Broadcast: News items

PS Essentials - July 2024

Posted on behalf of: Internal Communications

Last updated: Wednesday, 10 July 2024

PS Essentials highlights the key priorities for Professional Services colleagues and recent news you and your teams may find useful. Please take five minutes to read the full PS Essentials below.

If there is information you would like included in a future edition of PS Essentials, please email the Internal Comms team at: internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.

Quick links

About you

Take a look at what’s on offer at the All-Staff Wellbeing Festival next week

Get inspired by the variety of activities and experiences available for you at the festival on Wednesday 17 July, including talks and wellbeing advice through to sports, creative writing, dance and boundary walks. There are lots of options throughout the day including in person and online events so you can plan around your work commitments. If for any reason you can’t attend a booked session, please cancel on LearnUpon or contact od@sussex.ac.uk as soon as possible to enable others to attend.

Forms and guidance for your Achievement and Development Review

You can now view and download forms and guidance for this year’s Achievement and Development Review (ADR) cycle, which runs until 30 September for all staff. The ADR guidance for Professional Services staff includes tips for setting SMART objectives and answers to frequently asked questions. You can also watch the ADR video overview on Learnupon, or browse the ADR pathway for reviewees or reviewers on LinkedIn Learning.

Explore our new Sussex Leader and Manager Competency Framework

The new framework is closely linked to our values and aligned with our People Strategy, outlining expectations around leading self, leading people and leading the University. Find out what the framework offers and read useful suggestions about how you can use it in your role and as part of ongoing self development, whether you are a leader or manager or not.

Annual Leave Purchase Scheme window closes on 31 August

The current window to buy additional annual leave to take in the 2024/25 academic year will close on 31 August 2024. Up to 10 days additional leave (pro rata for part-time staff), for use from 1 October 2024, can be purchased during this window. There will also be another window to apply for up to five additional days leave from 1 January to 28 February 2025, for use by 30 September 2025.

Please speak with your manager as soon as possible If you are considering buying additional annual leave, to discuss capacity and ensure fairness of opportunity across your team. Application forms need to be signed off by your manager first, so please allow for this in order to submit your application by the deadline.

About PS

Can you help with UCAS process market research?

If you have a young person in your household going through the UCAS decision making process, please consider sharing any communications they have received from other universities with our Marketing and Recruitment teams. This will provide us with helpful insight into how our competitors are communicating with young people and highlight any trends.

Examples can include offer holder communications, Open Day brochures or communications, or Applicant Visit Day communications. Any context would also be helpful around which university it is from, the subject applied for, and further communications following offer acceptance.

Please send any communications to Carolyn Keys, CRM Marketing Officer (c.keys@sussex.uk), and Sarah Massie (s.massie@sussex.ac.uk), Senior CRM Business Partner. Any personal or sensitive information from the communications will be removed and will not be shared more widely.

Opportunities to support other teams and work in different areas

There are lots of ways you can get involved in important events and activities at Sussex, experience roles that may be a little different to your day job and meet new people from across the University. Take a look at what is on offer during Summer Graduation, Clearing, and Welcome Week and Registration over the coming months and sign up if you can:

Have you signed up for Summer Graduation?

Staff are at the heart of Summer Graduation at the Brighton Centre from 22-26 July and we still need volunteers to help to deliver the event so please sign up if you can. In this video you can hear from colleagues about why they enjoy being part of Graduation - and why it is such a special event to be part of. You can find out more about the different roles available on the Graduation webpage and if you have any queries please contact: graduation@sussex.ac.uk

Join Clearing and help us make a positive difference for applicants

Clearing, which is coming up on Thursday 15 August, plays a vital role in helping the University achieve its student recruitment targets – and it also makes a hugely positive impact on the lives of applicants. Please do volunteer to help staff the phone lines during Clearing to be part of this important and exciting day. Full training is given, lots of support and guidance (as well as snacks and treats) are provided and you will have the opportunity to meet new colleagues from different teams across the University.

To sign up, please complete our registration form. If you have questions or would like to find out more, email Dara O’Kane at: dara.o-kane@sussex.ac.uk.

Help give our students a warm welcome to Sussex during Welcome Week and Registration

Welcome Week and Registration are taking place from 16-20 September and we want to make sure all new and returning students feel supported and welcomed into our community as soon as they arrive. We know that a positive welcome and induction, or transition, will help to retain students starting or continuing their journey at Sussex.

Staff are a key part of this welcome and we are calling for people to support our Welcome Week and Registration activities. Getting involved during this exciting week can be a rewarding experience for staff, and students are often very grateful for the help and guidance during their first few days at university. Find out more and sign up to help. During the week, we will also be asking staff to wear an ‘Ask Me’ badge so students know they can approach and ask a question if needed.

Sussex joins the Big Read!

Sussex is taking part this year, for the first time, in the shared-reading initiative the Big Read! The Library will be sending a copy of Everything is Everything by Sussex alumnus, Clive Myrie, to new students, as well as giving out books across campus to staff and returning students.

We hope that the award-winning Big Read, which began at Kingston University in 2016, will foster a strong sense of belonging and provide a talking point for the whole Sussex community. Events exploring themes within this moving memoir will take place throughout the next academic year, including a visit from Clive himself.

If you are interested in holding a reading group in your team, please complete the form on the Big Read webpage and the Library team can organise a box of books to be delivered to your department. On the same page you can also sign up to the Sussex Big Read distribution group for updates on events. Don’t forget to share your thoughts about the book on social media with #SussexBigRead.

Green Impact Award winners revealed

Congratulations to teams in PS and the wider University who received Green Impact Awards for their efforts to create a more sustainable working environment at a ceremony on 20 June. Around 200 Professional Services staff took part in the initiative this year and 20 awards were distributed to teams and individuals across the University.

The award ceremony, which celebrated sustainability successes and commitment, included a workshop on developing toolkit actions for the programme’s relaunch which is coming soon. Find out more about the Green Impact programme and how you can get involved.

Summer Senate Report now available to view

The summer term Senate meeting was on 26 June and you can now read the report summarising the business and decisions of the meeting.

During the session, Senate heard about key education and research business such as approval of the University progression and award regulations which will provide a single underpinning set of regulations to inform all examination boards of taught programmes of study. Senate also considered proposals for amendments to Senate’s own regulations and composition in light of the move to a Faculty structure, which are going forward to Council for approval.

The next Senate meeting is planned for 13 November 2024 and minutes and papers will be published a week in advance. Two elected senators, Gemma Harman (g.harman@sussex.ac.uk) and Kit Eves (ce79@sussex.ac.uk), act as spokespeople for PS staff. Please contact them in confidence if there is a matter you would like them to raise at Senate. You can also get in touch via their shared email inbox: pssenators@sussex.ac.uk.

Degree apprenticeships update

Preparation for our first set of degree apprenticeships starting in September is progressing well, and we are developing a bid for three possible new apprenticeship programmes for delivery in 2025. With around 100 universities in the UK already delivering apprenticeships, we have been able to learn from their successes and challenges. Find out about our progress, what we will be offering and how we are working with employers.

Find out about projects and programme progress in the Transforming Sussex newsletter

Take a look at the June edition of the Transforming Sussex newsletter to find out the latest news from the projects and programmes that our transforming our University. This month features news on RAAC work, lecture theatre refurbs, the steps we’re taking to improve our website, and improvements being made to study spaces.

To keep up-to-date with the projects transforming Sussex, sign up to our newsletter mailing list.

A reminder

Financial year end 31 July – action needed if you are involved in purchasing

Our financial year end is Wednesday 31 July. The finance system will be available until 5pm on 31 July - please make sure all tasks are completed well in advance to avoid authorisers and other colleagues having to resolve outstanding issues at short notice. Whilst research project budgets run until the individual project end date, it is still important to record transactions properly for year end.

Special arrangements are in place for REED timesheets for hours worked up to 28 July, and it is particularly important that timesheets continue to be authorised on a timely basis. All other transactions not completed and authorised by Wednesday 31 July will fall into the 2024/25 financial year due to strict accounting rules.

Purchasing card transactions will need to be coded and authorised in a shorter timeframe than usual and further information will be provided shortly.

It is vital that staff submitting transactions provide authorisers with clear commentary to explain the transaction, particularly where this appears to be over budget. Where an explanation is not sufficient, authorisers should reject the transaction and ask for more information. Anyone asked to receipt goods or services not received by the University should contact the Finance Service Desk for advice.

Find out more about how to get ready for year end and if you have any queries or need help to plan around absence, contact Finance Service Desk at financeservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk or on 01273 87(7172).

Food and drink on campus over the summer

A reminder that whist Eat Central is closed, there are plenty of other places to buy food and drink on campus over the summer. The Sussex Saver meal is being served in the Veg Bowl @ Dhaba. Arts Piazza and Botanical Café are open during the week, and the new Atrium Market in the Student Centre is open 24x7. A full list of opening hours is available and you can join the Food at Sussex group on Viva Engage for more news and information.

New Division names

Vickie Sheriff, the new Executive Director of Communications, Engagement and Advancement, started with us on 1 July. The name of Vickie’s Division has also changed, so CMA has become CEA.

As a reminder, Research and Innovation Services (RIS) is the new name for the Division formerly known as RES.

Share information about projects and initiatives with Internal Comms

Internal Communications are always keen to hear your good news stories, and information you would like to share across Divisions and around the University community. If you have something you would like to share, please see this recent guide, or get in touch with Internal Communications at internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.