Internal Applicants Only - Postgraduate Research Administrator bei Cardiff University

This post is currently open to employees of Cardiff University only.  Please do not apply if you do not have a current contract of employment with the University.

Internal Applicants Only - Postgraduate Research Administrator

The Research Service is seeking to appoint a fixed term Postgraduate Research Administrator based in the School of Psychology (PSYCH), to provide administrative support in postgraduate research, working as part of a cohesive research team.

The Postgraduate Research Administrator will be an integral member of the PSYCH research support team located in the Tower Building on Park Place and will be part of the wider Research Service in the College of Biomedical and Life Sciences (CBLS). The post holder will support the delivery of the Research Service’s postgraduate administration and research professional service in PSYCH, providing advice, guidance and support to the postgraduate population, and will be supported by the PSYCH Research Services Manager and CBLS Head of Service Delivery as required.
A positive, collegiate, and compassionate approach will be vital in the role. The ideal candidate will possess strong organisational skills, a proactive problem-solving approach, and the ability to collaborate effectively.

The post is full-time and fixed term for 6 months from start date.

Please note that this is a fixed term appointment and would be suitable for internal candidates to undertake on secondment, with permission of their home department.

Salary: £28,031 - £31,236 per annum (Grade 4)

Interested candidates can contact the PSYCH Research Services Manager, Samantha Coleman, [email protected] for an informal conversation about the role.

Closing date: 7 September 2025

External applications are currently not being considered for this post.  If the decision is made to open the post to external candidates, the strapline at the top will be removed and you will be given ample time to apply – please check back periodically for details.

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.  We therefore welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Providing comprehensive and professional support to the Research Service/School of Psychology, providing support and guidance on postgraduate research administration.

This role is eligible to be offered on a blended working basis, meaning that as well as spending time working on campus you can also choose to spend some time working from another location, e.g. your home. The University is committed to offering this flexibility, wherever the role and business need allows, supporting work-life balance.

As the biggest university in Wales – and a major employer, with more than 7,000 staff – we are an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. We can offer you the chance to work in a vibrant organisation, with great benefits and opportunities for progression.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Duties

• Provide detailed advice and guidance on postgraduate research administration processes and procedures to internal and external customers (staff, students or members of the public), using judgement and creativity to suggest the most appropriate course of action, and contributing to the solving of more complex issues.
• Work with others to make recommendations to improve our ways of working.
• Establish productive relationships with key individuals (University colleagues and external contacts) to help improve the level of service the team provides to its customers.
• Perform a variety of administrative duties to support the team and department achieve its objectives.
• Gather and analyse data so that informed decisions can be made, establishing basic trends and patterns in the data and providing reports and recommendations for management.
• Instruct and guide colleagues across the University within postgraduate research administration as required.

General Duties

• Abide by all University policies and undergo appropriate personal and professional development.
• Perform other duties which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
• Uphold the Professional Services Values & Behaviours or local equivalent.

31,236

Grade 4

28,031

Admin / Clerical

HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU IN PERFORMING THIS ROLE

We want to support and develop you in the role, using a combination of the following to help you reach your full potential.
 

1. Regular one-to-one meetings with your team leader.
2. An experienced and supportive team around you.
3. Support to undertake job-relevant training and development, as identified by your Line Manager. This could be informal or could be an apprenticeship leading to a formal qualification, such as Business administration NVQ.
4. A staff mentoring scheme.
5. Support to learn Welsh or to update language skills.

The Research Service

Cardiff is an ambitious and innovative university located in a beautiful and thriving capital city. Our world-leading research was ranked 5th for quality amongst UK universities in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework and we provide an educationally outstanding experience for our 30,000 students. With an annual budget in excess of £500 million and around 6,000 staff, Cardiff is a member of the Russell Group of the 24 leading UK research-intensive universities. The University has 24 academic schools grouped into three colleges: Biomedical & Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering and Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences.

The University’s ambition is to rank consistently among the top 100 universities in the world. Cardiff is also developing its Innovation System through a focused programme of investment in people and infrastructure.  Research funding secured from competitive, external sources exceeds £100 million annually and the University aims to grow this further through winning grants from a wide range of national and global sources.

The Research Service supports the University’s research community in initiating and delivering research and innovation activities. Led by the Director, Vanessa Cuthill, we provides services via over 100 expert staff organised in five specialist teams: Research Grants Office; Research Integrity, Governance and Ethics; Research Development; Research Commercialisation and Impact; Research Strategy and Operations and Business Engagement and Partnerships. The Department works closely with academic and professional services staff from all areas of the institution.
 

Administrative Support

We want to employ people with a wide variety of experiences. We welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We are particularly seeking applications from candidates who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented at the University, including people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

We are looking for a team player who will work with colleagues to provide a great service to staff and students. You don’t need to have worked for a University before; this is an opportunity to show your potential and start or continue your career at Cardiff University.

This role may be an opportunity for you to build on your experience from working in a previous administrative role or environment with particular interest in postgraduate research administration, showing your transferable skills and aptitude to be successful in the role. You should be enthusiastic about developing your knowledge and skills to become a valued member of the team.

Your application will be assessed against the following essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please copy and paste this section into a new document and give clear examples of how you can evidence meeting each criteria by writing under each one. You can draw on elements from any aspect of your life (e.g. work, home, education/qualifications or community life) as long as you focus on their relevance to the role.

Please save your supporting statement in a separate document with the title [YOURNAME-BR NUMBER-JOB TITLE] and attach it to your application in the recruitment system, available here.

Please note that these are also the criteria shortlisted applicants will be assessed against at interview and/or by other means (e.g. a skills test).

Essential Criteria 

1. Ability to communicate in writing clearly, concisely, and effectively to provide detailed advice and guidance on postgraduate research administration.
2. Evidence of a good standard of numeracy and IT literacy.
3. Experience of working in an administrative role or environment and ability to set up standard office systems and procedures, making improvements to these as appropriate.
4. Specialist knowledge of postgraduate research administration.
5. Ability to communicate specialist and complex information effectively and professionally to a range of customers with varying levels of understanding. 
6. Ability to advise and influence key stakeholders in your area of work.
7. Ability to explore customers’ needs and adapt the service you provide accordingly to ensure a quality service is delivered.
8. Ability to use your initiative and creativity to solve problems, respond to queries and make recommendations, identifying and proposing practical solutions.
9. Ability to work unsupervised to deadlines, planning, setting and monitoring your priorities and those of the team.
10. Ability to plan, prioritise and organise own workload within established time scales.

Desirable Criteria 

1. Experience of working in a similar role or environment, e.g. Higher Education.
2. Ability to speak/understand Welsh or a willingness to learn.