What Are Student Ambassadors?
As an Applied and Inclusive University, a core component of our Graduate Recruitment agenda is our commitment to providing students with the opportunity of meaningful work experience while they study. Part of the way we do this is by giving them the opportunity of part time, casual work across the different areas of our University via our Student Ambassador Scheme.
This is a fantastic way for students to not only earn as they learn, but also to develop and reflect on the skills and competencies required to be successful in the workplace after graduation.
This scheme is highly popular with staff, providing them with extra resources for a number of activities across their departments (such as projects, events and promotions) either as one off requirements or on a regular basis throughout the year.
Our ambassadors go through a competitive recruitment process modelled on external graduate recruitment. This includes an application, assessment centre and interview. Successful applicants are put through a University induction (which includes data protection and GDPR training) and then sign an information security document, allowing them to work in any department across the University.
How do I employ Student Ambassadors?
How do I pay a Student Ambassador?
Student Ambassadors are paid on a pro-rata basis on a Grade 2 salary, with holiday pay on top of this. This currently equates to a £12.00 hourly salary, plus £1.45 hourly holiday pay in addition to this (£13.45 in total per hour). This cost is chargeable to the department engaging the Ambassador in work, and should always be agreed in advance with the relevant budget holder.
Once an Ambassador has been allocated a shift, the following instructions regarding payment are sent to them - the requesting manager will also be copied into this email:
“After you have completed your work, timesheets should be filled in, signed and sent on to (REQUESTING MANAGER). You can
download blank timesheets here. If you do not know your staff number please leave this field blank. Please ensure you select ‘Grade 2 Support’ as your Pay Grade, and follow the further instructions regarding hours worked. (REQUESTING MANAGER) will assign the department cost code for you when they receive your timesheet and will send this to the University’s Payroll team. For information on our payroll cut off dates, please visit our University Intranet pages. Please ensure all timesheets are returned to (REQUESTING MANAGER) promptly, by no later than (5 days after shift date).”
On receipt of a completed timesheet the Requesting Manager should:
- Check the hours worked and student details are accurate
- Assign the appropriate, pre-agreed department cost code to the timesheet
- Arrange for the timesheet to be signed by themselves and one appropriate contact from their department
- Send the timesheet to payroll (via payroll@napier.ac.uk or internal mail)
A number of our Student Ambassadors are on Tier 4 visas. Before working at the University all Tier 4 students have to sign a declaration form agreeing that they will not work over 20 hours in a 7 day (Monday – Sunday) period. They also need to declare on their timesheet that they are on a Tier 4 visa. If you are using a Student Ambassador who is on a Tier 4 visa it is important that you check that they are not over their agreed hours before signing the timesheet.
If you do discover that they are working over and above the agreed 20 hour limit you must inform both the Student Futures Graduate Recruitment team and the HR team within 24 hours. Failure to do so puts the University at serious legal and financial risk.
If you have any further questions on engaging with the Ambassador scheme, or would like to discuss a specific project that you think our Ambassadors could support please contact
studentambassadors@napier.ac.uk or call Gillian Connolly on ext. 2879.