The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity available in the Student Registry for a Senior Student Examinations Assistant.

Located in the Students' Union Building, at the heart of the main University Campus, the Student Registry is responsible for critical student administration processes which enable students to begin, progress with, and complete their studies at the University.

Student Registry is responsible for leading on the delivery and development of core institutional processes across student registration, fees and funding, formal examinations, results and awards processing, transcript issuing, engagement and attendance monitoring, and student formal procedures (Complaints, Academic Appeals, Discipline, Fitness to Practice and Progress). It is responsible for delivering high quality services to students across the aforementioned areas and for working with colleagues in faculties and academic departments to ensure consistency of practice across the institution.

Further information about the work of the Student Registry can be found at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sss/sas

The role is based in the Student Examinations & Results Team, which is responsible for the management of the University’s examinations and results processing activities.

You will share responsibility as part of a team for the planning and delivery of student examinations during and outside the main assessment periods, both in Sheffield and overseas. Working with colleagues within and outside the University, you will ensure the team delivers a consistent, efficient and effective service as well as providing expert advice, information and guidance to staff and students on all matters related to their examinations.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for student examinations, in accordance with the University’s regulations.
• Manage the printing of exam material and logistical operations, in line with institutional policies and procedures.
• Develop and maintain quality assurance measures and take responsibility for the effective and timely delivery of  Service Level Agreements.
• Schedule student examination timetables, using data from the Corporate Information System.
• Undertake line management responsibilities for Support Assistants and casual staff.
• Create and maintain Management Information, including liaising with ITS to ensure reporting requirements are met.
• Manage service evaluation, producing routine reporting mechanisms to support the development and improvement of the service, in line with departmental objectives.
• Represent and contribute on behalf of Student Registry and Student & Academic Services, as appropriate, on relevant Departmental and University committees and working groups.
• Produce and continuously develop guidance to support team communications (staff and student facing information, advice and guidance).
• Play an active role in the recruitment and selection of new staff who will be working in the team and, if required, sit on selection panels for other Student & Academic Services teams who are recruiting staff.
• Lead and motivate teams assigned to work on short-term projects, sometimes as part of larger University-wide/external projects, reporting back to senior colleagues as required
• Responsible, as part of a team, for ensuring all exam related processes run smoothly and effectively to maintain high levels of student satisfaction.
• Plan your own workload in consultation with appropriate colleagues and manage unscheduled tasks as required, ensuring tasks are completed in a timely and efficient manner and prioritising effectively to plan for conflicting deadlines.
• Work on own initiative, flexibly and largely unsupervised; recognising when to refer matters to senior colleagues.
• Work with colleagues across departmental boundaries to improve processes and service delivery as relevant and within the scope of the role.
• Be available to work as part of a team rota outside normal office hours (including evenings and weekends) to support business requirements.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and are respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Essential criteria

• Have a good honours degree, or have equivalent experience. [Application Form]
• Experience in a customer-facing environment, providing information and guidance in support of service objectives. [Application Form, Interview]
• Ability to communicate with and motivate high performance in others. [Application Form, Interview]
• Experience of working with databases, scheduling software (e.g. Facility CMIS), Microsoft Office, Google Drive, GMail, or similar packages. [Application Form, Assessment]
• Demonstrated capacity to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and at all levels of an organisation. [Application Form, Interview]
• Effective communicator, demonstrating both written and verbal skills, e.g. creating guidance, report writing, policy development, experience of delivering presentations. [Application Form, Interview]
• Ability to assess and organise resources, and plan and progress work activities, including routine process reviews. [Assessment]
• Experience of supervising support staff, ensuring they have the information and support they need to perform their duties. [Application Form, Interview]
• Ability to contribute to development work, drawing on experience and knowledge of own areas of responsibility to make an effective contribution. [Application Form, Interview]
• Experience of developing and maintaining a network of contacts. [Application Form, Interview]
• Evidence of resourcefulness in handling problems that arise unexpectedly and at short notice, and in resolving them with short to medium term solutions. [Interview]
• Experience of adapting own skills to new circumstances.[Interview]
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the relevant work practices, processes, policies, procedures, regulations, legislation, quality standards and codes of practice plus appreciation of wider University and HE issues and how they impact on the job including Data Protection policies. [Interview]
• Experience of designing new processes and policies in order to respond to changing business needs. [Application Form, Interview]

Desirable criteria

• Experience of reviewing individual/team progress and performance and embedding organisational strategy into individual performance planning

Further Information

Grade: Grade 6

Salary: £31,637 - £36,130

Work arrangement: Full-time and Campus-based [Hybrid working is limited in this role]

Line manager: Student Examinations Manager

Direct reports: Student Examinations Support Assistant

For informal enquiries about this job contact Jo Ashton, Student Examinations & Results Manager, Student & Academic Services: on jo.ashton@sheffield.ac.uk.

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place two weeks following the closing of the Job advert. This will consist of an interview and test. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 30th June 2025. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact interviews@sheffield.ac.uk

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).
 

What we offer

• A minimum of 38 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women’s and Parent’s networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; Professional Services Shared Skills Framework
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • paid time off and support for fertility treatment
  • and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision (www.sheffield.ac.uk/vision) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.