Professional Placements Assistant

Professional Placements Assistant

Job Number

Applications will only be accepted via our on-line recruitment website, jobs.bangor.ac.uk. However, in cases of access issues due to disability, paper application forms are available by telephoning 01248 383865.

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting: Vanessa Williams, Professional Placements Officer, email: v.williams@bangor.ac.uk, Tel: 01248 388785.

Committed to Equal Opportunities.

Overview

The Directorate of Student and Academic Services brings together key professional services that support the student journey and enhance the academic experience at Bangor University. The Directorate comprises three main areas:

• Registry, which oversees student administration and business support, and leads on quality assurance, academic enhancement, and curriculum management.
• Student Life, which encompasses a wide range of student-facing services including Wellbeing and Inclusivity, Library Collections, Residential Life, Student Success (covering Teaching, Learning and Language Support, Careers, and Student Advice), and the Student Experience team.
• Campus Services, responsible for the University’s day-to-day operational environment, including Facilities, Catering, Sport, the Nursery, and the Security and Response Team. From August 2025, it will also include the Management and Development Centre.

Together, these services work in close partnership with academic colleagues and other professional service directorates to provide a supportive, inclusive and high-quality environment in which students can thrive.

Purpose of the Job

The Professional Programmes Assistant will work closely with other members of the Professional Programmes team, Academic Programme Leads/Course Directors and Placement Leads to provide effective support to the placement provision across the professional programmes, to include mentorship schemes and practice learning. They will provide administrative support to the professional programmes team, undertaking a range of routine tasks to meet operational requirements. In addition, the Professional Programmes Assistant will contribute to the continuous improvement of services for students in line with the strategic priorities of the University and taking into account the needs of the diverse student body.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Specific duties of the role

• Assist in the administration of the placements processes for a portfolio of programmes in close liaison with academic schools and partner organisations, including supporting the collection of feedback.
• Support the arrangements, allocation and matching of placements; communicate arrangements to students and placement providers.
• Maintain accurate records of student placements, attendance/absence of students on placement, placement hours, placement capacity and of placement provider information (e.g. contact details, placement profiles, agreements, inspection data, evaluations and audits, updating and reporting data as required.
• Assist in ensuring that students have completed all pre-placement requirements.
• Liaise with professional leads in case of escalation, misconduct and fitness to practice issues.
• Support the administration of student uniforms, electronic portfolio records and the collection of feedback.
• Any other duties appropriate to the grade, as required by line management.

Duties common across Grade 4 roles in the directorate

Administrative Support & Customer Service

• Carry out routine administrative tasks such as data entry, filing, updating and maintaining records (e.g. student records systems, databases or spreadsheets), managing inboxes, and processing documentation.
• Assist in the preparation and distribution of materials such as reports, meeting agendas, and minutes.
• Act as a first point of contact for general inquiries (email, phone or in person) from students, staff, and external stakeholders, providing clear and accurate information and escalating more complex issues to senior colleagues.
• Support the resolution of straightforward issues related to the role’s focus, ensuring a professional and student-centred approach.

Events and Cross Functional Support

• Assist in the planning and organisation of meetings, events, workshops, and other activities, including booking rooms and preparing materials.
• Provide support as directed to contribute to the delivery of University events including open days, graduation ceremonies and careers fairs.

Teamwork and Collaboration

• Work closely, as directed, with colleagues across the University community to support joined-up service delivery.
• Provide support to other team members during busy periods, absences, or when additional help is needed, including advising new starters in the same role or unit.
• Contribute to team meetings or discussions by sharing updates on assigned tasks.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

Compliance and Professional Development

• Follow established procedures to ensure compliance with institutional policies and external regulations.
• Provide administrative support for audits, reviews, or other compliance-related activities, ensuring use of proper documentation and accurate record-keeping for accountability and reporting purposes.
• The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities including attending training sessions, team meetings, or workshops to develop skills and enhance knowledge.
• The post holder will be expected to comply with the University equal opportunities policies, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Policy and the Welsh Language Standards.
• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
• The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and relevant institutional policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Training

Essential

• Minimum of 5 GCSEs at grades A* - C (incl. English and Maths) or NVQ level 2 in a relevant subject area.
• A willingness to participate in training and undertake further professional development.

Desirable:

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject area.
• ECDL Qualification.

Experience / Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of working within an office /administrative environment.
• Experience of working with database systems.
• Experience of dealing with queries and providing information.
• Experience of making collaborative decisions by understanding relevant information and of providing input to contribute to the decision making of others.
• Knowledge of when a decision is beyond the roles level of responsibility and when to refer to others.
• An understanding of legislative requirements relating to equality, data protection and freedom of information.
• Experience of assisting with the manipulation and presentation of data.

Desirable

• Experience of supporting professional programmes and an understanding of the associated regulatory and professional body requirements.
• Experience of partnership working for student placements.
• An understanding of the internal and external factors that may impact on the service.
• An understanding of the needs of culturally diverse staff and students.
• Experience of using InPlace.
• Experience of using University systems, e.g. Banner.

Skills/Abilities

Essential

• Good communication and inter-personal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook etc).
• Accurate data entry and attention to detail.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to handle a varied and demanding workload.
• Ability to manage workload, prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.
• Capable of both showing initiative and liaising effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Ability to be flexible and work well in a small team.
• Ability to provide appropriate advice, sympathetically and confidentially and initiate appropriate action by involving relevant people.
• Ability to understand, apply and explain terms commonly used in own area of work.

Other

Essential

• The ability to speak Welsh fluently and carry out tasks such as processing Welsh medium documentation and writing emails and in Welsh to a variety of audiences.
• Accepts feedback in a positive way and takes action to improve service accordingly.

General

The 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 strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy. We comply with the Welsh Language Standards and are committed to equality of opportunity. You are welcome to apply for any job in English or Welsh and all applications submitted will be treated equally.

We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us.  When you apply for this post you will be required to explain the basis upon which you believe you will able to live and work in the UK legally on the commencement date of the role should your application be successful.   If you do not have the right to work freely in any position in the UK already, any offer of employment we will make to you will be subject to you obtaining a right to work visa.   The following link provides information on the various visa routes into employment and the eligibility requirements (including switching visa status where permissible) https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas.   If you are successful in your application we will discuss visa options with you at the time of making the offer of employment.  

Please note that, in the event of applications being received from candidates on the University's Redeployment Register with a reasonable skills match to the post specification, these applicants will be given prior consideration.