Maynooth Students' Union: Representation Administrator (Academic)

Maynooth Students' Union logo

Maynooth Students’ Union
Aontas na Mac Léinn Mhá Nuad

Representation Administrator (Academic)

Are you passionate about enhancing the student academic experience? Maynooth Students' Union (MSU) is looking for a dedicated Representation Administrator (Academic) to support and develop our Student Academic Representatives System. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in empowering students and ensuring their voices are heard in academic matters.

The Role

As the Representation Administrator (Academic), you will play a pivotal role in supporting and enhancing student academic representation at Maynooth Students' Union. If you’re a proactive leader with a passion for fostering student-driven change, we want you on our team!

Principle Duties

Develop and Enhance the Student Academic Representatives System:

You’ll be responsible for continuously improving the Student Academic Representatives System. This includes benchmarking our practices against leading sector standards and ensuring the system remains responsive to the evolving needs of students. You will help make the system more effective, transparent, and student-centred by identifying best practices from other institutions.

Coordinate Recruitment and Elections for Student Academic Representatives:

Managing the entire recruitment and election process for Student Academic Representatives will be a core part of your role. This involves planning and overseeing both online and offline elections, providing technical support, and conducting research to improve election processes. You will ensure the process is smooth, transparent, and engaging, encouraging higher levels of student participation.

Deliver Comprehensive Training for Student Representatives:

You’ll design and deliver targeted, interactive training sessions for Student Academic Representatives and other stakeholders. These sessions will equip student representatives with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to advocate effectively for their peers, ensuring they can make informed contributions in their roles.

Facilitate Academic Assemblies and Engagement Activities:

You’ll coordinate the organisation of Academic Assemblies, committee meetings, and other key student engagement activities. Ensuring high levels of participation from Student Academic Representatives, Faculty Representatives, and other student leaders is crucial.

Provide Administrative and Clerical Support:

Offering critical administrative support will be a key responsibility. You’ll take accurate minutes at meetings, maintain records, and ensure documentation is up-to-date and easily accessible. This support will ensure smooth operations and clear communication across all relevant committees.

Prepare Briefings for Key Representatives:

You’ll create and distribute effective briefings for the Vice President Academic Affairs, Faculty Convenors, and Postgraduate Representatives, ensuring they are fully informed about academic issues and developments. This will enable them to advocate more effectively for students in their respective areas.

Support and Develop Mechanisms for Diverse Student Groups:

You’ll create inclusive mechanisms to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented groups, have access to the Student Academic Representatives System. By offering specific training and support, you will promote equity and ensure that all students have a voice in academic matters.

Monitor and Report on Student Representative Activities:

Regularly monitoring the activities and contributions of Student Academic Representatives will be crucial for tracking their impact. You’ll develop and maintain a reporting system that highlights their activities and achievements, creating reports, surveys, and development plans to ensure continuous improvement in representation.

Facilitate Communication Across MSU Platforms:

Coordinating with your line manager and other MSU staff, you will ensure that important academic issues are communicated effectively through various channels, including the MSU website, newsletters, social media, and on-campus displays. This will help keep students informed and engaged.

Support the Vice President Academic Affairs:

You’ll assist the Vice President Academic Affairs in fulfilling their constitutional roles, mandates, and manifesto commitments, ensuring they align with MSU’s goals. Your support will help the Vice President Academic Affairs drive key academic initiatives and represent students effectively in decision-making processes.

Engage in Academic Campaigns and Activities:

You will provide operational support for academic campaigns, leveraging your knowledge of sector trends and insights to help plan and implement impactful campaigns. This will include contributing to strategy development and assisting with the execution of academic campaigns aimed at improving the student experience.

Guide Students in Engaging with Academic Representation:

You’ll be a resource for students, offering guidance on how to effectively engage with the Student Academic Representatives System. You will also provide support and direct them to other relevant MSU structures and services when needed, ensuring they can fully participate in academic life.

Implement the National Student Engagement Programme (NStEP):

As part of your role, you’ll coordinate MSU’s efforts in implementing the principles and recommendations of the National Student Engagement Programme (NStEP). You will facilitate and support the activities associated with NStEP, ensuring its successful integration within MSU’s academic representation framework.

Stay Current with Trends:

Keeping abreast of the latest trends and best practices in student engagement and representation will be key to your success in this role.

Other Duties:

As MSU evolves, your role may require flexibility in duties (including supporting the other Representation Administrators), but you will always remain central to the representation and democratic support functions.

Note: as the Maynooth Students’ Union continues to expand and evolve, it is likely that some flexibility, regarding the allocation of specific duties, will be necessary. Accordingly, the list of duties detailed above is not intended to be exclusive or restrictive; duties may be added or withdrawn but any such alterations will take place within the remit of representational support.

What We’re Looking For:

Experience in student representation, engagement, or a similar administrative role.
Strong understanding of student needs and a commitment to enhancing the academic experience.
Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks under tight deadlines.
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and a collaborative working style.