Resident Life Assistant
Resident Life Assistant
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Job Description
Directorate: Student Life
Salary: Grade(pro rata)
Contract Type: Part Time (0.8FTE/ 28 hours per week) Open Ended
Rewards and Benefits: 28 days annual leave increasing to 33 days per year after 5 years service plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff (Part time workers should pro rata this by their FTE). Use our total rewards calculator: to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
About our Team
The Residence Life Team is part of the Student Life Division responsible for the policies and procedures of services to staff and students throughout the student lifecycle. The Residence Life Team is integral to the provision of a professional and effective support to the 2000 Heriot-Watt University students living on Team works closely with Campus Services SafeGuarding Services Student Wellbeing Service and Accommodation Services to ensure effective systems and processes are in place to deliver a high-quality customer service experience.
RoleDescription
The role of Residence Life Assistant is integral to the provision of professional and effective support to Heriot-Watt University students living on campus. The role holder will deal with a wide variety of issues as they arise and will often be the first point of contact for advice and support responsible for processing maintenance requests assisting in maintaining discipline and referring students to a wide range of other services.
The Residence Life Assistant will work closely with Residence Life Manager fellow Residence Life Assistants and Residence Life Wardens to ensure effective systems and processes for reporting maintenance issues and providing a supportive service for students. They will also work on a shift pattern including evening weekends and building closed days and work closely with other services on campus.
The role is very active as it involves significant amount of walking as the team is required to assist students in their residences across campus. The role subject to Disclosure Scotland check.
Hours of Work
During term time Residence Life Service operates from 09:00 to 23:00 and the team is operating in shifts. Residence Life Assistant shifts are 09:00 17:00 and 12:00 20:00 Monday to Sunday.
During busy periods such as Freshers week and end of term everyone is expected to work longer hours to assist and support the students on campus. During this time the Residence Life Service operates until 03:00. Residence Life Assistants are expected to patrol on regular basis so there is a fair bit of walking required at times.
The period from late August to mid-October is the busiest period for the Residence Life team and annual leave is not normally taken during this period.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
To assist with student welfare on campus
- Being available and approachable to all students as first point of contact.
- Communicate and Liaise with Wellbeing colleagues Residence Life wardens Accommodation Services SafeGuarding Services and Estates staff to share appropriate information regarding maintenance and welfare issues.
- Provide advice support and guidance to students and signpost to relevant services.
- Play an active part in building strong and positive relationships with students alongside other staff from the wider university in particular Hospitality Service Wellbeing services SafeGuarding services Student Union and Sports Union
To support students with enquiries and issues during their stay in the halls of residence
- Contribute to aspects of residential lettings including the arrival and departure processes; dealing with complaints; resolving maintenance issues relating to accommodation and liaising with other services on campus as required.
- Provide excellent customer service and provide advice and information to students on campus either in person email telephone etc
To assist in dealing with student discipline on campus
- Help students to be aware of expected standards of behaviour living on campus and the relevant rules and regulations.
- Deal with incidents where rules and regulations have been broken (e.g. noise and behavioural problems) this includes taking disciplinary action and resolution of conflicts using mediation where appropriate
To work within a wider team of campus services
- Actively contribute to teamwork and teambuilding with colleagues across the campus
- Build positive relationship with wider university community and perform shared responsibilities with shared responsibilities such as such as overnight patrol in Welcome Week and End of term nights.
To organise and support student engagement activities on campus.
- Lead coordinate promote and deliver a range of small to medium scale initiatives and events to promote student engagement and campus community within our Halls of Residence
- Identify new initiatives and areas of improvement to Residential Life as a result of student feedback survey results and benchmarking.
- Promoting student experience and community living using innovative methods including social media platforms such as Instagram Facebook Tik-tok etc
- Keeping aspects of the student life teams presence up to date e.g. website and noticeboards
Other duties
- Participating in a rota to provide a responsible student presence on site every day until the end the appointment as per the agreed rota.
- Participate in appropriate training for the role and contributing to team development.
- Provide administrative support in all aspects of the operation of the Residence Life office. To undertake the timely and accurate inputting of data into the computerised record systems assisting with the preparation and presentation of regular reports and other statistical data as required.
- To complete regular documented health and safety inspections the residential estate to ensure compliance with all relevant policies and procedures including mid-term inspections.
- Assist the Residence Life Manager in running the Residence Life Hub.
- Provide extra cover as required.
- Any other relevant duties as requested by the Residence Life Manager and the Head of Student Service Centre
Education Qualifications & Experience
Essential
- Experience of delivering high quality customer service.
- A good understanding of the diverse range of needs/issues of a multicultural community
- Proven ability to deal with difficult situations.
- Demonstrable ability to work quickly flexibly and accurately in a dynamic changing and pressured environment.
- Proven ability to work flexibly and positively as part of a team.
- Proven ability to use Microsoft Office and other relevant IT systems including data entry skills.
- Attention to detail.
Desirable
- Experience of working within a similar environment especially someone who has worked in higher education sector.
This job description is intended as a flexible framework which outlines the key general areas of activity in your position. Other activities may be required which are not outlined above but which are appropriate to the position and grade. Your personal objectives (Forward Job Plan) will also set out specific tasks and objectives for you to achieve including objectives to help your career development.
Competencies Tasks and Responsibilities
Team Work
- Participate in and contribute to the general support across the team.
- Support other colleagues within the immediate team when required.
Service Excellence
- Create a positive image of the University by being responsive prompt and courteous when responding to requests or enquiries from customers.
- Deal with students who ask for service or require information.
- Produce simple standard reports as requested.
- Enter and maintain records and data into the appropriate university system.
- Keep working area clean and tidy in line with appropriate H&S requirements.
Clear and Consistent Communications
- Maintain confidentiality at all times by following university policies and guidance in managing confidential information and personal data.
- Abide by ResLifes communication policy to effectively communicate and interact through verbal and non-verbal means.
- Comfortable in using telephone radio and emails to receive and pass on data/information/messages. Training will be provided.
- Explain routine instructions procedures operating instructions or information.
- Reply to simple requests for information routing enquiries where information is standard/routine.
- Discuss routine work matters with supervisors.
- Disseminate news and information to relevant colleagues.
Planning and Organising
- Carry out routine tasks from standard procedures.
- File archive and destroy data in line with the University Data Protection & Retention Policy
- Provide appropriate admin support for meetings and events.
- Support your team by adhering to the set deadlines and schedules.
Initiative and Problem Solving
- Act as the first point of contact for queries from students by phone email system-generated and in-person.
- Follow set standard procedures and guidelines to solve local day to day issues.
- Use experience and initiative to identify when to pass non-standard issues to line manager.
Decision Making
- Provide routine advice and guidance respond to queries and refer more complex queries to more senior members of the team as appropriate.
- Follow set procedures and protocols referring any non-standard requests to line manager.
- Understand the appropriate tools to use when undertaking day to day tasks.
Management Responsibilities
- There are no management responsibilities within this position.
Citizenship
- Demonstrate the University Values at all times through performance and behaviour.
- Participate in ad-hoc duties to support the team/University and for personal development.
- Support newer or inexperienced colleagues within and outside the University by offering support help and advice.
- Positively promote the University internally and externally through positive behaviour and supporting University-wide activities
About Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University has five campuses: three in the UK (Edinburgh Scottish Borders and Orkney) one in Dubai and one in Malaysia. The University offers a highly distinctive range of degree programmes in the specialist areas of science engineering design business and languages.
With a history dating back to 1821 Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and practical leading-edge research which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry. We connect with industry at every level and develop programmes to match their needs so employers get work-ready industry-fit graduates.
Heriot-Watt is also Scotlands most international university boasting the largest international student cohort.
We have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.
For full details on our University please view our Careers at Heriot-Watt to Apply
Pleasesubmit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing their interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV.
Applications can be submitted up to midnight(UK time)on Tuesday 2nd September 2025.
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-WattUniversity is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected trained promoted appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-WattUniversity values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information please see our website also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers our total rewards calculator: see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
Employment Type
Part-Time
