Salary: £31,236 to £32,080 with progression to £34,610 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 09 September 2025
The Role
Are you passionate about supporting students to thrive at university? Are you empathetic, organised, and committed to inclusion and wellbeing? Join our Accommodation Services team as a Residences Life Support Coordinator (Disability and Behaviour) and make a direct impact on student life.
You’ll be the primary point of contact for students with disabilities living in university-managed accommodation, assessing needs and coordinating appropriate support. You'll also lead our Student Behaviour Team, managing complex disciplinary cases and working to promote a safe and respectful residential environment.
Working collaboratively with other Residences Life Coordinators, you’ll help design and deliver a vibrant, inclusive residential curriculum that fosters personal, academic, and social development. From wellbeing checks to policy implementation, your work will shape a safe, supportive community where students can flourish.
To apply, please attach your CV and a cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria for the position, as outlined in the Person Specification of the Job Description. Informal enquiries to Amy McCarthy-Edwards (Student Experience Manager) via email amy.mccarthy@newcastle.ac.uk.
For more information about ResLife, please visit our webpage.
Key Accountabilities
- To be a knowledgeable point of contact for prospective and existing residents who need advice and assistance with health and wellbeing concerns or queries, referring them to our Student Health and Wellbeing Team and other services where necessary.
- To coordinate and manage the Accommodation Services’ approach to student behaviour, discipline, and misconduct. This includes line management responsibilities of the Student Behaviour Team.
- To liaise with students, colleagues, and external agencies to coordinate, and be responsible for, the timely implementation of reasonable adjustments and adaptations within accommodation in relation to students’ disabilities and medical needs.
- Proactively promote the Residences Life model to support and encourage learning, relationships, and community engagement.
- Proactively engage with students to understand, assess, and evaluate their needs and concerns, whilst monitoring the effectiveness of support provision during their stay with us in University owned and managed accommodation.
- To attend and conduct wellbeing checks and door knocks on any residents of concern during working hours.
- Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with a diverse range of University services, including but not limited to the Student’s Union, Student Health and Wellbeing Service, Registry and Education Service, Security and Sport. Develop trust and rapport with these partners to facilitate seamless referral, signposting, and information sharing, whilst utilising knowledge and experience to provide informed support to students.
- Foster a culture of partnership and collaboration, identifying opportunities for joint initiatives and projects that benefit students and the wider university community. This includes working with our private providers, to ensure their accommodation meets students’ needs.
- Work within University and Service policies and procedures while introducing local process reviews to ensure service provision and residents expectation is met and maintained.
- To assist our Allocation Team during pivotal times of the year, offering guidance to students with medical needs, to ensure their accommodation is suitable to their requirements.
- To backfill and support the duties of your fellow ResLife Coordinators when covering annual leave and sickness.
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
- Excellent organisation skills.
- Ability to prioritise own workload and conflicting priorities.
- Able to work effectively as a member of the team and to develop effective working relationships with colleagues, students, and wider University services.
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and work under pressure.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstratable strong active listening and empathetic skills.
- Knowledge and compliance to GDPR protocols, with an ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion with sensitive information.
- Ability to deal with confidential and sensitive information, pay attention to detail and to work flexibly and cooperatively with others.
- Knowledge of pastoral and academic support mechanisms for students.
- Possess a deep understanding of and commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion principles, whilst demonstrating a sensitivity to the needs and experiences of students from diverse backgrounds.
- Ability to identify and resolve issues in stressful and difficult situations.
- Evidence of relevant experience in an accommodation-related role or student support role, with extensive experience working within Higher Education. The candidate should also be able to evidence working in a customer-focused environment, with the ability to foster a safe, welcoming environment for our students.
- Strong attention to detail and accuracy in documentation and record-keeping, with preferred experience in report-writing skills and the ability to write clearly and concisely.
- Must be available to work overtime at key weekends to meet the needs of the business.
Attributes and Behaviour
- Works in a planned and structured way, recognising the need to take decisive action and use initiative.
- Ability to work flexibly when required.
- Demonstrates high energy, a positive attitude, and commitment to Service improvement, by continually seeking feedback on performance and looks at ways of improving service levels based on feedback.
- Establishes clear roles, responsibilities and boundaries for self and others.
- Demonstratable knowledge, understanding and appreciation of differences for students who are from diverse backgrounds or underrepresented groups, aligned with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
- Fully support the Service’s commitment to training by participating in courses and/or events to develop personal skill levels and knowledge to perform duties of the post and provide the best service possible to students and colleagues.
Qualifications
- A good educational background to at least A’ level standard or equivalent, including strong demonstratable writing and numerical skills.
Desirable
- Up to date working knowledge of local and national support services, current legislation and guidelines around disability, equality, diversity and inclusion issues, and an understanding of how disability impacts on the student experience (desirable).
- Experience of successfully using complex IT systems in delivering high quality customer service (ability to use Kinetic Software is desirable, but not essential).
- Demonstrated line management experience, overseeing a team, fostering a collaborative work environment, and driving team performance to achieve organisational goals.
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.
At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 28531