Business Support Officer

Job title: Business Support Officer

Salary: B3 £25,584 - £27,269

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Leeds

As a Business Support Officer you'll thrive on making a meaningful impact by ensuring the smooth operation of administrative functions, fostering collaboration and contributing to our overall success. Your motivation stems from the desire to create efficient processes, support your colleagues, and enhance the quality of services provided. You are driven by the big picture of helping the us achieve our goals and making a positive difference.

It's not about just handling paperwork or mundane tasks; it's about being a vital part of the team that ensures everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Your role as a Business Support Officer is crucial in supporting our goals. You are the backbone that helps colleagues achieve their best, and your contributions are essential to the overall success of the team.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .

About you

As a Business Support Officer you will bring to the role:

• Exceptional administrative, customer service and organisational skills
• Experience of using IT systems and processes within an office environment including Microsoft Office and database recording systems
• Ability to work flexibly as part of a team & show initiative, prioritise work and meet conflicting deadlines
• Experience of minuting meetings would be useful, but training will be provided
• Experience of finance is also helpful but again training will be provided.

About the role

As our next Business Support Officer you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation of our administrative functions, fostering collaboration and contributing to the overall success of our team.

The role is essential to our business support team, providing assistance to both our Adoption Support and Multidisciplinary Teams. Responsibilities include processing Adoption Support Fund applications and invoices, as well as offering administrative support to our Multidisciplinary team, which manages a demanding schedule of consultations, training sessions, and events.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Charlotte Baker 0113 3783442, Aretha Hanson 0113 37 85791 or Jane Jordon 0113 378 8992 .

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is recognised in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index 2024. We are also an Age-friendly Employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader .

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, candidates must consider their own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker route before applying.'To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £38,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. For more information visit Skilled Worker visa on the government website. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

To work as part of a team to provide an effective and efficient administration and support service as part of a regional business support team. Primary areas of work to include, data inputting, word processing, responding to telephone queries, recording accurate information into manual and e-systems and a range of other administrative work providing a timely response to all requests.

Responsibilities

• To use clerical time efficiently and to ensure the smooth running of the office, maintaining up to date computer-based and manual filing systems.
• To support the lead officer(s) in updating and managing administration functions.
• To operate relevant ICT packages e.g. Word, excel, publisher, databases, spreadsheets, internet, mail merge.
• To assist in the website in respect of updating information and importing/exporting data.
• To provide general administrative support, including duplicating/photocopying, other reprographics, completing standard forms, responding to routine correspondence.
• Act as the first point of contact for customers and visitors - both in person and on the telephone, in a courteous, professional, calm and friendly manner.
• To maintain relationships with colleagues in other local authorities and external agencies.
• To maintain diaries and arrange appointments.
• To deal with enquiries in a friendly, efficient and approachable manner.
• To open, log and distribute both internal and external mail.
• To assist in the organisation and booking of visits and events.
• To take minutes at meetings.
• To assist lead business support officers in dealing with correspondence, records and enquiries relating to the service.
• To use the financial accounting systems, procedures and organisation in order to assist in the operation of the financial procedures.
• Raise orders for goods and services on internal requisition, as directed by Senior Officer.
• To maintain stationary stocks.
• To be aware of and comply with all Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g. Child protection, health, safety, and security, equal opportunities, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.
• To attend relevant meetings and in-service training and seek to further extend skills, knowledge and experience in order to develop personal effectiveness in the role.
• Ensure that electronic and paper-based records are kept updated.
• To supervise business support assistants, including regularly instructing, checking work and advising and/or training staff.

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent is desirable.

Essential requirements it is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

• Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people.
• Able to process documentation using Microsoft office applications.
• Able to accurately enter/retrieve data information from information systems.
• Able to work flexibly as part of a team & show initiative.
• Able to prioritise work to meet conflicting deadlines.
• Able to demonstrate good numeracy & literacy skills.
• Able to assist in the training of new team members.
• To display a responsible and co-operative attitude to working towards the achievement of the service's aims and objectives

Knowledge required

• Of general office procedures and practice.
• Of relevant financial regulations to carry out financial transactions.
• Knowledge of Data Protection legislation.

Experience required

• Of dealing with queries from a wide range of people.
• Of working in partnership with others to deliver work to set deadlines.
• Of providing customer focussed services.
• Of participating in teams and working on own initiative.
• In the use of the Microsoft package.

Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours â€and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the†Best City Ambition 'of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee's responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
• Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
• The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Desirable requirementsâ€It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates are not required to meet all the desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Knowledge required

• NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
• Qualifications demonstrating ability in numeracy and literacy.

Experience required

• Of extracting and analysing data from information databases
• Of taking minutes
• Of staff supervision