A Day in the Life of an Administration Officer

A Day in the Life of an Administration Officer - Vikki Russell

June 2008

As Admin Officer for the University Librarian (Janet Peters) my main responsibilities are to support Janet and ensure her working day runs smoothly, (she manages 18 libraries, 300 staff and represents the University on external organisations such as, CURL, RIN, WHELF and the HEFCW e-learning strategy group).

My job is quite varied and most days are different so this is just a snapshot of one day. In addition to working for Janet I also deputise for the Director’s PA and work as part of his admin team.

8.15am Opening Up

Open up the offices. My first job is to check e-mails (both my own and Janet’s) to see if there is anything urgent which needs to be dealt with.

E-mails can include meeting papers, (which I need to print out and put in Janet’s brought forward file so they are easily available on the date she needs them). Other e-mails include; circulars, queries, conference details and I also get a lot of e-mails asking for Janet’s availability for meetings. I deal with as many of e-mails as I can, and flag any important e-mails which I need to bring to her attention.

9.00am Check the Calendars

Check calendars - firstly my own calendar to see if I have any meetings or any reminders, then I’ll check Janet’s diary so I know where she’s going to be and if there’s anything I need to tell her before she leaves for her first meeting of the day.

9.15am What I need to do today

At this point I look through all the tasks I need to do and prioritise them. Today my task list includes; working on the Library Senior Management Team (SMT) Quickplace (this is new software introduced as part of the University’s Modern Working Environment), rescheduling meetings, setting up meetings, looking into flights for a visit Janet will be making, contacting American Libraries and drafting an agenda for a forthcoming meeting. In between this I will be answering phone calls and dealing with e-mails.

9.30am Setting up meetings

Add meeting dates to the calendar for the rest of the academic session (which reminds me I need to set up meetings for the next session before the diary starts filling up. Another thing to add to my to-do list!). I also look into where meeting papers can be added and think about how SMT can use this space effectively. I should now be able to save meeting papers in this space for members to access instead of circulating them by e-mail. Still some work to do on this but I must move on.

10.00am Catch-up

Have a catch up discussion with Janet, let her know if there have been any messages and if there are any e-mails she needs to look at as a matter of urgency. Usually I’ll have a few queries I need her to look at. Janet will then give me any papers for filing and will let me know if she needs me to do anything (e.g. e-mailing, setting up meetings, contacting people, circulating papers). We have a quick look at what meetings are coming up that day; I file away any papers Janet has finished with and add any tasks to my list/send out any e-mails etc.

10.30am

Make a call to INSRV Finance to answer a couple of queries about a Library visit Janet will be making to Dublin this year. I confirm flight details so Finance can book in advance, to get the cheapest price.

Make a call to Richard Mellowes Secretary to let her know Janet’s availability for interviews.

Find someone to attend a meeting in Janet’s place. This is a last minute meeting and not surprisingly Janet has to be somewhere else.

Try to reschedule a meeting in June as someone is unable to attend. This takes quite a long time as people’s availability (especially Janet’s) is very limited in June. Unfortunately I cannot find an alternative so the meeting will have to be postponed until July.

Liaise with someone from another School to find a venue for a meeting. I then update the appointment and send to invitees.

I receive a call from Ruth Thornton at Trevithick with some very exciting news about sponsorship for the Trevithick Library Refurbishment. It seems one potential sponsor (who made a site visit) is so impressed with the work being done they are willing to give us more money than they originally agreed. I take down the details so I can pass onto Janet as soon as she’s back in the office.

I receive a query from a ULS Staff member asking how to go about setting up conference calls. I send her all the details by e-mail.

I spend the next hour completing similar tasks, answering e-mails and phone calls, arranging meetings, rescheduling meetings. I get a lot of calls from people asking to speak to Janet as they think the University only has one library and Janet runs it. I then have to ask a couple of questions before putting them through to the right library.

11.30am Post in the Pigeon Holes

The post normally arrives after 11am so I make a trip down to the INSRV pigeon holes to collect it. I open all the post. Anything for Janet is put in folders and left on her desk, so she can deal with it when she’s next in the office. Anything else is forwarded to the relevant team/library, filed or dealt with by me.

11.45am Upgrading Email

Install an upgraded version of CardiffMail Notes. As a heavy user of Notes, the upgrade should help me. I do come across a couple of problems but the Notes migration team are in contact straight away and are very helpful in solving any problems relatively quickly.

12.30pm Lunch time!

It’s not manic today so I manage to get out of the office.

1.30pm Document for the Director

The INSRV Director’s PA asks if I can do some work on a document the Director needs for a forthcoming meeting. As part of the Director’s admin team (there are 3 of us) I am often asked to help out. We all work in close proximity and it works really well when we need to support each other.

1.45pm USA Visit Itinerary

Contact three American University Libraries to try and organise an itinerary for Janet’s visit. I have previously spent time doing some research into the libraries and contacting the Universities Janet would like to visit.

(As part of the Library Review the University is hoping to build a new iconic library. During Janet’s visit she will meet American colleagues and look at areas such as Information Literacy, new builds and refurbishments, digitisation, storage and preservation to see if any ideas can be used over here and to compare what we already do).

2.00pm Thinking ahead…

Produce a draft agenda for the Library Review Buildings Steering Group and send to Janet for any additions/amendments. Although the meeting is not for two weeks because I service several meetings I need to think ahead.

Papers will need to be sent out the week before the meeting so I need to give myself a few days to collate any papers. I also read the minutes of the last meeting to check Janet has completed all her actions. Any actions not completed I will bring to Janet’s attention. I double check when and where the next meeting is being held and if I’ve received any apologies as this might affect items on the agenda.

2.20pm Sorting out Stationery

A few days ago I sent an e-mail out to all libraries asking them about stationery orders. Through the Library’s Co-ordinating Group meetings Library Staff have reported that they are not happy with the new system.

Anne Bell (Head of Technical and Operational Services) has also received several comments from Staff and after a recent conversation we agreed I should contact the libraries to get more information. I read and collate all the responses I’ve received so far (some quite lengthy which is not only interesting but very useful). I then try and contact Anne Bell to update her on the feedback.

3.15pm Juggling Diaries

Janet has asked for a meeting with the Director so I speak to his PA to try and find a suitable date. This takes a while as the diaries are so busy but I agree to juggle Janet’s calendar so once this is booked in I spend time trying to reschedule one of Janet’s meetings.

3.30pm Finding a Paper

I have a phone call from a ULS member of staff asking if I can find a paper that was brought to the Learning and Teaching Committee recently. I manage to locate this but there are no electronic copies so I photocopy it and put in the internal mail.

I then receive another phone call asking for Janet’s availability. Which means more time working on the diary! I have realised as demands on Janet’s time increase managing the diary is a skill in itself.

I receive a request from INSRV-HR to add a new member of staff to the ULS mailing list. Unfortunately I am not the owner of this list so I forward the details to the relevant IT team to ask them to do this.

4.00pm Other People’s Holidays!

I have received some holiday forms from ULS SMT members. I process these and update my records.

4.15pm To Do…

Rewrite my to do list and double check I have completed the priorities for the day

4.30pm Getting ready for tomorrow…

E-mail Janet with any last minute messages if she is not in the office or speak to her if she is. Check e-mails and calendars for the following day.

Information Services