Administrative Assistant

Salary: €41,350 - €57,660 p.a. (applicable to new entrants effective from January, 2011) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the University’s Remuneration policy.

Main Purpose of Job

The University Strategy 2020 -2025 is shaped by our people for our people with the purpose of optimizing the experience of work of all our people. The HR office is a major player in the successful delivery of this Strategy and the next University Strategy. The HR Office supports the University’s goals through the provision of a range of services including but not limited to; HR Business Partnering, Recruitment and Contracts, Employee Relations, Human Resource Information Systems, Learning and Development.

The successful candidate will work as a member of the HR team in achieving the office’s commitment to service and related initiatives. To assist in the operations of the office in providing an effective and efficient service to all stakeholders. This includes recruitment, post management and contracts, leave schemes, employee relations, learning and development, and any other duties that fall within the HR function.

The post holder will be required to work as part of the team, to ensure that workloads are appropriately planned, processed and actioned. The post holder will ensure that internal controls and processes are adhered to at all times. Production of periodic reports for Internal and External forums is also a requirement.

The post holder will work independently on day to day operational functions and also be responsible for assisting in the input, design and initiation of effective systems for the support and administration of HR activity.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will be assigned to one of the HR teams, the duties of which are outlined below.

Recruitment & Contracts

·       Responsible for the preparation of the monthly HR/Payroll function (Core HR), i.e. the accurate, timely and complete processing, recording, and reporting of monthly, and other payroll data. The post holder will ensure all post appointments/renewals/salary changes/ amendments/cessations, etc. for a particular period have been completed in Core Post Management and Core HR for accuracy on the Payroll system.

·       Preparation of appropriate employment contracts and conditions of appointment for permanent and temporary contract employees covering academic and non-academic grades, research staff, part-time assistants, seasonal recruits, and issuing renewals as well as new contracts.

·       Responsible for advertising of academic, non-academic and research competitions both internally and externally.

·       Ensure that all the necessary documentation and approvals have been received prior to advertising a post and comply with audit requirements.

·       Management of recruitment campaigns from start to finish.

·       Set up recruitment competitions on the Core system, external websites and print media.

·       Liaising with hiring managers and candidates throughout the recruitment process.

·       Ensure that all internal checks and controls are adhered to.

·       Management and monitoring of hosting agreements and work permits for non-EU nationals if required.

Learning and Development

·        Be the main point of contact for all staff training queries.  

·        Develop Learning & Development SOPs for internal processes and procedures along with FAQs. 

·        Manage the Learning Management System (Core Portal) including admin, maintenance and uploading of courses to platform. 

·        Manage the administration and organisation of training programmes and courses, including the enrolment process and ensuring the necessary paperwork and documents are collated (e.g. evaluation forms). 

·        Design and implement master training schedule and timetable room venues, accommodation, transport and catering for training attendees 

·        Administration of PO requisitions and liaising with suppliers regularly 

·        Monitor and analyse feedback from all L&D courses and programmes and providing reports and statistics to the L&D Manager. 

·        Develop, maintain and update Learning and Development webpages, SharePoint and social media accounts. 

·        Co-ordinate the centralised HR Induction process for all new appointees 

·        Co-ordinate and prepare, in conjunction with the Learning and Development Manager, training reports and statistics for internal and external staff and stakeholders. 

·        Manage the day-to-day operations of the Further Education Programme (FEP), which includes promotion of scheme, providing guidance and advice to staff, ensuring policy is adhered to, providing accurate reports and updating FEP webpage. 

·        Source and provide support and training materials for users of the other Learning Management Systems to help support its adoption across the organisation. 

·        Communicate and work with all managers in the promotion of training courses and programmes for staff through the relevant channels (all staff email, webpage etc.) 

Employee Relations/Leave schemes

·        To provide the Unit with a comprehensive and professional administrative and support service.

·        Administration of all Statutory and University Leave Schemes for University Staff 

·        Managing the University Sick Leave Scheme in line with the Public Service Sick Pay Scheme. 

·        Receiving and acknowledging medical certs from staff  

·        Providing initial support to staff regarding Sick pay entitlements. 

·        Liaising with managers, advising them and their employees on the SL policy and process.  

·        Ensuring that the correct documents in relation to Sick leave absences are submitted in a timely fashion.  

·        Liaising with the Payroll office and Pensions Office.  

·        Liaising with the DES in relation to the Public Service Sick Pay Scheme.

·        Liaising with DSP regarding social welfare benefits for staff. 

·        Liaising with 3rd Party provider in relation to income protection claims by our employees. 

·        Administration of Cycle to Work Scheme.

·        Administration of Travel Pass Scheme.

·        Contributing to and carrying out any other duties deemed appropriate by line management.

·        Managing and maintaining systems i.e. Core, Agresso, BI Discoverer etc.  

·        Assisting ER Manager, preparing documents and doing research relating to any issues.  

·        Managing assigned tasks and prioritising competing tasks to ensure that they are completed on time and to a high standard with excellent attention to detail.  

·        Ensuring efficient management of workloads during peak times.  

·        Providing the highest quality standards in customer service when dealing with the public, stakeholders and internal staff whilst acting on feedback and reporting to line management.  

·        Checking work thoroughly to ensure it is completed accurately and to a high standard at all times.  

·        Maintain own knowledge of relevant University Policies and Procedures and regulations. 

HR Administration

Provide HR Administration support to include:  

·        Support Presentations  

·        Management of emails  

·        Minute taking  

·        Meetings set up  

·        Preparing monthly communications for Colleges  

·        Arranging training events 

·        Raise POs as required  

·        Set up meetings for the team  

·        Act as first point of contact for generic HR queries to HR Business Partner team  

·        Recruitment – follow up on recruitment approvals, processes  

·        Reporting  

·        generate standardized monthly reports  

·        generate ad hoc reports required by HRBP’s  

·        generate monthly HR dashboards  

·        Collate Fixed Term Employee/Absence data to HRBP’s on monthly basis  

·        Contribute to HR Projects as required  

·        Collate monthly data on exit interviews  

·        Maintain HRBP webpages and Employee Wellbeing Webpage, including university events diary.

HR Information Systems

·        Oversees the timely monitoring and resolution of inquiries received in the HR ESS inbox, ensuring effective communication and swift problem-solving for all incoming queries. 

·        Provide technical support and advocacy to colleagues and other stakeholders in respect of the Human Resources systems and processes. 

·        Support the review and implementation of appropriate processes and procedures to fit existing software and information technology resources available within the Human Resources Office. 

·        Assist in the operations of the office through supporting the implementation of an effective and efficient service to all stakeholders. 

·        Work as a member of the HRIS Team in achieving the office’s commitment to service and related initiatives. 

·        Application of internal control and internal check systems, review of same as appropriate and maintenance of HR information and files. 

·        Production of periodic reports for internal and external stakeholders 

·        Detect, verify, record and resolve HRIS incidents. 

·        Contribute to and lead testing of HRIS developments, changes and enhancements. 

·        Contribute to development activities as a project team member with assigned project tasks. 

·        Develop comprehensive training documentation and consistently update and maintain material to ensure accuracy and relevance. 

·        Codify frequently performed activities into standard procedures. 

·        Work independently on day-to-day operational functions and also to be responsible for assisting in the input, design and initiation of effective systems for the support and administration of HRIS activity. 

Other:

·       Representing the HR function to the highest standard.

·       Collate reports/data /information for Freedom of information as requested.

·       Co-ordinate and prepare, in conjunction with the HR Manager, reports and statistics for University Management.

·       Provide advice to Heads of Schools/Support Units to ensure compliance with HR policies and procedures (recruitment or contracts).

·       Produce accurate and timely reports from the Core HR system.

·       Ensure that all internal checks and controls are adhered to and monitor same on an ongoing basis.

·       Participate on interview panels as appropriate.

·       Undertake other tasks and project work as required by HR Manager, to contribute to the achievement of objectives of the work unit.

·       Proactively keep abreast of developments in employment law, best practice in Recruitment and Selection, Equality, and HR matters generally, and ensure relevant changes required to documentation in relation to implementation of any such changes are updated accordingly.

·       Monitor relevant inboxes.

·       Covering for colleagues during periods of leave.

·       Any other duties within the HR Team function that may be assigned.

Requirements for the role:

The successful candidate will demonstrate the eligibility requirements below in terms of qualification, skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

·       At a minimum, passes in 5 subjects at Leaving Certificate level (or equivalent).

·       A recognised post Leaving Certificate administrative/office technology qualification.

·       Proven organisational and administrative skills.

·       Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel.

·       A minimum of two years’ employment experience, which demonstrates a high level of administrative support in a demanding office environment. 

·       The post holder must be self-motivated and capable of working on his/her own initiative, be well organised and flexible, capable of prioritising and planning work and responding to urgent requests.

·       Accepts and demonstrates responsibility.

·       The post holder will integrate as a member of a busy office team and should be committed to a team approach and to quality in the delivery of the service.

·       The post holder must have a high level of accuracy and attention to detail in the delivery of the service.

·       The post holder must have the ability to adhere to strict deadlines and this can mean working under constant pressures.

·       Ability to work on one’s own initiative and manage a number of issues simultaneously.

·       Post holder must use discretion to ensure HR policies and procedures are adhered to while at the same time deal with sensitive information regarding staff members as discretion and confidentiality are of the utmost importance.

Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

·       Minimum of 1-year Human Resources experience.

·       C1 level of written and spoken Irish. Irish assessment may be required to be undertaken prior to appointment.

The above criteria will be utilised to shortlist and select candidates for interview.