Administrative Assistant

Job Purpose

To provide administrative support within the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS) Shared Research Facilities (SRF) and Biological Safety Team. The postholder will be a point-of-contact for users of the SRF and be responsible for coordinating responses to enquiries, providing quotes and financial tracking of projects. The postholder will also assist in biological safety management tasks including collation of biosafety data required for monitoring and audit purposes and have clerking responsibilities for Genetic Modification Safety Committee (GMSC) meetings. This role requires a high degree of organisation to ensure that administrative tasks are dealt with effectively and the postholder will need to develop successful working relationships with academic, technical and professional services colleagues.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1.  Direct enquiries to the appropriate SRF Technical Leads efficiently, providing requested information and quotes promptly and on-time and managing effective communication with users.

2.  Be responsible for supporting grant submissions for SRF users, liaising with SRF Technical Leads and grant managers to ensure costs are appropriately included and approved in accordance with internal and external deadlines.

3.  Be responsible for efficient financial administration of SRF projects including accurate tracking and filing of projects, management of administrative databases, timely processing of charges.

4.  Provide administrative support and act as clerk for SRF operational meetings ensuring that accurate minutes are kept and distributed and supporting follow‑up actions.

5.  Assist in the organisation of SRF training courses including preparing schedules, advertising courses, managing course registrations and payments, liaising with staff delivering the courses to ensure course materials are available on Moodle and compiling feedback reports from course attendees.

6.  Provide administration support for Biological Safety management tasks including the monitoring and responding to e-mail enquiries, logging and filling of GM risk assessments and recording outcomes of GM risk assessments reviews.

7.  Assist in collation of biosafety data required for audit purposes by the Safety and Environmental Protection Service (SEPS) and external regulatory bodies.

8.  Act as clerk for Genetic Modification Safety Committee meetings. This will include the booking venues, arranging Teams links, preparation and circulation of agendas and papers.

9.  Assist in the organisation and delivery of SRF and Biological Safety workshops and other events. This includes room bookings, managing, planning, and booking catering, travel and accommodation where necessary.

10.  Assist SRF and Biological Safety marketing and communications initiatives by preparing regular internal updates and by supporting the development of newsletters and social media content.

11.  Engage in reasonable professional development activities as required.

12.  Conduct such other duties temporarily or on a continuing basis, as may reasonably be required, commensurate with your grade.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge and Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Higher National Diploma, Scottish Vocational Qualification Level 3, Higher or equivalent, and experience of personal development in a similar role.

A2 Knowledge of administrative and support systems, process design and improvement, and developing, interrogating and maintaining databases.

Desirable:

B1 Knowledge and understanding of higher education policies, practices and procedures.

Skills

Essential:

C1 Excellent organisational and time management skills with ability to work flexibly, manage own workload effectively and prioritise demands to ensure that deadlines are met.

C2 Ability to prepare written reports, collate and summarise information effectively to a range of stakeholders.

C3 Ability to understand financial information.

C4 Excellent IT skills including the use of Microsoft packages (e.g. Word and Excel), Zoom, Teams, Outlook and databases.

C5 Excellent attention to detail, ensuring accuracy in all actions.

C6 Ability to coordinate a range of activities and forward plan.

C7 Ability to use initiative, multi-task, and resolve problems independently and/or through a support team.

C8 Excellent written and oral communication skills.

C9 Ability to cultivate, build and maintain excellent relationships.

C10 Excellent interpersonal skills and strong customer service orientation using tact, diplomacy, discretion and confidentiality as appropriate.

Desirable:

D1 Competency in University management systems e.g. Agresso, Ivanti, MyCampus and Moodle.

Experience

Essential:

E1 Relevant administrative experience gained through relevant work experience in a service delivery environment.

E2 Experience of dealing effectively with a wide range of customers and staff at all levels in an organisation, using initiative and judgement to proactively resolve issues.

E3 Experience of processing, analysing and presenting complex information.

E4 Experience of clerking meetings and providing accurate minutes of meetings.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of producing newsletters, e-bulletins and publications or similar.

F2 Proven track record of financial and project management.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 5, £28,031 - £31,236 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week) and open ended (permanent).

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Closing Date:  18 November 2026 at 23:45pm