Administrative Assistant

at  Dorset Councils

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to help drive change and be part of a professional, dynamic and friendly team that provides excellent support to the children and families in Dorset? Are you looking to build on and expand your existing skills with an opportunity to work hybridly?

If you are, then a fantastic opportunity has arisen to join the Children’s Services Business Support Team in the West Locality based at the new Bridport Family Hub (currently with the option of working from County Hall Dorchester). We have a vacancy for a Team Administrator as follows:

• Permanent
• Full-time (37 hours)
• Based at the new Bridport Family Hub (currently with the option of working from County Hall Dorchester)
• Working days are Monday to Thursday (08:40-17:20), Friday (08:40-16:00) with an hour for lunch

In July last year, theDepartment for Education officially announced the Families First for ChildrenPathfinder. Dorset has been recognised for the fantastic work with children,young people and families taking place by being selected to be one of only threeinitial Pathfinder sites nationally, testing the delivery of key reforms acrossthe sector.
Dorset selected forgovernment pathfinder programme - Dorset Council news

ABOUT YOU

• The experience, knowledge and skills required for this role are specified in detail in the Person Specification and Job Description. We are looking for someone who is organised, flexible and can meet the demands of a busy work schedule and ensure deadlines are met. Whether you are working from home or are in the office, you will have an eye for detail and ability to work on your own initiative as well as being an effective team member with a ‘can do’ approach.
• IT systems used include Microsoft packages, including Teams, and other service specific systems. Training for service-based systems will be provided however a good working knowledge of IT including the use of Outlook, Word and Excel is essential. Your training will be office based to ensure that you get the best experience and support from your team.
• The role involves keyboard/computer work, but the variety of tasks supported will ensure regular opportunities for breaks away from the computer screen.
• Our services are customer focused and the post holder will be communicating with a wide range of stakeholders including partner agencies, families, and professionals requiring excellent customer service skills.
• The working environment is busy and dynamic subject to interruptions to deal with queries from operational managers and staff and will involve taking telephone calls.
• There will occasionally be work content of a sensitive/distressing nature particularly in teams involving direct contact with children and families. This will require resilience and confidentiality.
• Join us and you will find an organisation that values your contribution; that supports your professional growth and development; and that cares about your personal wellbeing. You will enjoy working in an open, supportive environment, where you respect the integrity of the people around you and they respect you. We are invested in the continuous improvement and development of our staff, providing full training for the position described.
  This is a full time role at 37 hours per week.
  This post requires you to have access to sensitive information. It will be subject to a Basic Criminal Records Check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.
  For further information, please contact Sandie Fearn on 01305 225195.
  This post has a significant travel requirement and you are required to have a vehicle (or transport deemed suitable by the Council) available for use as needed

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING

The post holder will be part of a team supporting a range of services including:
Social Care · Early Help · Educational Psychologist · SEN/SEND provision · Early Years Support and Advice Service · Virtual School · Specialist Educators.
Reporting to a Team Leader, the role will be varied and interesting and the post holder will need to be motivated and flexible in their approach to work, confident in using their own initiative and able to prioritise and allocate a demanding workload to tight deadlines. They will need to embrace new digital ways of working and work collaboratively with a range of colleagues. We also work within a hybrid working model, with your working week split between the office and working remotely from home. Your work pattern would be shaped around business/service needs.

The post holder will be part of a team responsible for delivering high-quality, customer focused business support to the operational Locality team. Functions of the role include, but are not limited to:

• Specialist functions including arranging meetings and note taking
• Work in compliance with statutory obligations e.g., Data Protection and within the Council’s behaviours and standards
• Maintain data, gather information, and ensure data quality including collection and reporting processes
• Develop and maintain working relationships with colleagues, partners and other professionals, and function as a point of contact
• Undertake financial functions as required including procurement, payments, and invoice processing
• Event Management e.g., book venues, administrating course registrations and preparing resources
• General administration tasks including data entry, scanning, and uploading documents, dealing with correspondence, phone triage and managing email inboxes
• Digital working and provision of ‘virtual’ support – the service has adopted a ‘digital by default’ approach as the way forward

If you are, then a fantastic opportunity has arisen to join the Children’s Services Business Support Team in the West Locality based at the new Bridport Family Hub (currently with the option of working from County Hall Dorchester). We have a vacancy for a Team Administrator as follows:

• Permanent
• Full-time (37 hours)
• Based at the new Bridport Family Hub (currently with the option of working from County Hall Dorchester)
• Working days are Monday to Thursday (08:40-17:20), Friday (08:40-16:00) with an hour for lunc