Purpose of the Job

Surrey Students’ Union is the sole representative body for the University of Surrey students. Our vision is to make sure our students have the best Surrey life, and we achieve this through representing student voice, helping students participate in activities, provide a sense of belonging and a vibrant social life, and support students through campaigns and services.

We represent approximately 17,000 students on every level of their University experience, led by a team of elected student representatives and a dynamic staff team including over 150 student staff. We take pride in the outcomes we achieve for our members and are currently ranked within the top 10 Students’ Unions in the country in the National Student Survey. We strive to be an employer of choice, where staff enjoy working in a varied and flexible environment. Culturally we foster inclusivity, openness and a friendly workplace where all employees are valued and understand the contribution they make to the organisation’s strategic objectives.

The Office and People Coordinator plays a key role in ensuring the Students’ Union runs smoothly, providing high-quality administrative and organisational support across the organisation. The role is responsible for coordinating the Union’s governance processes, ensuring meetings are well planned and supported, maintaining accurate and timely records, managing the Chief Executive’s diary, and providing general administrative support to the Senior Management Team to help facilitate the effective running of the organisation.

Working closely with the Director of People and Representation, the postholder will also provide essential support across the Union’s people function, helping to deliver an efficient and positive employee experience. From recruitment and onboarding through to day-to-day HR administration, the role will promote excellent organisation, consistency and best practice throughout the employee lifecycle, while contributing to the continuous improvement of administrative processes across the Union.

Key Responsibilities

To support the smooth and effective running of the Students’ Union by providing high-quality administrative support across office operations, the people function and executive diary management, ensuring efficient processes, accurate records and a well-coordinated approach to the Union’s day-to-day operations.

This includes but is not limited to:

Coordinate the day-to-day organisation of the Students’ Union offices, ensuring effective and efficient operations.
Coordinate the organisation’s governance processes, including scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, communicating with attendees, distributing papers and ensuring actions are followed up.
Take accurate minutes at the Union’s Board of Trustees, sub-committees of the Board, and other meetings as necessary, producing clear and timely records and maintaining governance documentation.
Arrange meetings, book rooms, coordinate with attendees and manage meeting logistics, both in person and online.
Manage the Chief Executive’s diary, coordinating meetings, appointments and priorities to make the best use of their time.
Provide high-quality administrative support to the Senior Management Team and wider staff team, as required.
Support the organisation of annual staff events as part of the normal Students’ Union staff calendar, including Christmas functions and the annual staff away day.
Maintain accurate and effective record management systems, ensuring documents are accurate, up to date and handled confidentially.
Support the Director of People and Representation with the administration of the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, contractual changes and leaver processes.
Prepare employment documentation, maintain HR records, and ensure information is recorded accurately and securely.
Support recruitment activity by coordinating interviews, communicating with candidates and managers, and administering pre-employment checks.
Assist with the administration of learning and development activities and other people-related initiatives.
Produce correspondence, reports, presentations and other documentation to a high standard.
Act as a first point of contact for office and HR-related enquiries, providing professional and helpful support to students, staff and visitors.
Support the continuous improvement of administrative systems and processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and service delivery.
Maintain confidentiality at all times, particularly when handling sensitive governance and people-related information.
Undertake any other duties as part of the wider Students’ Union team, particularly during showcase events such as the induction of new students.

Office and People Coordinator

Our Strategic Plan

Meet our team

How we're run

Where we are based