Office Operations Co-ordinator (Milton Keynes, ENG, GB, MK7 6AA)
Salary: £
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About the Role
Working in a fast-changing environment, this role is based in the Business Operations Portfolio and provides high-quality and effective shared service support across office operations and administration functions. This shared services support will include stepping across to support another team with exam boards from July through till the end of September. The role is responsible for coordinating a broad range of services to support the delivery of business objectives. It provides professional, administrative, and project support as directed by the Office Operations Manager across the wider Business Development Unit (BDU), through being exceptionally organised, practical, adaptable, and proactive.
Additionally, during peak periods, the postholder will be required to step into other teams to provide support where needed, demonstrating flexibility and a collaborative approach to meet business demands through a shared services model.
Key Responsibilities
* Co-ordinate all inbound office enquiries via administrative mailboxes - prioritise and action tasks. Responsibilities includes but are not limited to:
o Co-ordinating the arrangements and logistics of external and multi-stakeholder meetings,
o Organise visitor arrangements, including room bookings, meet and greet, visitor parking, hospitality, and meeting room bookings where appropriate.
* Co-ordinate the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) & workstation assessments. Trained in first aid and as a fire warden due to time in office.
* Ensuring smooth running of the office, including:
o Co-ordination of office supplies, inventories and ordering stationery, day to day management of photocopiers, business cards, courier, and postage.
o Raising of PO’s, ITPR’s and support/cover the office operations finance co-ordinator with associated tasks.
* Maintaining email distribution lists and subscriptions.
* Ensure all BDU meeting rooms are in good working order, including the day-to-day presentation and maintenance of rooms and equipment.
* Support the Office Operations Manager with tasks associated to the smooth and efficient running of the office, to ensure a safe, presentable and compliant office at all times.
* Support Line Managers with preparing for new starters, providing support to local inductions, particularly regarding introductions to colleagues and their office/desk environment.
* Create and maintain unit wide office processes and procedures.
* Build a strong rapport with colleagues to influence and negotiate with internal and external stakeholders to support in the development and delivery of agreed business priorities. Working flexibly as directed by the Head of Business Operations to fulfil the core purpose of a Shared Services portfolio.
About You
Essential:
* A high standard of written English grammar and mathematics commensurate with the role.
* Conscientious and organised approach to work with the ability to handle multiple tasks, recognise and resolve conflicting priorities.
* Well-developed time management skills including a willingness to be flexible and the ability to work under pressure and manage changing priorities.
* Excellent interpersonal skills, including strong written and verbal communication skills.
* Solution focused, team player, also able to work independently whilst servicing the needs of a variety of stakeholders.
* Work accurately with strong attention to detail, coupled with high numeracy and accuracy.
* Ability to work as part of a team to achieve shared objectives.
* Advanced Outlook skills, with accompanying strong IT skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and MS Teams.
Desirable:
* Experience working within a commercial environment.
* Experience of working as part of a shared services team.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on or email quoting the advert reference number.
What's in it for you?
At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).
Flexible working
We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.
It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be on average at least 3 times per week.
Next steps in the Recruitment process
We anticipate that face-to-face interviews for this role will be taking place on-site at our Milton Keynes campus during the week commencing 9 or 16 March 2026.
Early closing date notification
While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications has been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.
How to apply
To apply for this role please submit the following:
* CV, including how you meet the skills and experience required.
* Complete the additional application questions within our online application form.
You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.