Senior Business Support Officer - Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service

Job Title: Business Support Senior Officer- Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service
Starting Salary: £28,608 opportunity to progress to £32,046 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 29.6 hours
Location: Watford & Three Rivers and East Herts & Broxbourne Districts.
Contract Type: Fixed Term - 1 year
Directorate: Resources

About the team

This 12-month fixed-term position offers 29.6 hours per week and presents an exciting opportunity to shape how the role works. Our preference would be to appoint two job share partners, with one based in Hertford and the other in Watford, enabling strong local support across both districts. However, we are equally open to applications from candidates interested in undertaking the full role.

We are looking for a Senior Business Support Officer to provide business support across two of our Fire Service districts, working closely with District Group Commanders and a wide range of operational colleagues

About the role

You will be at the heart of the day-to-day running of the districts, taking responsibility for a diverse range of activities. These include monitoring budgets, managing income from Special Services, analysing critical fire alarm information, purchasing essential operational equipment, and providing direct support to senior managers.

You will need to be confident working independently, able to prioritise a varied workload and comfortable dealing with financial information, data and purchasing processes. Just as importantly, you will be a strong communicator who enjoys building relationships and providing a responsive, professional service.

If you enjoy bringing organisation to a busy environment, solving problems and knowing that your work is helping to support frontline Fire Service delivery, we'd love to hear from you.

• Monitoring district budgets and providing accurate financial information
• Coordinating monthly department meetings, including preparation of meeting papers, minute taking and collating actions
• Managing and monitoring income relating to Special Services
• Analysing data and producing accurate & timely reports
• Purchasing equipment and services to support operational teams
• Providing effective business and administrative support to District Group Commanders
• Building strong working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders across the Fire Service
• Managing a varied workload and responding flexibly to changing priorities

About you

Essential:

• Experience of working in a previous administrative or support role
• Organisational and multitasking skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities with a range of audiences
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other relevant software
• Experience in working as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Understanding of specialised processes and methods gained through relevant training and experience.
• Ability to plan own work over short timescales for routine or familiar tasks and processes and use your initiative to work independently.
• GCSE or Vocational equivalent, strong numeracy and literacy skills
• Enthusiasm and pride in your work are qualities we welcome.
• You will be used to working to tight deadlines and with high accuracy in written correspondence.
• Experience in minute or note taking

Desirable:

• Support with coaching and training others
• Experience in processing invoices and handling financial transactions

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation.

We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 7. Please locate the job profile here:

Job profiles: Business support services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact nicola.stanley@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: w/c 5th November 2026

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Secondment
This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondment basis, you must have your line manager’s approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed‑term contract that would end before this positions ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed‑term contract basis instead.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Councilis undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.