Assistant Centre Administrator

Salary: £27,865 with progression to £29,354 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: 16 November 2026

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Public Health as an Assistant Centre Administrator.

This is a key role in the Specialist Centre for Public Health. Reporting to the Senior Research Administrator, you will provide administrative support to this £22 million NIHR investment.

Our vision is to develop the infrastructure, capacity and capability to support practitioners and researchers to carry out high-quality public health research, outside the NHS, to produce robust evidence to improve population health and reduce health and care inequalities.

The successful candidate will be interested in working in a fast-paced and varied environment. As the Centre’s first point of contact, you will provide comprehensive and effective administrative service to the Director of the Centre, Chief Operating Officer and Centre colleagues.

Working within the Operations team, you will be the first point of contact for the Centre and, among other duties, provide diary management, arranging and supporting meetings, conference and other stakeholder events.

You must be a confident communicator, with a passion for outstanding customer service. Excellent time management and organisational skills are essential, as well as the ability to manage a diverse workload.

To apply for the position, we will need your CV and a personal statement outlining how you are suitable for the role, using evidence to highlight how you meet the essential criteria as listed in the job description.

This is a full-time position, fixed term until 30th September 2028

For more information and an informal discussion, please contact Laura Lewis, Senior Research Administrator [email removed]

Key Accountabilities 

• Provide administrative support to the Operations Team and Programme Managers within the Centre as required, including (but not exclusively) diary support, meeting coordination, travel arrangements and booking accommodation to ensure that the Centre runs smoothly
• Co-ordinate and support Centre meetings and stakeholder events, funding panels and working groups including arranging meetings, coordinating papers, drafting agendas, taking minutes, maintaining and proactively managing actions
• Be the first point of contact for the Centre, communicating clearly with the Centre team, Satellites, collaborators and stakeholders and University professional services staff
• Process and monitor payments including Public Contributor payments and expense claims ensuring that all expenditure is against the correct budget sub-headings.  Ensure that the receipt of goods and/or services is confirmed, and assist in the resolution of invoicing, coding or expenses queries, to provide an efficient service and assist the Centre in adhering to the University’s Procurement Regulations.  Early escalation of all financial queries to the Senior Research Administrator
• Contribute to the effective and efficient running of the Centre, providing assistance to colleagues and stakeholders as appropriate 
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade as required by the line manager 

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Relevant recent administrative experience in a large organisation
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate clearly and concisely in writing and verbally
• Excellent administrative skills, including experience of setting up filing systems, preparing agendas and taking minutes of meetings
• Ability to work quickly and accurately to deadlines, paying attention to detail
• Excellent IT skills, including competent use of Microsoft Office (especially Outlook, Excel and Word)

Attributes and Behaviour

• Good team working abilities
• Ability to act with sensitivity in dealing with stakeholders
• Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships within the Centre team and its satellites
• Ability to deal appropriately with confidential information
• A positive and supportive attitude, ability to work flexibly and co-operatively with others
• People orientated, is approachable and has a positive ‘can-do’ attitude
• Works in partnership with others and promotes a culture of mutual respect 

Qualifications

• Grade A-C in English Language and Mathematics GCSE (or equivalent) or  vocational qualifications / relevant work experience in a large organisation

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: 29862