Business Support Officer (Administrator)

Job introduction

About the role

You will provide customer-focused information to people who contact the team (service users and other professional agencies) as well as an efficient and effective clerical service within the team. You will be involved in answering telephone and email enquiries, database recording, processing checks and references, organising and minuting meetings, dealing with some payments and supporting social workers in their duties. It is essential that you have the ability to communicate effectively in person, by telephone and in writing and to manage an evolving workload using your time-management skills. 

You will have experience of working in a busy office environment with the ability to prioritise your workload around the demands of the service and strict deadlines. This role involves the use of various computer packages and requires you to be able to monitor and analyse data for your team as well as running reports to ensure adherence to statutory deadlines. First impressions count so we are looking for an enthusiastic, organised, confident and experienced administrator to represent our service. 

Here is what our Business Support Officers say about working in Families Children & Learning:

“The diversity of duties and working in Children’s Services is what attracted me to the role”

“Supporting my social workers, I get a lot of job satisfaction doing this job – feel like I am really involved and helping families lives”

“Feeling you have helped a client in the absence of the social worker in trying to sort out their problems. Having an understanding of their case and developing a rapport with some of the parents.”

Key skills you can offer:

• A flexible, adaptable approach to work with ability to multi task effectively according to business priorities
• Ability to deal with confidential information tactfully and with discretion
• Accuracy and attention to detail
•  Experience in business support duties including arranging meetings, and taking minutes which may be of a complex nature .
• Competent in working with Outlook and Microsoft Office packages
• Ability to deal with confidential information tactfully and with discretion.
• Inputting and retrieval of data on service based IT system

Our offer to Business Support Officers:

• Career average pension scheme
• Generous Annual Leave
• Being an active part of group supervisions
• 1-2-1 support from your Business Support Manager
• A program of learning and development opportunities through our Learning Gateway
• An online toolbox of resources to support the work of the Business Support Officer
• Peer support from other business support colleagues across the service
• Benefits such as: bus ticket and cycle loans; reduced cost gym membership with Freedom Leisure

As part of your application, you will need to complete your education and work history and provide answers to some shortlisting questions. Your answers to the shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk)) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: This role does not meet the requirement for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Successful candidates will need to evidence that they have the Right to Work in the UK.

Company information

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).