King's College London

About us:

Kings Residences is responsible for the management of over 6400 bedspaces with a strategy to increase the portfolio over the next few years whilst also looking to diversify our offering.   We are being looked to support the colleges continuing efforts to recruit our students on different academic journeys and be able to  

provide models which is in alignment with their offering.

In addition, King’s Residences is instrumental in supporting the College strategic decisions to widen our offering to external institutions.

The allocations’ assistant role is essential in helping residences in achieving the agreed occupancy of Kings Residences and being able to effectively manage the complex allocations process for residences.   

They will be a valued member of the Allocations team, supporting team members and contributing to a team approach and professional ethos.  They will provide a customer-focused service offering information and advice to a variety of stakeholders. 

The person we are looking for should have a sincere interest and understanding of the needs of students, and be able to communicate effectively with residents, university staff and external bodies both orally and in writing. 

About the role:

The role involves processing student and staff requests, providing advice, and ensuring all enquiries are resolved efficiently. You will prepare and input data into the residential accommodation software, taking ownership and accountability for your work to ensure it is completed efficiently. It is important to maintain accurate and up-to-date knowledge of issues, activities, and events to support the delivery of an efficient and effective first point of information service.

You will work flexibly in response to ongoing changes to administrative systems and processes, contributing to the development and improvement of working practices to deliver more efficient support for the student experience. While taking responsibility for your own area of work, you will also work collaboratively with others to achieve team results by assisting with tasks and projects.

The role includes assisting with staff system training regarding the allocations process and occupancy management, processing damage charges to accounts based on information from the Residential Manager(s), and handling cancellations and withdrawals, including assessing any cancellation penalties in line with the current cancellation calendar. You will manage allocations enquiries and escalate matters when necessary, while also supporting the contact centre team during key periods.

You will ensure data on relevant systems is maintained accurately, rectifying any errors promptly and proactively. It is crucial to ensure procedures are consistently implemented, maintain confidentiality regarding personal information, and report any data breaches or losses immediately, following King’s procedure.

Additionally, you will attend all College Open Days and Offer Holder Days, including weekend and evening events.

This is a full-time post and you will be offered an indefinite contract 

About you: (the candidate)

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. Degree obtained, relevant qualification and/or a minimum of 3 years’ experience in a related field
2. Excellent written and oral communication skills          
3. Good time management skills and excellent and proven administration skills e.g. organised record keeping, retrieving, analysing, presenting data and producing reports
4. Strong IT skills especially in the use of Microsoft Products
5. Experience in the use of databases and/or room booking systems.
6. Previous reservations experience in Higher Education, Hotel environment or Private Student Accommodation Provider.
7. Experience of student accommodation software (Mercury/StarRez)
8. Ability to deal with a wide variety of people in a professional & assured manner

Desirable criteria

1. Knowledge of Microsoft Power BI, creating and updating data dashboards.
2. Ability to communicate with a variety of stakeholders.
3. Knowledge of Equality Act 2010 as it pertains to student to additional needs

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.