for higher level decision makers.

• Coordinate and monitor the implementation of a room management system.

Planning and Organising

• Plan and organise own workload and those of the Accommodation and Allocations Administrator, taking responsibility for operational aspects of room management, ensuring deadlines are met, service delivery standards are maintained, and with or without involvement with other project work streams.

• Organise and schedule assigned resources, activities and events.

• Analyse work activities to ensure the effective and efficient use of capital and consumable equipment and resources.

• Collaborate with colleagues across professional and administrative areas to ensure seamless service provision.

• Deliver support services to ensure the effective and efficient running of business processes and systems.

• Monitor data accuracy checks to identify anomalies and ensure the integrity of data and information.

Teamwork

• Provide specialist support and advice to team members with some oversight and responsibility for team members.

• Explain and provide instruction to other team members on how to correctly record and manage data.

• Supervise the implementation of changes to service procedures and practice provided by your team in discussion with other team members.

• Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.

• Seek feedback from stakeholders on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.

• Contribute to the ADR process, assisting with the identification of development needs where appropriate.

• Flexible in approach to accommodate the needs of team members and/or service users.

Communications/Liaison

• Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.

• Provide instruction and demonstrations to others across the Division on data handling and recording within a room management system.

• Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to work together on joint activities.

• Liaise with internal and external partners to deliver cross-functional administrative, business and financial work streams.

• Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint activities.

• Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.

• Work collaboratively across the organisation and/or externally with colleagues and stakeholders to deliver a service.

• Any other reasonable duties.

Role requirements

Flexibility regarding working hours will be required as certain meetings and committees can fall outside of normal office hours. In addition, the role requires a small amount of evening and weekend work, mainly supporting University Open Days and student induction activities at peak periods during the academic year.

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.

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