Senior Administrator - Adult Social Care

About Us

West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

The administrative and professional support for the Adult Social Care Directorate is expanding and a key part of this is the Senior Administrator (known internally as an Embedded Senior Co-ordinator) role. The job involves delivering a proactive, and confidential administrative and professional support service to the Assistant Director (Adult Operations) and senior management team.

About The Job

Salary: £26,409 - £27,711 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract Length: 9 month fixed term contract *
Location: Chichester office base with travel throughout the county
Interview Date: 21st May (in person)

✅Are you passionate about providing high-quality administrative support?

✅Do you want to make a meaningful difference in Adult Social Care?

We are looking for a self-motivated, collaborative Senior Administrator/Embedded Senior Co-ordinator to join our Adult Services Team. This is an excellent opportunity to progress for an experienced administrator with experience of working in the Adult Social Care Directorate. If you thrive on a fast-paced role with varied, competing demands and tight deadlines, then we would welcome an application from you.

The senior management team need support from you with diary management, administrative tasks, and organisational skills. You will be exposed to confidential and highly sensitive information and will be expected to work within relevant legislative and policy frameworks. No two days will look the same and you will be part of a friendly and supportive team.

The role offers the flexibility of being office-based or working in a hybrid pattern, but there will be occasions when you will need to attend the office, so cannot be a full time home worker.

* Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills (these will be used as short listing criteria so please cover with examples within your application):

1. Exceptional organisational and time management skills to plan, prioritise and multi-task, managing competing and complex requests for information from colleagues, senior management, Assistant Director and the public.
2. Ability to manage and prioritise workloads efficiently, able to organise and manage self to meet deadlines, be self-aware and able to respond constructively to situations, balancing competing demands and recognising when to seek help appropriately. To take responsibility for own performance and to be proactive in relation to own work and professional development.
3. Ability to organise and co-ordinate complex meetings and panels, provide comprehensive minutes, collate updates, and take forward arising actions.
4. Effective and proactive diary management, (re)prioritisation and booking of meetings, events etc, liaison with colleagues, partners, and customers to manage expectations effectively and provide a positive interaction with/for the Assistant Director(s) and Directorate.
5. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally, verbally and in writing
6. Ability to provide guidance and advice to all enquiries in a timely manner. Taking ownership of enquiries and providing proactive feedback on progress and outcomes ensuring contacts are escalated if appropriate.
7. Ability to anticipate any arising issues, including those effecting deadlines and resolve and share these.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• NVQ 3 in Business Administration, or equivalent administrative experience.
• GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics (9-4 or A-C), or equivalent
• Demonstrable experience of working in a demanding administrative role with senior level staff
• Proven experience of managing and processing invoices and maintaining accurate financial data spreadsheets to support payments by account process.
• Proven experience of working with office systems and procedures, including organising and arranging meetings, coordinating calendars, booking meeting rooms and sending out papers and agendas.
• Awareness of Data Protection and confidentiality requirements.
• Proven experience of handling sensitive, highly confidential and sometimes distressing, information.
• Proven experience of working in a social care environment; ideally in Adult Social Care
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Further Information

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme (if you meet all the essential criteria), this can be found on our application help page.

Note for Recruitment Agencies: We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you!