POSITION DETAILS

School of Physics and Astronomy
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £29,647 to £31,460, with potential progression once in post to £35,388
Grade: 5
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2029
Closing date: 23rd September 2025

BACKGROUND

The UK Quantum Technology Research Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing (QuSIT, www.qusit.org ), led by the University of Birmingham, has been selected as one of five Hubs to be delivered by UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of a £160 million investment.
We are now seeking an Operations Coordinator to provide organisational, operations and administrative support and assistance to the Principal Investigator of the hub, undertaking some Executive Assistant duties. The successful candidate will join a thriving and diverse research group, the Quantum Sensing Group of the School of Physics and Astronomy and be part of the QuSIT Professional Services team. They will report to the Project Officer of the Quantum Sensing Group.
The School of Physics and Astronomy is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School’s commitment to promote diversity and equality, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all students and staff can achieve their full potential. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups in Physics and Astronomy including, but not limited to, women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE

• Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of grade C/4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent.
• Highly proficient IT skills, in particular the ability to handle complex electronic diaries and emails, the wider MS Office suite of programmes including Excel and PowerPoint. The post holder should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required.
• Proven ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, proactively planning own (and sometimes others’ workloads) to manage time effectively, progress tasks concurrently and work to deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for different audiences, and to required deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal skills. The post holder must inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times.
• A high degree of professionalism, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to exercise discretion regarding the handling and management of sensitive information/issues.
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work.
• Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these.
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.

ROLE SUMMARY

As an Operations Coordinator within the QuSIT hub, being based within the School of Physics and Astronomy, you will provide operational support and assistance to the Principal Investigator of the hub, encompassing a broad range of administrative duties, some of which may be complex.
You will be able to use your wide range of administrative skills and have the opportunity to lead on specific tasks for the Principal Investigator, within the QuSIT Professional Services team.

MAIN DUTIES

• Providing organisational, operations and administrative support and assistance to the Principal Investigator of QuSIT including some personal diary management.
• You will be able to deal with complex systems and procedures and will be expected to offer advice on these, including deciding on the response to more complex queries.
• You will be expected to exercise your judgment on the answer to queries or on the direction of work within parameters set by your manager. On a day to day basis you will be expected to resolve more complex queries without necessarily referring to your manager.
• Maintain high profile working relationships with key stakeholders on your own initiative, fielding enquiries and ensuring that appropriate information is disseminated to stakeholders as appropriate.
• You may be involved in organising events including booking a venue, sending invitations, arranging refreshments, liaising with speakers, manage bookings, co-ordination of colleagues, advertising, collating feedback and reporting back.
• You may also be involved in supporting the PI in arranging complex UK and overseas travel, including booking flights, hotels, transfers, and organisation and planning of itineraries, ensuring best use of time and taking into account budgetary constraints.
• You will be expected to use a variety of complex University systems and processes to research, analyse and interpret complex data, producing bespoke reports as required. This may include identifying and resolving issues with the data.
• Support the management, development and implementation of operational processes and systems.
• Process more complex data (which may be financial, HR, student-related or other), monitoring accuracy, chasing up missing information, and resolving any issues as appropriate.
• As required, provide a professional secretarial service to relevant committees and meetings.
• You may be required to be responsible for one or more of the following:
• monitoring budgets including processing payments, authorising expenditure, raising concerns where finances are not in line with the budget,
• procuring goods and services through the University system, working closely with UoB Finance and Procurement teams,
• updating and writing contents for the department’s communications e.g. intranet pages,
• dealing with health and safety and facilities issues,
• dealing with arrangements for international visitors,
• monitoring internal procedures/compliance and ensuring these are followed and disseminated as appropriate.
• Supports equality and values diversity, moderating own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.