Current Ambassadors - FAQs

Office Hours are held every week to give ambassadors the opportunity to complete administrative tasks such as signing contracts and submitting paperwork for expense claims, as well as to speak to a member of staff about any query they may have. Office Hours are at the same time every week:

• Canterbury, Room G46, The Registry: Tuesdays, 10.00-12.30 and Wednesdays and Thursdays 14.00-16.30
• Medway, Room M2-10, 1st Floor, The Medway Building: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 14.00-16.30

Please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk in order to schedule an appointment. If you do not schedule an appointment, we cannot guarantee that someone will be available to help you outside of Office Hours. Alternatively we may be able to resolve the issue by phone or email.  

All ambassadors are welcome and encouraged to join the ambassador community and to take advantage of the following opportunities:

• Ambassador Social Programme - a great way to meet other ambassadors, discuss ideas, share experiences and have fun
• Ambassador Café - an informal gathering approximately once per term. Details will be sent to our ambassadors via email.
• Online through the University of Kent Student Ambassador Facebook page or LinkedIn Student Ambassador Networking Group
• Personal Development Opportunities: these regular sessions throughout the year are a great opportunity for you to improve your skills in various areas. You can sign up for these through your ambassador portal when they become available
  

Please contact ambassadors@kent.ac.uk for further information on any of the above.

Please make sure you are trying to log in to the right website. The ambassador portal can be accessed on the HEAT Ambassador Portal.

Please note that your username and password will have been sent to you by email. These are specific to the Ambassador Portal, and are not the same as your University of Kent Username and Password.

If you cannot access the portal, please email ambassadorportal@kent.ac.uk and we will help you.

To request a new password, please click on the “forgotten your password” link available on the “Login” page of the Ambassador Portal and follow the instructions.

If you have any problems, please email ambassadorportal@kent.ac.uk and we will reset your password for you.

Your username is the email address that you provided us with when you made an application. Please see “How do I request a new password” to reset your password.

If you are not able to reset your password, please email ambassadorportal@kent.ac.uk and we will send you your username and a new password.

The ambassador portal can be accessed on ap.kent.ac.uk

You can hide any work opportunity that you are not interested in by selecting the work opportunity, and on the “Apply Tab” clicking on the “Not interested” button. If you change your mind, please go to the “Not Interested” tab, select the relevant activity, and click the “Cancel” button on the “Apply” tab.  

Yes, you can apply for more than one work opportunity on the same day. However, if you are accepted to work on two events on the same day, you need to email outreach@kent.ac.uk as soon as you become aware of this.  

You can choose to be notified by email of any accepted/not accepted application for a work opportunity. All the events that you have been accepted for, will appear under the “Accepted” tab on your ambassador portal.  

To fill out a timesheet you need to go to the “timesheets” tab of your portal. For every event that you have attended, you need to create a new item. You can do this by clicking the button that reads “new item”. You will then need to select the activity that you want to submit a new item for (please note that the drop-down box will only display activities that you have been accepted to work on). Once you select an activity you will need to fill in the details. Please note that the Dates and Times worked are pre-filled with the Activity Start and End Time. If you change any of these times, you will need to give a reason. Any changes that have not been explained will not be authorised.

Once you have added all your items, please click on “generate timesheet”. The items will now appear under the “submitted” tab and will be moved to the “approved” tab once approved.

If you are unable to make it to an event or activity due to sickness, it is important that you the relevant team you are due to work for as soon as possible, with details of the activity you were due to work at. 

Outreach and Widening Participation: 01227 824149

Recruitment Team: 01227 824654

Failure to do this may initiate disciplinary procedures. Please refer to the Expectation of Behaviour (PDF) guidelines.  

If you are not yet confirmed to work, please go to the pending tab of your portal and 'cancel' your application to work.

If you have already been confirmed to work, please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk or schoolsliaison@kent.ac.uk (depending on who set the work opportunity) to cancel, giving a minimum of five working days’ notice. Failure to provide this notice period or a valid reason may initiate disciplinary procedures. Please refer to the Expectation of Behaviour (PDF)

Please see the Expectation of Behaviour (PDF) For most events and activities the dress code is informal and you are provided with an ambassador t-shirt. However, please ensure that you dress appropriately, especially if you are working in a school. Please also bear in mind the nature of the work, so if you will be working at an on-campus event and will be moving between buildings or giving campus tours, ensure that your clothing is weather-appropriate and comfortable.  

How do I get paid?

In order to get paid you will need to complete a timesheet via the ambassador portal for the hours you worked and any travel expenses incurred. You will be unable to submit a claim for any work that has not yet taken place. You will receive an email each month to remind you to complete your timesheets.

How much?

Please see our Ambassador Band Structure for details of roles and rates of pay.

The University no longer issues paper pay slips. You will need to access these via StaffConnect using your staff login details which you were sent shortly after you joined the ambassador scheme. If you need help with these login details please email outreach@kent.ac.uk.

When do I get paid?

You will get paid for work undertaken at the end of the following month: so if you work in January, you will need to submit a timesheet at the end of January and you will get paid at the end of February. University payments go through on the last working day of a month.  

There may be an issue with your contract or your timesheet may not have been submitted on time. Please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk

You will need to submit a claim for travel on the timesheet for the activity on your ambassador portal. Please see 'How do I get paid?' and our Commuting Allowance Policy (PDF).  

Train/bus tickets

Please submit a claim via your ambassador portal. You will then need to either send scanned copies of your travel expense receipts/tickets to outreach@kent.ac.uk or hand in your ticket during Office Hours. In both instances, please ensure your name, the event title and date are clearly indicated on the ticket.

Please see our Commuting Allowance Policy (PDF) for further information.

Fuel

Please see our Commuting Allowance Policy (PDF). You will need to submit your claim via the ambassador portal at the same time as you submit your timesheet for that event. Please be sure to include the full details of any passengers, if applicable.

Official University references are issued by HR. Most requests for a reference will therefore be forwarded to the HR Team at centralserviceshr@kent.ac.uk, who will be able to confirm information such as length of employment and sickness record. However, if you have worked long-term and with a particular member of the Marketing, Outreach, Recruitment and Admissions team and would like to request a personal reference, you can contact them directly or via outreach@kent.ac.uk / schoolsliaison@kent.ac.uk.

Please note that references issued by MORA are personal and are not official University references.  

Training opportunities relating to particular roles and duties are ongoing and you will be invited to these as they become available and if you are eligible to attend.

Personal Development opportunities are also ongoing throughout the year and are open to all ambassadors. You will be able to sign up to these sessions via the ambassador portal when they are available.

If you want to find out when a particular training session is taking place, please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk

Please remember that the Expectation of Behaviour (PDF) applies to all training sessions and Personal Development Opportunities in terms of attendance and notice of cancellation.

The Outreach and Widening Participation team recruits to different roles according to needs throughout the year. Further details will be sent by email as applicable.

Most additional roles require a formal application process and, if successful, ambassadors will be offered an interview, often requiring them to give a presentation.

Additional roles are subject to successful interview and completion of relevant training.

Please refer to the Ambassador Band Structure for further details on the skills, pre-requisites and training required.

All work opportunities administered by MORA are placed on the Ambassador Portal.

If you cannot see a particular opportunity

You can only see and sign up to work opportunities that you are eligible for. If you cannot see a work opportunity it will be because you have not undertaken the relevant training for that role (see How do I apply for training opportunities).  

We try to allocate work as fairly as possible taking into account a number of factors.  Primarily we look at how much work ambassadors have already undertaken that academic year, so that work is distributed evenly.  Often, we will also try to accept a mix of newer and more experienced ambassadors, males and females, and from different subject areas.  If we are specifically looking for ambassadors with particular skills, knowledge or experience, we will state in the work opportunity notes that preference will be given to those ambassadors.  Please be aware that for some activities we receive a lot more sign ups than there are places available, and are therefore obliged to decline a number of ambassadors.

If you are particularly keen to work an activity (this could be linked to your experience or university timetable availability for example), you can state your reasons in the notes when replying and we will endeavour to take this into account.

Please see the Commuting Allowance Policy (PDF).