Job description and selection criteria

Transcription

1 DEPARTMENT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) personnel@conted.ox.ac.uk Job description and selection criteria Job title Division Department Location Grade and salary Hours Contract type Reporting to Vacancy reference Additional information Part-time Receptionist Central Services Continuing Education Rewley House, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA 01S: 7.22 per hour Tuesdays and Fridays 5.15pm to 11.15pm Fixed-term Conference Coordinator and Senior Receptionist MK Introduction The University The University of Oxford is a complex and stimulating organisation, which enjoys an international reputation as a world-class centre of excellence in research and teaching. It employs over 10,000 staff and has a student population of over 21,000. Most staff are directly appointed and managed by one of the University s 130 departments or other units within a highly devolved operational structure - this includes 5,900 academicrelated staff (postgraduate research, computing, senior library, and administrative staff) and 2,820 support staff (including clerical, library, technical, and manual staff). There are also over 1,600 academic staff (professors, readers, lecturers), whose appointments are in the main overseen by a combination of broader divisional and local faculty board/departmental structures. Academics are generally all also employed by one of the 38 constituent colleges of the University as well as by the central University itself. Our annual income in 2009/10 was 879.8m. Oxford is one of Europe's most innovative and entrepreneurial universities: income from external research contracts exceeds 367m p.a., and more than 60 spin-off companies have been created. For more information please visit

2 Department for Continuing Education The Department for Continuing Education is one of the University s largest departments and every year has more than 15,000 part-time students attending its courses, workshops and conferences. Its main areas of work are in continuing and professional studies, and it engages with individuals and organisations locally and globally. Within the Department, programmes are organised into two divisions which have a broad sector focus; while these share a common mission and infrastructure, each has its own director, manager(s) and support staff. The Department is headed by the Director, Professor Jonathan Michie, and the senior management team also includes three Deputy Directors and the Secretary to the Continuing Education Board. There are some 140 members of academic and non-academic staff in the Department, at a number of locations in central and north Oxford. Other departmental facilities include a Residential Centre (with a hotel and catering operation), Common Room, Library, Lecture Theatre, Registry and a range of teaching and computing rooms. There is also a dedicated online course production unit, Technology-Assisted Lifelong Learning (TALL), which specialises in course development and consultancy. For more information please visit: Job description Overview of the role To provide a reception service to students, staff and visitors in the Department for Continuing Education at Rewley House, No. 1 Wellington Square, Oxford. Responsibilities/duties Reporting to the Conference Coordinator and Senior Receptionist, the post holder s main responsibilities are as follows: 1 To provide a high level of customer service to all users of the Department and Residential Centre, including students, staff, visitors and residents. This consists of ensuring that you welcome all visitors, deal with any customer requests and issues efficiently and professionally. An example of a problem might be sorting a bedroom which has not been prepared for the next guest, looking for an alternative bedroom or organising a housekeeper on duty to prepare this or in the event of there not being a housekeeper on duty, preparing the bedroom yourself. 2 To answer enquiries, by telephone and face-to-face, about the Department s activities, particularly its courses; to take messages for members of staff, lecturers and guests and to pass them on promptly to the appropriate person. 3 To be conversant with the Department s internal system for Reception. 4 To attend to the needs of residents e.g. registration, key issue, luggage, payment of invoices etc. according to the procedures in place. In the case of accommodation registration it is the duty of the receptionist to ensure we have a guaranteed method of payment before issuing the guest with keys. 2

3 5 To know the daily activities of the Department, the location of the courses, seminar rooms and offices and, as required. 6 To assist, if necessary, in the setting up of seminar rooms and have a working knowledge of audio-visual equipment. 7 To receive, and sign for, goods delivered to the Department and to notify the appropriate recipient. 8 To book guests in and out using the Department s computerised booking system, CABS. 9 To be responsible for unlocking and/or securing the building according to the lock up procedures. 10 To patrol the Department s premises in Wellington Square to ensure that they are secure and there is no risk of damage arising from fire, flood or theft. To record any unusual incidents in the Residential Centre logbook and any breach in security to the Departmental Administrator or the University Security Service. 11 To understand the University's Health & Safety procedures, including a thorough knowledge of the fire and security alarm systems, the fire escape routes and Departmental call-out procedures. 12 To be responsible for reacting to emergencies in the building, such as a fire. At times the receptionist is the only member of staff in the building and therefore you will be responsible for contacting University Security Services to inform them of the incident, and contact the relevant emergency service if the need arises. You will also be the first point of contact for the building, so will manage and carry out a full evacuation of the building, where appropriate, and contact key personnel to handover the incident. 13 To ensure that all keys are properly recorded on issue to authorised personnel and on return and report any keys that are not returned. 14 To ensure that activity reports (relating to arrivals and departures) are printed out and made available as instructed by the Conference Coordinator and Senior Receptionist. 15 To be responsible for the security and accuracy of the reception cash float. To process the sale of telephone cards, merchandise, and for the collection and receipt of payments for courses or accommodation. To take deposits for data point connections and parking permits. 16 To attend Porters /Receptionists meetings which are organised by the Conference Coordinator. These meetings will usually take place in the first week of each term. 17 To log any positive or negative feedback, or issues which arise whilst on duty, using the service log and to ensure any serious matters are handed over to the duty manager. 18 To assist the Residential Centre office with its duties such as dealing with enquiries for accommodation, catering and meeting rooms, recording guest feedback from guest questionnaires, carrying out daily filing, shredding confidential paperwork, checking competitors prices etc. 3

4 19 On quiet evenings the barman may not be on duty and receptionists are expected to serve behind the bar when requested by customers. 20 To attend training in first aid and be able to give first aid. 21 To attend training sessions outside work hours to gain knowledge on procedures and duties. 22 To promote sales within the residential centre, such as up selling breakfasts to guests who have not booked breakfast. 23 Provide administrative support to the Conference Facilities Manager, such as typing up documents. 24 To undertake other duties as required by the Senior Receptionist, Conference Coordinator, Conference and Facilities Manager, Director of Finance and Administration, or the Director. Selection criteria Essential It is essential that the Receptionist makes visitors and students in the Department feel welcome and ensures that their enquiries are responded to effectively. The successful candidate will: have excellent communication skills, both written and oral; have reception experience or experience of working in a customer facing environment, be smartly presented, with a professional attitude and manner; have excellent customer service skills be courteous, with a professional telephone manner; have basic IT skills (MS Office) and the ability to learn new systems; be entirely trustworthy; be able to use their initiative and problem solve; be punctual and reliable in reporting for duty. Working at the University of Oxford For further information about working at Oxford, please see: How to apply If you consider that you meet the selection criteria, click on the Apply Now button on the Job Details page and follow the on-screen instructions to register as a user. You will then be required to complete a number of screens with your application details, relating to your skills and experience. When prompted, please provide details of two referees and indicate whether we can contact them at this stage. The supporting statement should describe what you have been doing over at least the last 10 years. This may have been employment, education, or you may have taken time away from these activities in order to raise a family, care for a dependant, or travel for example. Your application will be judged solely on the basis of how you demonstrate that that you meet the selection criteria outlined above and we 4

5 are happy to consider evidence of transferable skills or experience which you may have gained outside the context of paid employment or education. Please save all uploaded documents to show your name and the document type. All applications must be received by midday on the closing date stated in the online advertisement. Should you experience any difficulties using the online application system, please To return to the online application at any stage, please click on the following link Please note that you will be notified of the progress of your application by automatic s from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk mail regularly to ensure that you receive all s. 5