INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Administrator

Salary: C1 £28,598 - £31,022

Hours: 37 hours (all year round)

Contract: Permanent

Location: To be confirmed

Are you interested in a career in admin supporting Little Owls nurseries and Children Centres? Our Early Help 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 Assistant you will be based at a Little Owls nursery or Children’s Centre site. 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, minute taking and a variety of documentation.
Organise and supervise administrative systems within the service. Contribute to the planning, development and monitoring of support services and the supervision of administrative 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 to process orders from start to finish.
Multi-tasking skills 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:

Amanda Ashe,

Children’s Centre & Early Start Service Lead

Tel: 0113 3784500

Email: amanda.ashe@leeds.gov.uk

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

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.

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

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

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, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

To provide a high level of administrative support to Managers and staff teams within the Early Start Service area by providing a high quality reception and administrative service and offering first class customer care to service users

Responsibilities

To provide a high level of administrative 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.
Supervisory 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 lead in the organisation and booking of visits and events.
Undertake activities related to the marketing and promoting of the service including the review of and development of marketing and promotional material in a diverse range of formats (e.g. onloine, posters).
Support the Senior Administrator in updating and managing the administration systems and procedures.
Develop good working relationships with outside agencies and stakeholders.
Liaise between managers and administration staff.
Support the 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.
Support the Senior Administrator in ensuring 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

Proficiency in literacy & numeracy is essential. 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 the appropriate sharing of sensitive and complex information
Able to work on own initiative and prioritise own workload and that of other administrative staff in order to meet conflicting deadlines
Able to produce and present routine reports and data
Able to accurately enter/retrieve data information from information system
Able to display a responsible and co-operative attitude to working towards the achievement of the service’s aims and objectives
Able to demonstrate working knowledge of general office procedures and practice
Able to demonstrate working knowledge of financial regulations and experience of carrying out financial transactions
Experience of dealing with more complex queries from a wide range of people
Experience of working in partnership with others to deliver work to set deadlines
Experience of providing high quality customer focussed services
Experience of supporting and minuting meetings
Experience in the use of relevant ICT packages eg word, excel, publisher, databases, spreadsheets, Microsoft packages
Experience of drafting and proof reading correspondence using a high standard of written English
Understanding of public sector and local government issues
Ability to utilise appropriate support and resources and recognise the need to do this
Ability and willingness to travel around the city safely, efficiently and independently in line with the duties of the role

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 Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities, and a resilient sustainable city
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures
Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality and diversity 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
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters