**Academic Programme Administrator with IT Systems Support Focus – Maternity Leave Cover**
Please note this position does not offer sponsorship for overseas applicants.
Portobello Institute is seeking to appoint an Academic Programme Administrator with IT Systems Support Focus for maternity leave cover. The position is located onsite at our premises at 43 Lower Dominick Street, opening hours are from 8.30am - 7.00pm, so flexibility required.
**Overview of Portobello Institute**
Portobello Institute is committed to providing and developing educational courses to meet the challenges of an increasingly diverse student base and demanding workplace. The purpose of the institute is to make education accessible to students who have an interest in the sectors Portobello Institute offers education in. We believe through the superior support mechanisms we have in place, our students can achieve their personal best, making a dream career or further study opportunity a reality.
We do this by small classes and treating each student as an individual. We employ programme management and delivery teams who believe what we do and will go the extra mile to support a student to achieve their desired goal. We build strong connections with our industry partners and employers and offer students valuable practical insight and work placements in their chosen sectors. We operate with honesty, integrity and transparency with our validating partners to ensure a strong belief in the professionalism and credibility of our academic management.
Portobello Institute’s positioning in the market is a premier position and therefore all communication, touchpoints with current, future and past pupils, engagement with validating bodies, industry connections and associations must reflect this position.
**The Person**
You believe, like us in the power of education to change the path of a person’s life – the ideal candidate has participated in the education sector or wants to get involved in this sector. You are keen and ambitious for yourself and for the company you want to work in. To be successful in this role, you should be well organized and able to prioritize tasks. You should also have good knowledge of basic office applications.
The Academic Programme Administrator (IT Systems Support Focus) will play a pivotal role in ensuring the efficient operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of backend systems integral to academic and administrative workflows. This position supports Student Information Systems (SIS), Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), and Microsoft Azure, ensuring seamless integration and performance.
**Role of Academic Programme Administrator with IT Systems Support Focus**
Reporting to the Academic Manager, the role and responsibility include providing efficient administration and assessment support along with serving as the primary point of contact for technical issues related to SIS, Moodle VLE, and Microsoft Azure.
You will be responsible for effective communication and collaboration of programme roll out, assessment processes and overall learner experience. You will communicate timetables, key dates, assessment schedules and certification timeframes with relevant stakeholders. You will hold responsibility for collection of assessments and grades in preparation for Exam Boards/Internal Verifier/External Examiners. You will oversee the backend configuration, updates, and routine maintenance of the integrated systems.
**The Key Responsibilities of the Position includes, but is not limited to**

• Book and Confirm tutors for courses (in liaison with Programme Leads and Academic Manager)

• Scheduling of workshops and class dates, setting and issuing timetables for each year/semester/cohort

• Booking venues if required

• Setting up online modules, as well as module spaces on e Learning system, including the importation of content from previous modules.

• Enrolling students in correct modules

• Issuing welcome information to all newly registered students in an appropriate timeline ahead of course start dates

• Setting up online classes, assessments and exams

• Booking additional training as required

• Materials and stock requirements

• Awareness of Learner Evaluations conducted, and subsequent action plans (recorded in QA folder)

• Student support and liaison, answering questions, etc. (in addition to Programme Managers), including conducting student engagement checks at regular intervals to support early intervention for non-engaging students.

• Tutor logistical and technical support

• Schedule of assessments, and setting up of assessment submission points ensuring module is set up correctly (as per module specifications) to calculate final module results.

• Coordination of internal assessment boards at the end of each semester (scheduling boards, issuing invitations, preparation of internal board files ahead of time)

• Facilitating the assessment process with tutor team and programme lead – involves scheduling and communicating assessment dates and marking/second marking deadlines to tutors/second markers, ensuring release of results to students in line with these deadlines, issuing internal assessment board sheets to tutors at the beginning of the semester and ensuring these are completed throughout the semester in line with assessment dates, preparing modules for external moderation, submitting marks to partner universities for ratification and issuing of approved marks to students following subject standard boards with partner universities.

• Forward results to certification within the college, as well as submitting for ratification with partner universities

• Awareness of casework issues, managed by Programme manager, reviewed at second marking stage and decision made by Academic Board (Quality Manager to monitor)

• Ensure that amendments for student’s database are forwarded to admissions co-ordinator

• Ensure students are contacted re class cancellations, rescheduled dates, etc.

• Send out texts and emails in advance of course start dates

• Management of extensions and course transfers in conjunction with Programme Manager

• Complaints - QA Office

• Generate new ideas and ways of working and consistently strive to reach highest standards of performance

• Prepare information and slideshows for student Induction Days, and attending Induction days

• Occasional Reception Duties

• Coordinate the garda vetting of students alongside the garda vetting team

• Manage re-registration of all returning students across the college in February, May and September.

• Work with Classter champions team to coordinate any issues/problem solving related to Classter online student record keeping system

• Manage registration of students with partner universities, ensuring that all information on file is correct and up to date.

• Issuing ‘courses starting emails’ weekly, detailing the courses scheduled to start the following week

• Facilitation of weekend/evening induction sessions on occasion, as necessary.

• Occasion on-the-day student support for weekend assessments (Saturday only).

• Monitor system performance and proactively address potential issues to minimize downtime.

• Provide second-line support for staff and students experiencing technical difficulties, escalating issues as necessary.

• Develop and deliver training materials or sessions for end-users to maximize their efficiency in using the systems.

• Create and maintain user documentation, FAQs, and best practice guidelines.

• Ensure data flows seamlessly between the SIS, Moodle VLE, and Azure, addressing any data integrity issues.

• Collaborate with IT and academic teams to manage user roles, permissions, and access across platforms.

• Support data extraction and reporting for academic and administrative decision-making.

• Act as a liaison between the IT, academic departments, and external vendors to resolve integration challenges and implement improvements.

• Collaborate with other teams to ensure that new projects or updates align with institutional IT strategies.

• Ad Hoc Duties

**Key IT System Focus Skills**

• Strong understanding of Student Information Systems (e.g., Banner, Campus Solutions, or equivalent) and Moodle administration.

• Experience managing cloud-based solutions.

• Technical proficiency in backend system integration and troubleshooting.

• Exceptional organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple responsibilities.

• Previous experience in Higher Education or similar academic environments.

• Knowledge of system testing and deployment best practices.

• Experience working with diverse stakeholders in an academic or IT setting.

**Competencies**
The following competencies are considered essential for successful performance in the role:

• Initiative

• Self-confidence

• Leadership

• Customer service

• Decision making & judgement

• Effective communication

• Team working

• Concern for clarity and work quality

• Attention to detail

• Analytical thinking

• Organization with excellent time management skills

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Team player

• Flexible with a positive attitude

Experience working in an Academic Administrative Field and experience with student information systems (e.g. Banner, Campus Solutions or equivalent) and Moodle Administration an advantage.
**Benefits**

• Competitive salary

• Supportive work environment

Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term
Contract length: 12 months
Pay: €33,000.00-€35,000.00 per year
Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekend availability

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Dublin 1, CO. Dublin: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Experience:

• administrative: 2 years (preferred)

Language:

• English (required)

Work authorisation:

• Ireland (required)

Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 13/12/2024
Expected start date: 06/01/2025