Administrative Officer (Central) - REQ001530

Job title: Administrative Officer

Salary: C1 £27,711 to £30,060

Hours: 37 hours (all year round)

Contract: Permanent

Location: Various locations across the City.

Are you interested in a career in admin supporting Little Owls nurseries and Children Centres?

Learning for Life Service is a great place to progress in your admin career, we support staff to learn and progress by offering regular training.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.

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 the role

As an Administrative Officer you will be based at a Little Owls nursery or children centre. You will support senior managers and staff teams by providing a high quality reception and administrative service and offering first class customer care to service users. It is rewarding work, as well as energetic and at times challenging. It also involves a high level of financial procedural work in terms of raising orders and paying invoices, ensuring processes are completed in line with LCC financial regulations.

You will:

provide a high level of admin support to managers and teams, including diary management, telephone answering, typing/data input and/or preparation of reports and a variety of documentation.
Support and take minutes at meetings.
Organise and supervise administrative systems within the service. Contribute to the planning, development and monitoring of support services and the supervision of administrative staff.
Line management responsibilities including the direction of, checking work, and advising and/or training staff.
Work on own initiative and prioritise own workload and that of other administration staff.
Operate relevant ICT packages eg word, excel, publisher, databases, spreadsheets, internet, outlook.
Use the financial accounting systems, procedures and organisation in order to process and monitor a range of financial procedures.
Provide excellent customer service to customers, colleagues and visitors.

About you:

We are looking for enthusiastic, adaptable candidates with personal qualities to support a very busy service. You must have:

Excellent communication, listening and organisational skills.
Good IT skills with knowledge of using databases and Microsoft packages.
Understanding of LCC financial processes and how systems link together in order to process orders from start to finish.
Multi tasking skills in order to meet conflicting and sometimes short deadlines.

We expect the following experience and qualifications:

Good standard of literacy and numeracy.
NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent would be desirable.
Good computer literacy
Experience of working with others
Ability to work in different environments
Knowledge of LCC financial processes and systems.

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.
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

Apply for this job online.

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:

Andrea Smith, Children and Family Service – Tel: 0113 3784516 Email: andrea.smith@leeds.gov.uk

Applications received are assessed for shortlisting every two weeks. We hold interview panels regularly to fill ongoing vacancies in our nurseries.

Please be aware that successful applicants will be employed by LCC and not a particular centre and could be asked to work at any of the city wide Little Owls Nurseries or Children Centres.

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

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s barred list will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds and the communities we serve. 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.â€¯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

Special conditions this post is subject to a higher level check with the Disclosure & Barring Service. Please note that a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining employment; this will depend on the circumstances and background to any offence.

Job Purpose

To provide a high level of admin support to managers and teams within the Early Start Service area.

Responsibilities

To provide a high level of admin support to managers and teams, including diary management, telephone answering, typing/data input and/or preparation of reports and a variety of documentation.
To support and take minutes at meetings.
To organise and supervise administrative systems within the service. Contribute to the planning, development and monitoring of support services and the supervision of administrative staff.
Line management responsibilities including the direction of, checking work, and advising and/or training staff.
To work on own initiative and prioritise own workload and that of other administration staff.
To operate relevant ICT packages eg word, excel, publisher, databases, spreadsheets, internet, outlook.
To use the financial accounting systems, procedures and organisation in order to process and monitor a range of financial procedures.
To provide general clerical/administrative support, including duplicating/photocopying, other reprographics, completing standard forms, responding to routine correspondence.
To assist in the organisation and booking of visits and events.
Assist with the marketing and promoting the service including the review of and development of marketing and promotions documents.
Support the administration manager in updating and managing the administration systems and procedures.
Develop good working relationships with outside agencies and stakeholders.
Liaise between managers and administration staff.
Hold regular team meetings with supervised staff.
Undertake recruitment/induction/training/mentoring for administration staff.
Provide detailed analysis and evaluation of data and produce detailed reports/information as required.
Produce and respond to complex correspondence.
Provide organisational and complex advisory support to other staff and the service managers.
Present a positive personal image, contributing to a welcoming environment for customers and visitors.
Provide an excellent customer service to colleagues, customers, and visitors to the service.
Manage complex administrative procedures.
Be responsible for completion and submission of complex forms, returns etc, including those to outside agencies.
Ensure that HR policies and procedures relating to supervising staff are undertaken including managing attendance, performance management and grievances and disciplinary procedures.
Provide advice and guidance to staff and others on complex issues.
Undertake research and obtain information to inform decisions.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equal opportunities for all.
Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the service.
Participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as required.
To undertake any other duties that is commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
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

Good standard of literacy and numeracy.
NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent would be 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 including sensitive and complex information.
Able to prioritise own and team’s work to meet conflicting deadlines.
Able to produce and present routine reports and data.
Able to accurately enter/retrieve data information from information systems.
To display a responsible and co-operative attitude to working towards the achievement of the service’s aims and objectives.

Knowledge

of general office procedures and practice.
of financial regulations to carry out financial transactions

Experience

Of dealing with more complex 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 supporting and minuting meetings.
Of supervising staff.
Of participating in teams and using own initiative.
In the use of the Microsoft package.

Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours 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 requirements - 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.

NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent

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