Job title: Project Support Officer

Salary: SO2 £37,280 – £39,152

Hours: 37 per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Merrion House

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.

As a Project Support Officer, you will bring to the role:

Ability to analyse research and information and understand its relevance to the work disciplines of the team.
A good understanding of theory and practice of adoption services.
Experience of assisting on coordinating projects and initiatives in a service or operational area relevant to the post.
Relevant experience in project support management of financial, social or economic inclusion related projects or regeneration projects.
Experience of working in partnership with a diverse range of partners on relevant projects.

About the role

Adoption England brings together Regional Adoption Agencies across the country, supported by a central team, based in Leeds. Our shared mission is to strengthen adoption practice and improve support for children, adopted people and families.

We are looking for a Project Support Officer to play a key role in supporting the delivery of national programmes that drive improvement across the adoption sector. Working closely with the National Adoption Strategic Lead, wider senior leadership team, project managers and colleagues across the national team, you will help coordinate projects that support the Adoption England’s strategic plan.

You will provide high‑quality project, administrative and portfolio support from organising meetings and preparing reports to maintaining systems, analysing information and supporting monitoring and evaluation. You will help ensure that programmes run smoothly, deadlines are met and partners have the information they need to deliver positive outcomes.

Hybrid working principles apply for this role and it will require regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, as well as planned occasional work across the country.

About you

You will bring strong project support, organisational and administrative skills, ideally gained in a public sector, children’s services or similarly complex environment. You can coordinate activity across multiple projects, manage competing priorities and maintain accurate, well‑organised systems.

You are confident preparing reports, analysing information and using data to support monitoring and evaluation. You can use digital tools effectively to organise work, produce management information and communicate clearly with colleagues and partners.

You build productive working relationships quickly and can work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders including senior leaders, project teams and external partners. You are comfortable contributing to meetings, supporting workshops and representing the service when required.

You understand the sensitive nature of adoption work and can handle information with professionalism, confidentiality and care. You are committed to excellent customer service, continuous improvement and supporting the goals and values of Leeds City Council.

You also model inclusive practice. You understand how inequality and bias can affect children, families and the workforce, and you work in an anti‑discriminatory way. You uphold Leeds City Council’s values, challenge poor behaviours and help create a culture where everyone feels respected, supported and able to thrive.

If you are organised, proactive and motivated by supporting national programmes that improve outcomes for adopted people and families, we would love to hear from you.

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.

We particularly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority background as those from LGBTQ+ community – as these groups are underrepresented in our Adoption workforce.

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Saema Mohammad on saema.mohammad@adoptionengland.co.uk.

Read our guidancefor further advice on completing your application.

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. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job description

Job purpose: To work flexibly to provide effective project support as part of a project team, contributing to the successful delivery of major projects and programmes. The Project Support Officer will work with the national team to support the delivery of the regional adoption agencies strategic plan aimed at driving continuous improvement initiatives across the sector with key partners and stakeholders.

Responsibilities for Grade:

To work as part of a project team, as well as providing portfolio support to assist in the effective and efficient delivery of programmes/projects.
To take responsibility for the development, implementation and maintenance of effective and efficient administrative systems, ensuring that appropriate support is provided to programme and project teams at all times.
To prepare, produce and present high quality reports and statistical information relating to the performance and monitoring of the programme.
To arrange, attend, and facilitate meetings and workshops, including scheduling, agenda planning, preparation and facilitation.
To produce Management Information from databases and spreadsheets by inputting and retrieving information from systems.
To prepare and assist in the development of documents, reports and publicity that meet the needs of diverse audiences.
To assist in the development and management of monitoring, evaluation and reporting frameworks.
To build productive relationships throughout the project team and partners and stakeholders
Represent the service at meetings as required and undertake or co-ordinate any work required as a result
Support the policy and service development work undertaken by project team
To attend regular team meetings and supervision as required
To take a lead on business support services and undertake regular supervision.

Additional

Provide excellent customer service to all
Respect the sensitive and confidential nature of the work.
Follow good practice in data protection.
Be responsive to the needs of the project team and support colleagues as required.
All employees should understand their personal responsibility to comply with all organisational and statutory requirements, for example, Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity
Hybrid working principles apply for this role and it will require regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, as well as planned occasional work across the country

Qualifications

None required

Essential requirements: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements

Skills Required:

Excellent organisational, numerical, literacy and analytical skills.
Ability to make an effective contribution to internal and external meetings to arrive at a positive outcome.
Ability to identify conflict amongst stakeholders.
Ability to analyse research and information and understand its relevance to the work disciplines of the team.
Ability to develop productive working relationships that command respect, trust and confidence.
Ability to understand competing priorities when delivering on a range of projects.
Ability to work within, as well as support, a team.
Ability to demonstrate competence in the use of IT and use of social media to promote the Council’s work.
Ability to communicate clearly and succinctly to produce and present verbal and written reports.
Ability to monitor budgets.

Knowledge Required:

Understanding of local government working and of public sector values.
An understanding of service delivery issues within the context of the public sector.
A good understanding of theory and practice of adoption services.

Experience Required:

Experience of assisting on coordinating projects and initiatives in a service or operational area relevant to the post.
Experience of achieving results in a politically sensitive context.
Experience of undertaking research and analysing relevant literature.
Experience of participating in initiatives and policies from development to implementation.
Experience of working effectively with others to deliver projects across disciplines.
Experience of working in partnership with a diverse range of partners on relevant projects.
Experience of attending meetings with senior leaders and politicians.
Relevant experience in Project support management of financial, social or economic inclusion related projects or regeneration projects.

Behavioural & other Characteristics required:

Achievement of equal opportunities in both employment and service delivery and an understanding of the Leeds City Council policy.
Willing to take personal responsibility for and abide by the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
Conscientious and committed approach towards completing tasks accurately and to deadlines to achieve the service’s objectives.
Awareness of and an ability to respect the sensitive and confidential nature of the work.
Commitment to own personal development and learning.
Commitment to the goals and values of the organisation.
Ability to make colleagues aware of action they could take to improve the quality of service delivered by the Council.
Ability to promote a professional image of self, the department and the Council.

Desirable requirements: It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role. Candidates are not required to meet all the Desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates.

Knowledge Required:

Understanding of project and formal project management techniques and reporting requirements.
Understanding of risk management and benefits realisation within project management methodologies.