About us

The Department of Economics is a research-led department with an international reputation, offering innovative teaching programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The Chair of Political Economy at UCL was created in 1827 in memory of David Ricardo, thus establishing the first Department of Economics in England. The department of Economics has an outstanding international reputation in key areas of current research.

The department offers a number of undergraduate degree programmes, a vigorous undergraduate affiliate student programme, Masters programmes in Economics and Economic Policy and a structured MPhil/PhD programme.

The Department of Economics at UCL is a medium-sized department by UK standards with a regular academic staff of 50, but it is supplemented with full-time research staff and part-time teaching lecturers plus an active programme of academic visitors. There are currently over 1000 undergraduates and more than 150 graduate students studying in the department

SHS is now in the process of services simplification, to align our ways of working across HR, Finance, Research & Innovation support (HRFRI), and operations and this role is part of the process. We are hoping that process timeline will coincide with the end date and will be extended if needs be.

About the role

The role requires good communication skills and a high level of customer service to departmental staff, students and any visitors to the building.

Main purpose:

Provide a helpful and welcoming reception service to departmental staff, students and visitors.

Provide general administrative support to the department’s professional services team, academic colleagues, Department Manager and Head of Department

Point of contact with UCL Estates on routine maintenance matters

Reception duties:

First point of contact for staff, students, and visitors and for the department via telephone and email

Manage the allocation of ID cards and keys for staff and visitors and keeping accurate records.

Maintain adequate stock of stationery and office equipment; purchasing as necessary and liaising with external suppliers.

First point of contact for students queries that are made in person at the front desk, and refer students to relevant members of staff.

Ensure the reception area and social spaces are kept tidy and well-ordered and fire exits, escape routes and fire doors are not obstructed

Ensure that pigeon-holes are provided for all staff members

Receive deliveries from couriers

Distribute mail

Provide key access on request to some shared offices; order replacement keys and maintain and update the departmental key list

General administration:

Act as departmental rep. ensuring the photocopiers are functioning; calling the Print Support team to attend where problems occur. Ensuring the printer cartridges are changed in a timely fashion.

Ordering general office supplies for the department: stationery, furniture – as well as any other ad-hoc requests.

Raise purchase orders using the UCL MyFinance system

Maintain departmental noticeboards, ensuring they are up to date and that all relevant information is posted promptly.

Room booking and events:

Book rooms for meetings, events and seminars

Order catering for meetings, events and seminars

Manage stock of catering supplies

Estates and facilities:

Assisting with general housekeeping of the office

Point of contact for staff requests

Submit requests for maintenance to UCL Customer Service Desk

Maintain a system of follow-up enquires

Liaise with UCL Facilities Services regarding general office cleaning issues

Liaise with contractors and suppliers of local waste management services and with cleaning contractors

Assist in organising office relocations and refurbishment projects

Maintain stock kitchen supplies

Act as First Aid Officer, Fire Marshall and liaise with UCL Fire Marshall

Advise and coordinate access and security issues

Act as departmental Safety Officer, Senior Fire Marshall, DSE Assessor and member of major incident plan

Arrange and carry out Health and Safety Inductions for new staff, ensuring timely delivery of appropriate induction information

Carry out pre and post inspections of work and agree sign off

Point of contact for the planning and delivery of building works and maintenance in liaison with Drayton House’s managing agents and commercial property management

Arrange and attend meetings between Drayton House and contractors.

Attend the Facilities and Estates network meetings and disseminate information as appropriate

First point of contact for emergency services in any major incident and co-ordinates building response

Co-ordinate annual fire safety inspections and other ad-hoc inspections required

Communicate UCL and Faculty health and safety guidelines to staff

About you

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Minimum of 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above (Including Mathematics and English Language) or equivalent, or having acquired relevant experience.

Educated to A-level standard, or equivalent experience such as report writing.

Reception or relevant ‘front of house’ experience

Office administration experience

Administration experience within an educational environment

Skills and abilities

Computer literate, including Word, Excel, Outlook, email and internet.

Be willing to take ownership of any requests or queries and provide satisfactory resolutions to colleagues, students and external visitors.

Clear verbal and written communication skills (including accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation).

Good interpersonal skills and the ability to interact confidentally with a variety of people, including staff and students.

Ability to work accurately and with high attention to detail.

Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Awareness of issues around confidentiality and security of data (training will be provided)

Ability to respond quickly, efficiently and professionally to requests and enquiries

Personal attributes

Reliability and punctuality.

Patience and interest in student welfare.

Approachable, enthusiastic, helpful, flexible, and professional attitude toward work.

What we offer

The Appointment will be full-time on a 12 months Fixed Term basis with the 12 June 2027 end date in the first instance. The UCL Salary range for Grade 5 is £31,904 - £35,575 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance, dependent upon experience.

The UCL full-time working week totals 36.5 hours. Annual leave is 27 days per year. In addition, staff benefit from six College closure days per year. The person appointed will work onsite at the offices of the Department of Economics, Drayton House, 30 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AX. The post holder will benefit from interactions with colleagues in the Department of Economics and in UCL more broadly.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.