Administration Services Manager

## Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Te Kura Mahi ā-Hirikapo | School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing  Te Kaupeka Pūtaiao | Faculty of Science  Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealan
* Permanent position at 37.5 hours per week
* 5 weeks annual leave +5 days university holidays
* Professional development opportunities
* Generous superannuation provisions (up to 6.75% employer contribution)**Āu Mahi | What You Will Do
** We’re seeking an experienced Administration Services Manager to partner closely with the Head of School and provide strong, strategic leadership across finance, staffing, and school operations. This is a pivotal role for a proven people leader who leads high-performing teams in complex environments, balancing significant and competing priorities while ensuring timely, accurate, and well-governed delivery. The successful candidate will enjoy translating financial data into meaningful insight, strengthening systems and processes, and using sound judgement to set clear priorities and solve problems.

You will be confident influencing decision-making at a senior level, while empowering capable teams to deliver operational  this role, you will:
* Lead the administrative team, building a high-performing, flexible, and solutions-focused group that consistently delivers results and thrives in a fast-paced environment.
* Drive operational excellence and systems optimisation by reviewing and developing procedures, analysing data, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing smarter, more efficient ways of working across workflows, tools, and team practices.
* Provide clear, data-driven financial and operational advice to the Head of School, using robust analysis to inform strategic and day-to-day decision-making while balancing financial sustainability with people and service outcomes.
* Manage income and expenditure and research grant and consultancy accounts, ensuring accurate reporting, compliance, and early identification of trends, risks, and anomalies.
* Support workforce and resource planning, contributing to funding assessments, business cases, workload allocation, and recruitment processes, and providing insight into resourcing pressures and opportunities.
* Oversee and deliver improvement initiatives and projects, designing and leading change that enhances productivity, service quality, and governance across administrative and academic services supporting teaching and research.
* Embed performance tracking and continuous improvement, establishing metrics to measure the success of new processes and ensuring operational improvements align with School and University strategic objectives.

This role suits someone who is equally comfortable managing budgets and forecasts as they are coaching people and driving performance.
** Mōu | Who You Are
** You’ll bring significant experience operating in a large, complex organisation, with demonstrated success in both financial management and people leadership. You will also have:
* Proven experience leading and developing teams, including performance management and capability building
* Strong financial expertise, including budget preparation, forecasting, financial analysis and interpreting complex data
* Strong track record of developing and Improving business systems and workflows to achiever seamless efficiency
* The confidence to provide constructive challenge and advice at a senior level
* Highly developed planning, problem-solving and decision-making skills
* Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain financial and operational issues clearly to diverse audiences
* A collaborative, values-led leadership style and the ability to build strong internal relationships
* An alignment with our organisation's values and culture, promoting a positive and inclusive work environment.

A tertiary qualification (minimum NZQA Level 5 or equivalent) is required. Experience in a tertiary or research-focused environment is highly desirable.
** Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work With
** You will work closely with the Head of School, administrative and service staff, academic and clinical staff within the School, students, broader UC and…