Business Support Officer (Personal Assistant to Social Workers)

Business Support is key to the success of our Children’s Services because our Business Support teams are there, making sure things run smoothly, so that our frontline colleagues can deliver for children and families in the community. All that work in the background doesn’t just happen, it takes dedicated colleagues, taking pride in their work and seeing a purpose in the work they are doing.

• Supporting various Children & Family Services as a first point of contact, ensuring children, families, partners and stakeholders are received with a professional/knowledgeable response to enquiries in a timely manner.
• In support of Practitioners workload, convene and attend meetings, including statutory multi agency meetings, coordinating the circulation of agendas and relevant papers, taking and distributing appropriate notes, minutes and actions.
• Completing a range of administrative tasks ensuring compliance with business processes and Service Level Agreements and the monitoring and allocation of work as appropriate.
• Accurately input and maintain information systems, ensuring children’s/families/system records are kept up to date, and that the Information Performance and Engagement Team can accurately report on performance.
• Undertake a range of financial transactions as directed including cash handling, placing orders for services/equipment, including the use of Purchasing Cards, goods receipting and maintaining associated records in accordance with Financial Regulations through the County Council’s Finance and Procurement systems.
• Monitoring and maintaining financial records for the service in accordance with Financial Regulations ensuring that any discrepancies are flagged to the relevant team.
• Maintaining knowledge of legislation, policies, guidance, processes and best practice relating to the service area.

Previous Candidates need not apply

Working in Business Support requires teamwork, good organisational skills and a good level of competency using IT systems. You’ll also need:

• Good communication skills because you’ll interact with lots of people across the organisation and externally through phone, in person and email
• Good organisation skills and attention to detail, as you’ll be keeping data updated and you’ll be working to deadlines
• A flexible approach to work as sometimes things can change, and so you’ll need to be able to prioritise work and sometimes change tasks quickly
• A passion to always give the best service

But it’s important to note that if you’re unsure whether your experience or skills are suitable, please get in touch with the recruiting manager Tracey Pennycook Tracey.pennycook @staffordshire.gov.uk and we can give you a bit more information.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too. 

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to a range of benefits .

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Silver Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.