Beatriz Barreto Saalfeld

Office Manager / PA to Director of ERO

Biography

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Laws (LLB equivalent) from Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts (Teaching Qualification), from Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am the Office Manager and PA to the Director of the Edinburgh Research Office, where I also lead the Administration Team.

My role combines strategic executive support with operational leadership, ensuring the effective delivery of administrative, financial, HR, and business support functions across the Office. I provide trusted, high-level support to the Director, managing competing priorities, coordinating complex activities, facilitating effective decision-making, and ensuring the smooth operation of the Office.

As Administration Team Manager, I lead, mentor, and develop the team, overseeing service delivery, workload planning, process improvement, and the implementation of efficient administrative practices. I also hold delegated authority for a range of operational functions, including overseeing HR processes, approving financial transactions, and authorising software installations and access to restricted systems and shared resources, ensuring compliance with University policies and governance requirements.

Alongside my core responsibilities, I undertake a number of key institutional roles, including:

  • Health and Safety Coordinator,
  • Computer Officer,
  • Sustainability Champion,
  • Fire Warden,
  • Emergency First Aider at Work, and
  • Mental Health First Aider.

Through these appointments, I contribute to organisational resilience, regulatory compliance, staff wellbeing, digital operations, sustainability initiatives, and the maintenance of a safe, inclusive, and effective working environment.

I am also an active contributor to a range of internal committees and cross-functional working groups, collaborating with colleagues across the University to influence operational improvements, share best practice, and support the delivery of strategic and organisational objectives:

  • MOBUG (Multiple Occupancy Building User Group), representing ERO at Charles Stewart House
  • ERO Incident Management Team
  • CSG IT Group, acting as the ERO Computer Representative
  • Health and Safety Community of Practice
  • Sustainability Champions
  • UoE PA / EA Network
  • HR Processes - Community of Practice
  • Edinburgh Community Engagement Forum
  • Edinburgh Managers

Organiser

  • Good Research Practice Award Event 2022 - The University of Edinburgh  - Playfair Library, Old College
  • Good Research Practice Award Event 2023 - The University of Edinburgh  - Hilton Edinburgh Calton Hotel

Participant

  • Research Management Conference 2018
  • Go Abroad Conference 2018
  • Research Support Services Conference 2022
  • Research Support Services Conference 2023
  • Health and Safety Conference 2024
  • Research Support Services Conference 2024
  • School Safety Adviser (SSA) Conference 2025
  • Sustainability Framework Forum Sept 2025
  • Marketing & Communications Forum 2025

  • Preventing Sexual Harassment: A Practical Overview at The University of Edinburgh - Mar 2026
  • Learning Data Science Understanding the Basics -  Feb 2026
  • Health and Safety responsibilities of Heads of School and equivalent Senior Managers - Feb 2026
  • Investigating minor accidents and incidents - Feb 2026
  • Health and Safety Awareness for Supervisors - Feb 2026
  • Health and Safety - Risk Assessment Training - Feb 2026 
  • HR Process Improvement Gathering - Dec 2025
  • Fire Safety - Local fire safety management - Nov 2025
  • FIN: Fraud awareness in the university - Nov 2025
  • First Aid for Mental Health - Oct 2025
  • Cardinus PACE - Training for Cardinus Administrators - Sep 2025
  • TikToks and Instagram Reels: Creating Engaging Short-Form Video - Mar 2025
  • Managing leavers successfully in People and Money  - Mar 2025
  • The essentials of good HR data - Feb 2025
  • Data Protection Essentials - Feb 2025
  • Information Security Essentials  - Feb 2025
  • Emergency First Aid at Work - Jul 2024
  • Identity and Access Management business stakeholders workshop  - Jul 2024
  • Menopause Awareness Course - May 2024
  • Fire Safety - Fire Steward Training - Mar 2024
  • Data and AI ethics - Oct 2023
  • Canva: An introduction for beginners - Sep 2023
  • Excel: Further functions  - Sep 2023
  • Leading and Managing Issues of Identity, Privilege and Intersectionality - Sep 2023
  • Are You Ready to Talk? Are you Ready to Listen? - Mar 2023
  • The Way of the Productivity Ninja - Jan 2023
  • Online Learning: DIY Film School - Jun 2022
  • Right to Work in the UK Document Checking - May 2022
  • Candid conversations for leaders - Apr 2022
  • Carbon Literacy Training -April - IN PERSONTRAINING - Apr 2022
  • Meaningful Management Conversations - Mar 2022
  • Taking Action for a Sustainable World - Jan 2022
  • Edinburgh Managers Programme – to improve leadership and management skills  2020/2021
  • Carbon Literacy Training - Nov 2021
  • Coaching and Mentoring - Aug 2021
  • Building Resilience - Aug 2021
  • Adobe Spark: Unlocking and exploring Spark's premium features - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival: Principles of creating effective digital content - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival:Social media and apps -managing your online identity - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival:Hosting online events - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival: Subtitling for media creators - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival: Introduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing - May 2021
  • Digital Skills Festival:Adobe Spark: Create social graphics and webpages in minutes -webinar - May 2021
  • Information Security: The internet survival guide - Feb 2021
  • Information Security: The evolving threat landscape 2021 - Feb 2021
  • OER: Creative Commons quick start: A short introduction to using Creative Commons licenses - Jan 2021
  • Mental Health Training for Staff: WEBINAR delivered via MS Teams - Sep 2020
  • Google Tag Manager - Sep 2020
  • Learn: Learn basics - Aug 2020
  • Mentoring - making connections using Platform One - Aug 2020
  • Power of Conversation - webinar - Aug 2020
  • Project Management - Aug 2020
  • Annual Review:Development Conversations - Apr 2020
  • DIY Film School - Dec 2019
  • Computer Reps Training - Advanced - Nov 2019
  • Digital Skills Workshop:Digital Proficiency and Productivity - Nov 2019
  • Financial Skills Development : Charting in Excel - Nov 2019
  • Managing Mental Health in the Workplace - Mar 2019
  • Excel 2016: Intermediate - Mar 2019
  • Practising Meaningful Conversations  - Mar 2019
  • Unconscious Bias Workshop - Dec 2018
  • Fire Steward & Fire Extinguishers Training - Nov 2018
  • BI Suite Advanced - Aug 2018
  • Google Analytics training - Aug 2028
  • Financial Skills Development : Salary Forecasting - Jul 2018
  • Adobe Workshop: Illustrator - Jul 2018
  • Adobe Workshop: InDesign - Jul 2018
  • EdWeb training - Jun 2018
  • Financial Skills Development -Introducing Internal Audit - May 2018
  • Financial Skills Development: Transaction Reporting - Apr 2018
  • Project Management for CAHSS Support Staff - Feb 2018
  • Word: Beyond the Basics - Nov 2017
  • Developing an Understanding of Equality, Diversity and Internationalisation - Nov 2017
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