Student Advice & Advocacy Coordinator
- Recruiter
- Cardiff University Students' Union
- Location
- Cardiff, Cardiff (Caerdydd)
- Salary
- £22,154
- Posted
- 01 Dec 2020
- Closes
- 09 Dec 2020
- Sectors
- Education & Teaching, Public Sector
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
Student Advice & Advocacy Coordinator Full Time / Permanent Position
The starting salary for this position will be grade 4.1- £22,154.
The position offers a supportive working environment, within a benefits package including development opportunities and 34 days of annual leave plus eight paid public holidays.
During the initial training and probationary period, the post holder will be asked to engage with training to ensure they are comfortable and competent in role. The post holder will also be given support to undertake an Institute of Leadership and Management Diploma, paid for by the organisation.
The Organisation
Cardiff University Students’ Union (CUSU) has a vision of working with every Cardiff University student to enhance their university experience. As a student-led, independent part of the university, CUSU represents students and provides a diverse and inclusive range of activities and services that enrich student life. These include advice, training, skills development, volunteering opportunities, employment and other services that promote inclusion, friendship and personal development. CUSU supports over 200 student societies and 60 sports clubs that boast more than 10,000 members.
CUSU is also the recognised voice of students at Cardiff University, joining students in campaigning about the issues important to them. The trading subsidiary of CUSU, Cardiff Union Services Limited, manages a purpose built facility in the centre of Cardiff and operates cafes, shops, bars and events that help fund CUSU’s charitable activities. CUSU is based on Park Place and at the Heath Park campus, employing over 100 permanent staff and 300 student staff. The organisation is ranked in the top 100 of the Sunday Times Best Not-for-profit Companies to Work For, as well as holding Gold status through Investors in People. CUSU aspires to have a positive impact on the wider community in Cardiff and is consistently graded the number one Students’ Union in Wales and in the top ten in the UK for student satisfaction.
Student Advice
This post will operate from within the Student Advice department, under the direction of the Head of Student Advice. Student Advice provides free, confidential, independent and impartial guidance to students of Cardiff University. The service serves to empower students with objective information to make decisions in their own best interests. Our team accompany and represent students through University disciplinary and regulatory procedures.
In addition, Student Advice works closely with the elected sabbatical officer team and University staff to inform policy creation and bring about positive change to the experience of students. The department works closely with the Marketing and Communication team to coordinate direct prevention-based welfare campaigns with a view to addressing engrained, systematic or behavioural problems for student welfare.
The team work closely with an enthusiastic and committed team of student volunteers. The department is responsible for the support and development of our nine Student Led Services. The service undertakes other activities to promote and support the health and wellbeing of students.
Full Time Hours
The successful candidate will be required to engage with 35 hours of work per week. These hours must generally be worked Monday – Friday 09:00 – 17:00, with a single additional hour per day unpaid for lunch and breaks.
The role requires occasional work outside of this working pattern to support campaigns, undertake personal/professional development and other commitments commemurate with the post.
The holder of the role will be asked to work until 19:00 on a Tuesday in order to attend a weekly meeting during term time. This time can be taken back at a mutually agreeable point in the week.
The Role
The holder of the Student Advice and Advocacy Coordinator role will be responsible for advising and advocating on behalf of students at Cardiff University. The remit of the position has been designed in accordance with the pillars of advocacy:
Education
- Ensuring students are educated, advised and aware of their rights and responsibility, through the provision of high quality, independent and confidential advice through a variety of mediums to a diverse cohort of students. Using exceptional skills of customer service and emotional intelligence the post holder will advise on a variety of academic, disciplinary, housing, employment consumer and wellbeing matters. Full training to be provided.
Empowerment
The holder of the role will undertake work, raising consciousness of rights, to ensure students have the confidence to stand up for themselves and bring forward legitimate concerns, with the information and means to take initiative and safeguard their own interests. Using a person centred approach the holder of the role will provide training and development opportunities for students to survive and thrive in their journey through the University.
Enforcement
The role will provide support to students taking direct action to enforce, protect or defend their interests. This includes representing and advocating for students through formal procedures, but where possible using situational judgement to facilitate students speaking for themselves. Full training and supervision will be provided.
The Person
As the successful candidate, you will be passionate about promoting the rights and interests of students. You will understand the University experience and will have experience in a dynamic environment that strives for excellence.
You will appreciate the importance of customer service skills and will have experience of working with a wide variety of clients/customers. You will have exceptional written and verbal communication skills
You will be assertive where necessary, but have exceptional interpersonal skills, the ability to manage conflict and will be able to bridge understanding between different people, with different perspectives.
You will appreciate the importance of working as part of a team and will be someone your team will look forward to seeing and working with every day.
You will relish an opportunity to solve problems and enjoy the challenge of getting the most out of resources through effective planning. You will be comfortable managing multiple deadlines and conflicting priorities and will strive for excellence in everything you commit yourself to.
You will have exceptional ICT skills and be willing to learn new software packages.
You will be conscientious and ambitious, with a commitment to personal and professional development. You will have initiative, energy and enthusiasm.
Most importantly you will be genuinely excited by the prospect of having a positive impact on student welfare and improving the student experience of 32,000 students.
Please note, we reserve the right to close this position early. We would urge candidates to submit an application as early as possible.
The closing date for this position is Wednesday 9 December 2020 at 13:00.