Sport & Fitness Receptionist - Campus Services - 56234 - Grade 3

Job Description

Position Details

Campus Services, Sport Business Operations

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £25,618 with progression to £27,126.

Grade 3

Full Time (Shifts: Late and early with alternative weekends)

Permanent

Closing date: 29 April 2025 
 

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.  With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.  We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.  In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham  

Role Summary

The Receptionist will lead on key areas of the business plan for customer service. The post holder will work to strengthen the relationships with the relevant teams within the University of Birmingham and to increase members and customer relations within the sports centre. 

Main Duties

With support and guidance from the Member Engagement Manager, Senior Membership Officer and Reception Team Leaders, produce and implement plans for customer relations and daily operational duties (based on the UBSport  Member and Member Engagement plan) to effectively promote UBSport services, programmes, facilities and events.

Customer Service

• Welcoming customers of the Sports Centre
• 100% product knowledge
• Deal with customer enquiries on a daily basis, either face to face, responding to emails, telephone and written enquiries
• Deal with difficult customers and situations with the assistance of the duty manager/team leader if required
• Respond to customer feedback and record all communication
• Deliver excellent customer service, at all times.
• Fulfil all reasonable requests from customers to ensure their comfort, satisfaction and safety
• Responsible as a first aider whilst on duty
• Assist with membership enquiries when the sales or membership team are not available
• Issuing and returning of locker keys to members who require them and recording relevant information on the member database
• Complete renewal of memberships where required
• Handling of cash and card payments for membership, bookings, item purchases and rental fees
• Coordinate the hiring of equipment
• Liaise with members regarding ongoing promotions
• To take photographs of new members with a web camera and issue membership cards from a card printer that is linked to the member database
• Management of customer access to facility
• Health and Safety Responsibilities and EAP procedure awareness

Operational duties

• Administrative support to all departments where required
• To reconcile at the end of a shift by calculating and recording all transactions, to include till and PDQ machine totals
• System management (Gladstone)
• Advise on booking and membership procedures
• Record facility bookings
• Coordinate with all departments within the sports centre regarding current promotions
• Radio system management
• Daily collection and distribution of post (internal and external)
• Record incidents and accidents within the facility where required
• Management of all deliveries and collections within the sports centre
• Assist with the lost property procedure
• Report any maintenance issues immediately to duty manager, including all furniture, fittings and equipment
• Ensure Reception and the surrounding area neat and tidy at all times, particularly at the end of each shift
• To replenish a stock of timetables, membership packages and courses for members

Other duties

• Support UBSport to promote services and facilities delivering University Open Days and other events
• Participating in Personal Development Reviews, One – to – One’s and Team briefings on a regular basis in order to aid performance monitoring
• Assisting with training other departments on reception procedures
• Assisting with training and management of UBSport Brand Ambassadors where required
• Reception inventory and stock management
• Wear uniform when provided and be of a smart appearance at all times

Any other duties that could be within the banding of this post where assistance is required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

Essential

• Experience of front of house operations
• Excellent customer service skills and resolving conflict
• Experience of working within the leisure industry
• Excellent writing and communication skills 
• The ability to work unsupervised
• The ability to think creatively in approaching solutions and identifying opportunities
• The ability to use initiative to drive a project forward
• The ability to manage own time and work on multiple projects simultaneously prioritising workload 
• Friendly and approachable
• Commitment to flexible hours, including working outside normal office days and hours
• Flexibility with holiday requests during busy periods
• Computer literate, including the use of Microsoft Word and Excel Publisher 
• Ability to work as part of team 

Desirable

• Educated to A Level, or equivalent professional qualification in Customer Service within Hospitality 
• Knowledge of the Sport and Fitness industry 
• Able to deal face to face with customers
• Experience of working in a fast passed environment
• Responds appropriately & co-operatively to change, challenges & conflicting demands
• Strong numerical skills
• Experience of using a till and cashing up
• First Aid at Work Qualification

Dimensions

• Understands and can follow complex administrative procedures and support systems, based on work experience in the organisation or elsewhere
• May have formal vocational qualifications, but knowledge is also founded on substantial practical experience
• Knows and understands context of office, and how it interrelates with the wider University

Planning and Organising

• Has access to advice, but extensive work without supervision
• Prioritises own workload
• Initiative and independence required to react to changing priorities

Problem Solving and decision making

(i) without reference to others

• Implementation of general UBS policies and procedures.
• Health & safety issues / incidents of a moderate nature that need further investigation.
• Can identify problems from past practice or coaching from colleagues
• While there are still clear general processes and procedures, problems arise which call for choice based on an element of judgement
• Solutions to problems are mainly clear from received practice or precedent, but there is some scope for choice and judgement

(ii) after consulting others

• Minor project delivery.
• Decisions having wider implications on the local team.
• Any serious / major health & safety incidents or concerns.

(iii) or that would be referred to someone else.

• Any major financial commitment/purchase
• Incidents of a major disciplinary nature

Internal and External relationships

• As a key communications point, generally answers enquiries & handles issues from initial contact to resolution
• Has contact with members, students, staff and community
• As senior member of team expected to set a tone in communications for the work
• Both receives and handles enquiries which require a factual response and explanation, or reference on to others.

 

Informal enquires to Mandy Griffiths, email: m.l.griffiths@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here  

 

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

Job Info

• Job Identification 6841
• Job Category Clerical/Administrative
• Posting Date 04/09/2025, 12:01 AM
• Apply Before 04/29/2025, 11:59 PM
• Job Schedule Full time
• Locations Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2TT, GB