What kind of administrative duties might a postdoctoral associate be expected to take on?

Question

Applying for a postdoctoral research role in the UK, the application says I should demonstrate willingness to take on administrative tasks. Can anyone tell me about what kind of administrative tasks a postdoctoral research associate might be expected to take on? Does anyone have any experience? I'm trying to tailor my application, but I don't want to go into depth on administrative experience that might not be relevant to the role.

Answer 1

I think you need to find out exactly what they are expecting from you. I would normally associate postdoc positions with research duties rather than administrative duties. Some exceptions that I have known involve postdocs who are expected to act as the supervisor for a number of graduate or undergraduate researchers, but these are unusual cases. Contact the people offering the position, and find out what exactly the administrative duties mean: otherwise, you won't know how to tailor your application, and (more importantly) you might end up in a position you really didn't want!