Professional Services Support Team
The Professional Services Support Team (PSST) is a small group of experienced generalist administrators deployed throughout the University as short-term interim cover for absences, often at Departmental Administrator / Business Operations Manager level, or similar.
Purpose of the PSST
The team is designed to offer Institutions:
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Increased sustainability; for example to relieve pressure in areas where the administrative support is so lean that a prolonged absence may lead to critical situations.
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Increased flexibility; for example to allow an Institution with a vacancy to take time to consider options other than a like for like replacement.
Although cover for specific roles is the primary purpose, members of the team are also available for project work, time permitting.
Employees, not Temps
Members of the PSST are University employees, mainly at grade 9, so they can be effective immediately on arrival in a new role. The team recently expanded to include members at grade 7, increasing the flexibility of the support offered.
Cost
The HR Division pays the team members’ salaries and recoups those costs by charging Institutions a fixed daily rate. The rate is calculated to cover salary, plus an overhead to cover annual leave, sick leave, etc. A similar model is used for the Finance Bureau Staff.
How to request support from the PSST
Requests for support should be sent to EAHRDirector@admin.cam.ac.uk using this form. Should there be competing bids at any one time, the HR Resourcing team will decide which request(s) to prioritise. It will not always be possible to assign a team member to a new assignment, so Institutions are encouraged to discuss their requirements before submitting their request (Contact Alison Cook at alison.cook@admin.cam.ac.uk).
Please note that the purpose of the PSST is to provide emergency short term cover. It is not intended to be used in situations such as maternity leave cover, where there is time to advertise a fixed-term post, neither should it be used when it would be more appropriate to offer a secondment opportunity.