\ Further Particulars NEACO Project Manager AT10251 The University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is one of the world s leading Universities, with an outstanding reputation for academic achievement and research. Cambridge comprises 31 Colleges and more than 150 departments, faculties, schools and other institutions plus a central administration. About the Cambridge Admissions Office The post-holder will be a member of the Academic Division of the University Offices, the staff of which form a unified central administrative service. The University of Cambridge operates a College-based admissions system, where decisions on which undergraduate applicants to admit are made within the individual Colleges. This process is supported and co-ordinated by the Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO), which is funded by both the Colleges and University. The role of the Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO) is to process undergraduate applications to the Colleges of the University and to raise aspirations and widen participation. It provides advice and information in response to enquiries from prospective students (and their parents, teachers/tutors, schools and colleges), College Admissions Tutors and other members of staff in the University, and to external bodies such as UCAS. The Office consists of three teams: Admissions and Data Services, Student Recruitment and Information, and Widening Participation. Each team has a Head. The overall management of CAO is the responsibility of the Director of Undergraduate Recruitment. The role advertised is part of a new unit formed as part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP), and managed by the Head of Widening Participation. The Cambridge Admissions Office is located at Fitzwilliam House, 32 Trumpington Street in central Cambridge. Further information about the CAO, the Colleges and the courses offered can be found online at www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk and www.cao.cam.ac.uk/ Post Location NEACO Project Manager (AT10251) Central Cambridge Terms and Conditions Salary Grade 8 Working pattern Hours of work 34,576-46,414 (starting salary will be determined according to experience) Full-time Office hours generally 9am 5pm There are no formal conditions relating to hours and times of work but you are expected to work such hours and days as are reasonably necessary for the proper performance of your duties. Your times of work should be agreed page 1 of 6
between you and your line manager. Limit of tenure Annual leave Pension Application Deadline How to apply 2 years in the first instance, with the possibility of a further 2 years 33 days per annum plus public holidays Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Thursday 20 October 2016 Interviews are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 9 November 2016. If you are unavailable on this date, please indicate this within your application. Applications should be made online via the advert published on the University's Job Opportunities pages. If you wish to make an informal enquiry about the post, please contact the Head of Widening Participation, Tom Levinson (tom.levinson@admin.cam.ac.uk). Equal Opportunities Information The University of Cambridge appoints solely on merit. No applicant for an appointment in the University, or member of staff once appointed, will be treated less favourably than another on the grounds of sex (including gender reassignment), marital or parental status, race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability (including HIV status), sexual orientation, religion, age or socio-economic factors. Eligibility to work and reside in the UK UK immigration procedures stipulate that an employer may not consider the appointment of any person unless they have seen evidence of their immigration status. Accordingly, shortlisted candidates, whatever their nationality, will be asked to provide such evidence at the interview stage Information if you have a Disability The University welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities. Our recruitment and selection procedures follow best practice and comply with disability legislation. The University is committed to ensuring that applicants with disabilities receive fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. Adjustments will be made, wherever reasonable to do so, to enable applicants to compete to the best of their ability and, if successful, to assist them during their employment. We encourage applicants to declare their disabilities in order that any special arrangements, particularly for the selection process, can be accommodated. Applicants or employees can declare a disability at any time. Applicants wishing to discuss with or inform the University of any special arrangements connected with their disability can, at any point in the recruitment process, contact Rachel Lister who is responsible for recruitment to this position, on 01223 332589, by email to rachel.lister@admin.cam.ac.uk or by post to Fitzwilliam House, 32 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QY. For additional guidance and information, applicants can contact the University s Disability Resource Centre either by telephone on 01223 332301, by email on disability@admin.cam.ac.uk or by post to DRC, Keynes House, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB4 1QA. Further Information There is a range of information which you may find helpful on the University s website: www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/. This includes applying for posts, working at the University, living in Cambridge and details of current vacancies. page 2 of 6
ROLE DESCRIPTION Dimensions of the role The National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) is a Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funded project, which aims to increase the number of young people from low participation neighbourhoods (LPNs) entering higher education by 2020. NCOP will seek to achieve this by focusing outreach activity in areas where HEFCE s analysis has shown participation in HE to be particularly low overall, and lower than would be expected given the KS4 attainment levels in those areas. As part of this national project, the University of Cambridge will be acting as the lead for a consortium of Higher Education Institutions and other stakeholders across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The consortium (known as NEACO the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach) is developing plans to deliver an ambitious and innovative programme to increase the number of 18 year olds in the region progressing to Higher Education. This post is one of a number being created as part of the consortium s bid and will have oversight and lead responsibility for ensuring the effective delivery of the consortium s Project Plan. The post-holder will be an employee of the University of Cambridge (as lead HEI), and managed by the University of Cambridge Head of Widening Participation. S/he will receive guidance from and be responsible to a Steering Group and Executive Group which will have representation from all partner HEIs. Organisation chart page 3 of 6
Role Purpose The NEACO Project Manager will be responsible for the overall delivery of the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (NEACO). The post-holder will report into and provide secretarial support to the Steering Group which oversees operational progress of the consortium and which provides guidance on strategy and policy to the project s Executive Group (meetings of which the post-holder will also attend). The post-holder will play the leading role in all aspects of the realisation of the Project Plan and play a key advisory role in its ongoing development. S/he will ensure that the structures developed and activities delivered across all partner organisations actively contribute towards the required outcomes and articulate with the agreed Strategic Plan. S/he will be responsible for the constant monitoring of the Project Plan and its related activity to ensure agreed milestones are met and activity is delivered within budget. S/he will be required to provide regular management reports detailing progress to the Steering Group. The post-holder will be the Head of the NEACO Central Team tasked with ensuring the smooth running of the project, including; overseeing delivery of activity and ensuring it articulates with the Plan; managing colleagues responsible for (i) communications, (ii) data and evaluation (iii) financial administration of the project and (iv) coordination of on the ground activity across the region. The post-holder will have a detailed understanding of activity taking place across the consortium and will assess the effectiveness of engagement strategies being implemented by partner organisations, in order to provide management information and recommendations to the Steering Group. As Head of the Central Team, the post-holder will oversee the work of all staff in the office, and will line manage the NEACO Project Coordinator. Main Responsibilities Key duties and responsibilities % time spent/ frequency 1 Project management and implementation 40% - Ensure the NEACO Strategic Plan agreed by the Project Steering Group is effectively organised and implemented by all organisations in receipt of Project funding - Ensure that Project objectives, as agreed by the Executive Group, Steering Group and HEFCE, are met - Provide high level input into the construction, development and direction of key aspects of the Project, according to the Strategic Plan - Supervision of all work of the Central Team (as Head of Office) and line management of the NEACO Project Coordinator. Ultimate responsibility for delivery of all Central Team activities - Management of the Central Team budget (c 500k p/a) - Responsible for allocation of Project funds to partners (c 4M p/a) and receipt and analysis of financial reporting and projections from partners - Responsible for the development of a detailed Project Plan 2 Management Information 30% page 4 of 6
- Provide management reports on the evaluation, monitoring, measurement and impact of the different components of the Project - Set up reporting systems and templates and provide training and guidance to ensure accurate and timely collection of information from partners to prepare monitoring returns for HEFCE - Regular monitoring of performance against agreed milestones, highlighting and recommending approaches where issues are identified - Ensure management information and reporting provided meets partners internal requirements - Provide regular financial management information, including spend against budgets, to lead HEI, Advisory Groups, Steering Group and Executive Group - In liaison with evaluation partners, ensure that robust and comprehensive evaluation is conducted for all activities as appropriate, and presented in a clear and coherent format - Develop an evaluation framework in liaison with external consultants and create mechanisms for ensuring flow of data and information to support evaluation 2 Marketing and Communications 10% - Oversee external communications related to the project and the production of marketing materials in liaison with other members of the consortium - Oversee the development of the Project website (managed by the Central Team Communications and Information Coordinator) in liaison with other members of the consortium - Liaise with partner HEIs to ensure joined up messaging and the development of a coherent, consortium-wide communications plan 4 Project Steering Group and Executive Group 10% - Provide secretarial support to the NEACO Steering Group, the body which considers data and financial reports and makes recommendations to the Executive Group on matters of strategy and policy. This will include setting the agenda (with the Chair), preparing papers, reports, budgets, accounts and statistics as required. Meets twice a term - Attend meetings of the Executive Group, once a term. 6 Liaison with HEFCE and Other Relevant Bodies 10% - Act as day to day contact point for HEFCE and other relevant organisations on day to day matters regarding NEACO - Act as key point of liaison between the Executive Group, Steering Group, partners and HEFCE - Represent NEACO in pro-active engagement with other NCOP consortia Person profile Essential knowledge, skills and experience required for role page 5 of 6
Education & qualifications Educated to degree level Project Management qualification (desirable) Specialist knowledge & skills Interpersonal & communication skills Relevant experience Additional requirements Detailed knowledge of, and commitment to, recruitment and widening participation to Higher Education (HE) in the UK Knowledge of the structure and systems of UK HE Deep knowledge of the structure and systems of UK secondary schools and colleges An understanding of the East Anglian secondary educational context Awareness and understanding of the issues that affect access to HE from underrepresented and disadvantaged students Awareness and understanding of socio-economic indicators used in HE, especially POLAR3 An understanding of the particular challenges faced by rural and coastal communities Knowledge and experience of managing budgets Knowledge and experience of managing staff Knowledge and experience of delivering large-scale projects Strong numerical and analytical skills including analysis and interpretation of monitoring data and statistics Excellent and highly developed communication skills, capable of interacting with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels, including senior management Ability to manage and motivate a team to deliver objectives to deadlines Excellent organisational and IT skills (word processing, email, Access (Databases), Excel and Power Point). Excellent interpersonal, listening and negotiating skills Sensitivity and flexibility in working with a diverse range of client groups; awareness of their needs Ability to write and present concisely for a variety of audiences and purposes, including constructing management reports Ability to self-manage workload and to meet targets and deadlines Extensive experience of project management, including project planning and evaluation to high standards Experience of data analysis and interpretation Experience of HE widening participation/outreach/recruitment work Experience of working collaboratively and in partnership with internal and external stakeholders Experience of managing staff and leading teams Experience of initiating and developing large and complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, to tight timescales and to meet targets Able to demonstrate a track record of effective creative problem solving and development of ideas Experience of developing and maintaining effective customer relationships and ensuring high quality service delivery Prepared to travel for meetings and events Prepared to work unsociable hours on occasion An ability to recognise discrimination and be aware of the University s Equal Opportunities policy page 6 of 6