Operations Administrator

Salary: £27,319 - £28,031 with progression to £29,588  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 15 February 2026

Introduction

The NIHR Innovation Observatory (IO) is a world-leading health and care innovation horizon scanning research centre based at Newcastle University. Our work supports government agencies, industry, regulators, charities, and researchers by delivering timely, actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making, policy development, investment guidance, funding programs and improve alignment across agencies. We work across the health, life sciences and wider care ecosystem to identify innovation, gaps and unmet needs, follow trends and signal potentially game changing innovations. Our work fosters national and international collaboration supporting the growth of the UK health and life sciences sector, and is a beacon for cross-sector, interdisciplinary training and capacity building in horizon scanning and foresight. We are at the forefront of developing approaches and people to identify and analyse emerging health and care technologies, ensuring the UK is prepared to leverage scientific breakthroughs that improve patient outcomes and support system readiness.

You will have a responsibility for promoting the values of the NIHR Innovation Observatory through appropriate and visible leadership behaviours and actions. You will have a particular responsibility to:

• Teamwork: Collaborate with kindness, value and respecting everyone, offering help and support.  Actively promoting an open flow of information and seeking to partner with external interest holders/stakeholders in all our activities.


• Courage and Ambition: Operate at the top of your game, valuing and actively seeking out learning and development opportunities. Giving and receiving feedback with honesty and reflecting on your approaches.


• Curiosity and Open-mindedness: Embrace creativity and value originality, seizing opportunities to learn and innovate.


• Integrity and Quality: Walk the talk and be well-prepared and robust in your approach, delivering high quality timely outputs, and managing your time and resources effectively

The Role

Based within the NIHR Innovation Observatory this role will provide high quality administrative support across the operations team and senior leadership team to ensure smooth and efficient functioning of the centre.  This includes ensuring document and records management, diary coordination, financial tracking and processing, assistance with operational and personnel record keeping.  The role also supports continuous improvement through process documentation to provide evidence to support review and evaluation.

The post is full time, fixed term until 31 March 2031.

For informal enquiries please contact Dominic Lamb at [email protected]

Key Accountabilities

• Maintain and update operational files, folders, and shared drives to ensure accessibility and accuracy of documentation


• Manage and update records relating to staff, contractors, suppliers, and resources


• Support and document operational processes; assist in drafting, updating, and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs) and workflows


• Handle routine financial administration, including POs, invoice processing, coding, spend tracking, and liaising with finance


• Provide high-level administrative support to the Operations and Senior Leadership Teams (SLT), including correspondence, scheduling, travel arrangements, and reporting


• Diary management and meeting coordination, including drafting agendas, preparing documentation, and taking minutes with proactive action tracking


• Act as a point of contact for People Services and recruitment administration, including onboarding, PDR coordination, leave tracking, and sickness absence monitoring


• Ensure effective communication and accurate information dissemination across internal stakeholders and external partners (e.g. NHS, NICE).


• Contribute to office procedures (e.g. health & safety, GDPR, DSE assessments) and support Centre-wide administration where required.


• Any other duties as required appropriate to the post

This job description identifies the key responsibilities of the post. It is not an exhaustive list of duties and is subject to amendment as necessary, in consultation with the postholder.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Office 365, Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint); ability to quickly learn internal systems (e.g. SAP or equivalent finance systems)


• Proven ability to maintain accurate records and data systems with attention to detail


• Excellent organisational and planning skills; able to handle multiple tasks and priorities


• Experience in financial processes including invoice processing, purchase orders, and expense tracking


• Ability to take accurate minutes and produce clear, concise documentation to support effective Governance and decision making


• Discretion in handling confidential or sensitive information, with a sound knowledge of GDPR


• Experience in a similar administrative or operational role, ideally in a healthcare, academic, or public sector environment


• Excellent organisational, interpersonal and communications skills, including the ability to triage queries and issues


• Ability to use initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently, in the context of the wider team priorities

Attributes and Behaviour

• Proactive, adaptable, and self-motivated with a “can-do” attitude


• People orientated, collaborative and approachable


• Able to remain calm under pressure and deal with competing demands


• Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to high-quality service


• Willingness to contribute beyond core duties to support overall Innovation Observatory goals


• Demonstrates resilience to the demands of the role and pace of change


• Adheres to all policies and processes of the Innovation Observatory


• Actively promote an open flow of information and seeking to partner with external interest holders/stakeholders in all our activities


• Value and seek out learning and development opportunities


• Embrace creativity and valuing originality, seizing opportunities to learn and innovate

Qualifications

• GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics (Grade A-C) or A relevant vocational qualification or Substantial relevant work experience in administration or a comparable environment

Desirable

• Experience working in a university, healthcare, or research setting


• Training in health and safety (e.g. DSE Assessor, Fire Warden)


• Project management experience

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29017