Programmes Assistant (Student Support)

About the Blavatnik School of Government

Our vision is of a world better led, a world better served and a world better governed. We are a global school committed to improving the quality of government and public policymaking worldwide, through three routes: teaching current and future leaders; generating research with impact; and engaging with governments and practitioners.

What we offer

The School is a collaborative, friendly, and dynamic department based in an award-winning building in Oxford. We host regular events and talks with well-known guest speakers – all of which are open to staff. On the social side, we have regular coffee/cake mornings for staff, a family-friendly Halloween event, and Christmas and summer parties.

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days’ annual leave
• Family leave schemes and a comprehensive range of childcare services
• Cycle loan scheme and discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans
• Membership to a variety of social and sports clubs
• Opportunities for remote working.

More information about working at the School can be found on our jobs page.

About the role

Are you a motivated, conscientious administrator looking for a new challenge in an exciting and growing environment?

The Blavatnik School of Government is looking for a positive and organised Programmes Assistant to join the School’s Programmes Team to deliver exemplary support to students studying on the School’s graduate degree programmes, currently the Master of Public Policy (MPP), the Master of Science (MSc) in Public Policy Research, and the DPhil in Public Policy.

Reporting to the Academic Planning Manager, you will become a source of specialist knowledge about the MPP and MSc and provide information, advice and guidance to students. You will communicate with students face-to-face, via email and other media, lead on administrative support for core teaching, and maintain systems for tracking and recording all aspects of student progress, engagement and achievement. You will also coordinate and draft the weekly MPP and MSc Student Newsletters, coordinate the publication of the MPP Student Handbook, and administer the reading list process for the School’s degree programmes.

This post is fixed-term for two years.

We expect the successful candidate to start in early November 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

About You

You must have exemplary customer service skills and excellent team working skills, with a flexible can-do approach and a willingness to adapt to the changing needs and priorities of the team.

You should be organised, know when to use initiative and when to seek advice, and be able to demonstrate a personable and diplomatic approach in dealing with a diverse range of people, and feel confident dealing with financial data.

Good IT skills and excellent written and verbal communication skills are also essential.

Application process

You will be required to upload your CV, a supporting statement and the details of two referees as part of your online application.

The closing date for applications is 12:00 noon on Wednesday 4 September 2024. Interviews are likely to be held during week commencing 16 September 2024

Additional information

Please note a pensionable Oxford University Weighting of £1,500 per year (pro rata) will be applied with effect from 1 August 2024, in addition to the stated starting salary. This will be implemented in the September 2024 payroll, backdated to 1 August 2024.

This is also in addition to any inflationary pay rise which may be agreed nationally through negotiations led by UCEA with the trade unions, which could take effect from 1 August 2024 (backdated if necessary).

Further details of how these changes to pay will be applied will be shared with the successful candidate in due course.

Read Full Description