ACCOMMODATION ADVISOR PACK

ACCOMMODATION ADVISOR CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

ABOUT US

About UCL Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London’s leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 13,000 staff and 43,800 students from 150+ different countries. We are a diverse community with the freedom and courage to challenge, to question and to think differently. Through a progressive approach to teaching and research, our world leading academics, curious students and outstanding staff continually pursue excellence, break boundaries and make an impact on real world problems. Who we are Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world’s best minds. UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities. • Academic excellence • 29 Nobel laureates • 11 academic faculties • 43,800 students • 14,300 employees • 1st in UK for research strength (REF 2014) • 440 undergraduate programmes • 150+ nationalities represented by student body • 675 postgraduate programmes

UCL’s vision and impact Our distinctive approach to research, education and innovation seeks to further inspire our community of staff, students and partners to transform how the world is understood, how knowledge is created and shared, and the way that global problems are solved. UCL is taking on some of the biggest challenges of our time, and making vital contributions to the public good. As set out in UCL 2034, UCL’s strategy is based on the following principal themes: • Academic leadership grounded in intellectual excellence • A global leader in the integration of research and education, underpinning an inspirational student experience • Addressing global challenges through our disciplinary excellence and distinctive cross-disciplinary approach • An accessible, publicly engaged organisation that fosters a lifelong community • London’s Global University: in London, of London and for London • Delivering global impact through a network of innovative international activities, collaborations and partnerships.

We are continually making an impact on the world we live in.

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Transforming UCL UCL has embarked on an extensive building and refurbishment programme - Transforming UCL. This is about creating sustainable spaces that meet UCL’s world-class aspirations and commitment to excellence and innovation. Transforming UCL is the largest capital programme in the University’s history. It will see a substantial investment of over £1.25 billion over the next 10 years to refurbish and develop some of our most iconic buildings whilst also bringing forward new world class buildings. Together these will enable and support the University’s continued growth as we continue to build now and for the future.

Creating campuses equipped for the future • £1.25 billion invested in transforming UCL facilities. • Brand new campus UCL East will be home to new degree programmes, research, innovation, and technologies. • The new Student Centre opened its doors in 2019 – an essential space to think, explore, collaborate, discover and challenge. • Astor College, our newly refurbished self-catered hall opened in 2019 winning the award for ‘University Halls of Residence of the Year 2019’. • We teach our students how to think, not what to think. • We are investing £281.6 million into a new purpose-built biomedical facility which will house over 500 scientists from across UCL’s neuroscience community. Candidate Information 5

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LIFE AT UCL

Life at UCL, London Our position in London brings unique benefits, providing all with access to a wealth of opportunities, and enabling us to contribute to everything that makes it one of the world’s greatest cities. A world-leading university in a global city is a powerful and inspiring combination. UCL reflects London’s strengths, and we make significant contributions to London’s impact on the UK, Europe and globally. Our staff and students benefit from being in one of the world’s most celebrated and diverse cities, and they give back by making a real difference to London’s people, economy, communities and culture. At the heart of one of the most dynamic cities in the world • In the London’s Bloomsbury district – traditionally a place for rebels and innovators. • At the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, a consortium of over 90 academic, cultural, research, scientific and media organisations. • Close to a wealth of academic resources – museums and libraries, academic and professional bodies, theatres, hospitals and medical institutes. • Close collaboration and partnerships with leading organizations and iconic institutes – such as the British Library, British Museum, RIBA, Zoological Society of London, Institute of Physics, the BBC, the Wellcome Trust, etc. • Also perfectly placed to foster enterprise and business partnerships (including through UCL Innovation & Enterprise). 6 UCL Accomodation Advisor

UCL Estates UCL Estates, comprising Estates Operations and Estates Development, manages UCL’s entire estate and its facilities infrastructure. This includes property acquisition and management, capital projects, engineering and maintenance, environmental sustainability, safety, security, cleaning, UCL Accommodation and central room bookings. The UCL Estate comprises over 200 buildings valued in excess of £2 billion, more than four million square feet of academic and non-academic space. The scale, variety and complexity of the estate are unparalleled in the sector. UCL Estates places a very heavy emphasis on safety and a strong focus on multistakeholder engagement.

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UCL Accommodation The multi-award winning UCL Accommodation team sits within UCL Estates and comprises of over 26 halls that house more than 6500 residents. UCL Accommodation has set out an ambitious new vision of becoming the leading provider of accommodation in the HEI sector; delivering an exceptional student experience and embarking on a new strategy to delivery this vision. Our students are at the very heart of this strategy and we work in conjunction with our students to deliver what matters most to them in a way that really amplifies the difference that we as UCL can bring. Most of our halls are close to campus in Bloomsbury, one of London’s most desirable neighbourhoods. We also have halls in Camden and Victoria – exciting areas with their own quirks and treasures. Despite London’s expensive property market and the pressure on student accommodation, UCL’s prices are kept as low as possible and are amongst the cheapest in the area. The team also works hard to enhance the experience of every student staying with us. We believe it’s everyone’s role in the team to help ensure that every resident in UCL Accommodation feels at home. We’re striving to provide every student with an experience as befits one of the world’s greatest universities in one of the most exciting cities on earth. Candidate Information 9

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Post:

Accommodation Advisor

Department:

UCL Accommodation

Grade:

Reporting to: Deputy Accommodation Manager Supervision of: Summer Accommodation Advisors and Student Ambassadors

Normal working works are 36.5 per week Required to provide cover between the hours of 8am- 7pm, Monday-Friday and 9am-5pm Saturday (Shift to be determined by Line Manager) Summer period hours will be worked on a rota of five days in seven including weekends

Hours:

PURPOSE OF THE JOB The role involves providing a meet and greet front of house service as well as supporting all back office functions, providing administration support across all of the sites. Supporting open days, intake days and departures as well as assisting day to day visitors, students and external contacts. The ideal candidate will be able to provide a cheerful reception service to all students and visitors and will ensure that the highest level of customer service is maintained as well as acting as a role model for excellent service delivery.

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KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Teamwork • Demonstrating a flexible approach to work and a willingness to undertake all reasonable duties at the request of the Deputy Accommodation Managers or Accommodation Manager • Providing support to the other sites when required • Working collaboratively to help support the department to deliver its mission statement and broader objectives • Supporting approaches and initiatives to enhance the residents experience within the UCL Accommodation, including gathering and sharing market information • Working in a collegiate and supportive manner with colleagues, ensuring opportunities to share best practice are utilised • Developing and maintaining productive working relationships with internal UCL departments and third party suppliers • Conduct regular handover meetings with SRAS and the OOH Accommodation Officers/Manager, communicating details of incidents, outstanding issues and requests • Embracing change, supporting the department and colleagues through organisation transformation Compliance • Ensuring that Health and Safety legislation is adhered to at all times • Maintaining an awareness of current legislation concerning Health and Safety, Data Protection and compliance • Comply to risk assessments applicable to working environments and raise any issues or causes for concern to the Deputy Accommodation Manager or Accommodation Manager • Report health, safety and security incidents in line with UCL and UCL Accommodation health & safety procedures • Complying with the UCL department uniform policy, ensuring correct uniform and PPE is worn at all times (if required), including identity card and name badge • Delivering central processes and conducting all duties in line with UCL Residences standard operating procedures • Ensuring the Deputy Accommodation Manager is informed of all serious incidents • Ensuring a safe and secure environment at all times and raise any concerns or new hazards to the Deputy Accommodation Manager or Accommodation Manager • Fulfilling the varied administration and auditing requirements • Contributing suggestions for areas of improvement to benefit the department • Reflecting UCL Accommodation mission, vision and values in all activities undertaken • Attend health & safety training as directed by UCL or UCL Accommodation

• Providing front of house reception services, including key/visitor management and handling lock outs • Welcoming visitors and contractors to the properties, ensuring relevant security and identity checks are carried out and their presence is recorded • Following up on any customer related issues requiring action in a timely manner, engaging with other colleagues when necessary • Providing a decisive and effective response to customer complaints, assisting in and resolving customer disputes and escalating where necessary • Ensuring required maintenance work within the properties is reported and completed • Ensuring the properties are presented to the required standard • Assisting customers in a professional and courteous manner, showing empathy and responding with urgency to customer requests • Maintaining positive community relationships e.g. neighbours, local communities, police community officers, Fire and Rescue Service and local authorities Administration • Maintaining UCL Accommodation and UCL filing and information systems including StarRez booking/resident system, hardcopy files and MS Excel spread sheets, ensuring customer data is accurate, secure and compliant with the Data Protection Act and all UCL policies • Undertaking general administration duties, to including processing StarRez resident admin and rent payments, supporting check in and check out, debt chasing and handling early leavers, instalment plans, no shows and absconders, creation of required letters and emails • Providing financial administration support, including raising and receipting purchase orders, agreeing resident payment plans and customer room moves, escalating customer arrears issues • Assisting with ad hoc and cyclical projects (e.g. summer turnaround/commercial on-site activities ) • Conducting and logging room/communal area inspections • Undertaking additional duties and tasks as requested by the UCL Accommodation management team

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Student Experience • Assist in the co-ordination of all resident social events and represent the UCL Accommodation team at the events as per the site rota, as and when required. • Ensure the UCL Accommodation Brand Standards and Student Experience Standards are implemented a consistently across all of the properties in collaboration with the Marketing, Communications and Student Experience team • Ensuring consistency of approach and understanding of the behavioural values of UCL and the department • To liaise with the Marketing, Communications and Student Experience team, in regards to related matters Performance and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) • Ensuring all work is completed within the required standards and KPI targets set by the department • Maintaining the highest level of productivity at all times • Contributing to the delivery of the KPIs within the department , including measures for: ◊ Health and Safety ◊ Operational Compliance ◊ Student Experience and Satisfaction ◊ 3rd Party Contract Management ◊ Financial (Net Operating Income and Debt Recovery) Special Conditions a. Due to the nature of the work within student residences the hours of work will vary depending on operational requirements and may at times include evening, weekend and bank holiday work, for which time off in lieu given b. The duties of the post will dictate attendance by the post holder at University sites outside normal office hours. Such attendance outside normal office hours will be as directed by the Deputy/ or Accommodation Manager from time-to-time. Where these out-of-hours duties are undertaken the post holder will be given time off in lieu in accordance with the UCL Accommodation procedures c. Due to the demand on the service the post-holder will be discouraged from taking annual leave during the Department holiday embargo

This job description reflects the present requirements of the position. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description may require review and may be subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder. In carrying out the above duties the post holder is expected to: • Adhere to UCL policies including Financial Regulations and ‘Equal Opportunities’ • Participate in staff meetings and training as required • Maintain an awareness and observation of Fire and Health & Safety Regulations • Work in a resource efficient way and actively support UCL’s Sustainability policies and objectives within the remit of their role • Environmental sustainability • Demonstrate a commitment to UCL’s values: ◊ Commitment to excellence and advancement on merit ◊ Fairness and equality ◊ Diversity ◊ Collegiality and community-building ◊ Inclusiveness ◊ Openness ◊ Ethically acceptable standards of conduct ◊ Fostering innovation and creativity ◊ Developing leadership

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KEY REQUIREMENTS

Essential • Previous experience in a similar customer facing role • Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing and demonstrate an objective, professional and calm approach when handling difficult situations • Ability to build relationships internally and with third party suppliers • Computer literate with the ability to use Microsoft Office • Ability to work at pace whilst maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail • Ability to manage own time effectively, prioritising tasks when required, multitasking and meeting deadlines • Previous experience in an administrative role • Ability to offer flexibility in working hours and to take part in a rota • Highly skilled in understanding, empathising and delivering against customer needs • Possesses a positive and collegiate attitude, with the ability to adapt swiftly and a willingness to undertake challenging tasks to ensure customer satisfaction • Self-motivated and possessing the ability to work on own initiative Desirable • Previous experience of working in the accommodation, hospitality or retail sectors • Previous experience in complaint handling • Due to the nature of the role and the context in which the individual will be working it is desirable that the post holder will agree to the use of their photograph on UCL Accommodation marketing and communication literature/posters or website

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PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential or Desirable

Assessment method (Application/Interview)

Essential or Desirable

Assessment method (Application/Interview)

Criteria

Qualifications, experience and knowledge A good general education with sound literacy and numeracy skills Previous experience of working in the accommodation, hospitality or retail sectors Previous experience of working in a similar customer facing role Highly skilled in understanding, empathising and delivering against customer needs Previous experience in an administrative role Self-motivated and possessing the ability to work on own initiative Possesses a positive and collegiate attitude, with the ability to adapt swiftly and a willingness to undertake challenging tasks to ensure customer satisfaction Computer literate with the ability to use Microsoft Office Skills and abilities Ability to offer flexibility in working hours and to take part in a rota Ability to manage own time effectively, prioritising tasks when required, multitasking and meeting deadlines Ability to work at pace whilst maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail Self-motivated and possessing the ability to work on own initiative

UCL Ways of Working for professional services Working together

• Being a collaborative member of your team. • Understanding the importance of building healthy relationships with others in order to do your job well. • Actively seeking out feedback and opportunities to develop. Achieving our mission • Understanding how your work fits in with others’ and its importance in the wider context. • Understanding your objectives and making realistic plans to deliver them. • Following an agreed plan and knowing how to finish a job on time, asking for help if needed. Personal excellence • Being committed to UCL and taking pride in your work. • Contributing to keeping the workplace running smoothly and efficiently • Practising empathy for others in the workplace, trying to understand the needs of colleagues, staff, students and partners • Understanding your responses to stress, and developing personal resilience strategies.

A and I

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APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications should consist of a CV and covering letter and be sent to: UCLaccommodation@mrgpeople.co.uk

52-54 Gracechurch Street London EC3V 0EH Tel 020 3962 9900

111 Piccadilly Manchester M1 2HY Tel 0161 638 0936

mrgpeople.co.uk

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