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Professional Services Support Officers

 

What we do

The Professional Services Support Officer (PSSO) service provides flexible, short-term capacity to support continuous improvement, operational problem-solving, and targeted task-and-finish assignments across the University. Requests are triaged regularly by the SPO team based on institutional priorities and current capacity. 

A flexible approach to our support is appreciated to provide us with autonomy and choice to deliver the best outputs while managing our commitments and schedules across the different areas.

We are are line managed by Timothy Andrew who will maintain line management responsibilities throughout all PSSO assignments. 

You can request support through our support request form.

 

Meet the team

Alison O'Sullivan 

I previously worked at the University in Design & Print and led on the roll-out of a new print service at the time, later working in managerial/supervisory service roles in a food retail business. 

Claire Curran

I joined the University from an executive assistant role at York St John University, having previously spent three years at City of York Council as an executive assistant to the five directors of Children’s Services.

Who we work with

We understand that Central Professional Services is a broad organisation with many requirements.

Since beginning our roles as support officers in March 2023, we have worked with:

  • MRAO - Student data analysis, CMS webpage updates, POVD Bursaries, data management, prospectus data analysis
  • International Recruitment Team - Agent Contract Renewals, ambassador recruitment
  • Admin Shared Development - Process improvement
  • Student Support - Step Ahead, SITS, Student Buddying Scheme, Visa registration
  • Student Services - Project management, student recruitment and line management, Quiet Spaces webpage creation
  • Careers & Placements - York Strengths Observers
  • HR - GTA Contracts, YCL integration
  • PVC Office - Project Support
  • SaAS - Special Cases, student finance support
  • DTEF - Hi-Flex User analysis
  • Space Planning - Project management
  • PS Shared Admin - Workshop facilitation, process improvement
  • Comms - Prospectus project management

Case studies

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

Core Focus:

Facilitating process reviews, embedding efficiency frameworks (Stop, Simplify, Standardise, Digitise), collaborating with specialist teams to eliminate manual work, and building institution-wide administrative communities.

Examples:

    • Agile Sprint Facilitation & Process Mapping: Supported cross-departmental administrative improvement initiatives by co-facilitating process mapping workshops and providing dedicated coordination across 4-week agile sprint sessions.
    • Centralised Knowledge Portals (Admin Hub): Enhanced administrative efficiency across central PSS by curating guidance, signposting existing institutional resources, and developing standardised best-practice templates.
    • Institutional Peer-Support Networks (#help-admin Slack Channel): Established and moderated a central digital community on Slack for University administrators. This platform provides a single point for real-time peer assistance, increases visibility of answers to common queries, and broadcasts operational updates directly to frontline staff.
    • Large-Scale Event Management (Admin Conference): Delivered end-to-end event planning, administrative logistics, stakeholder liaison, and on-the-day operational management for the university-wide Admin Conference.
Process Automation & Digital Solutions

Core Focus:

Modernising legacy administrative workflows, eliminating manual data entry, and integrating digital tools to build long-term operational resilience.

Examples:

    • Automated Claims & Financial Processing: Addressed critical processing bottlenecks in POVD bursary management by replacing manual procedures with automated custom Google Apps Scripts, significantly reducing processing turnaround times.
    • Data Wrangling & CRM Integration: Developed routine procedures to export, clean, deduplicate, and validate high-volume student engagement data from third-party platforms (such as Unibuddy) prior to importing clean datasets into central CRM systems.
    • Emerging Technology Investigation (Power Automate): Conducted exploratory investigations into Microsoft Power Automate capabilities to identify potential integration points with CRM infrastructure and map opportunities for future workflow automation
Business Operations & Capacity Support

Core Focus:

Delivering targeted operational support during high-volume peak periods, ensuring compliance, and managing complex administrative pipelines.

Examples:

    • Contract Administration & Cross-Department Liaison: Cleared significant contract backlogs by drafting international agent agreements, collaborating directly with the Digital Infrastructure & Systems Centre (DISC) team, and automating drafting steps using Google Apps Script.
    • High-Volume Application Assessment: Provided rigorous administrative support during peak admissions periods by evaluating and marking competitive scholarship applications against established selection criteria.
    • Institutional Event Coordination: Coordinated multi-stakeholder scheduling, logistics, and communications to support presentation sessions for key institutional surveys, such as the Student Barometer.
Student Experience & Strategic Project Delivery

Core Focus:

Managing end-to-end project deliverables, leading frontline student initiatives, and supporting student onboarding and wellbeing.

Examples:

    • Student Lifecycle & Admissions Processing: Delivered operational support during critical onboarding phases, utilising SITS to assess and process student applications for access initiatives such as Step Ahead.
    • Peer Support & Claim Resolution: Cleared administrative backlogs within the Student Buddying Scheme while refining matching processes based on shared student interests to enhance peer connections.
    • International Onboarding & Arrivals Logistics: Coordinated large-scale operational logistics for new international student arrivals, including the management of airport collection transport and welcome support.
    • End-to-End Digital & Physical Delivery (Quiet Spaces Project): Provided full project management support to launch the Quiet Spaces initiative, taking ownership of webpage and app development, stakeholder engagement, and the recruitment and line management of student project staff.

Any Further Queries?

For further information, or support in filling in the form, contact cps-psso@york.ac.uk