Forestry Commission
Area Admin Officer
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This post is permanently based at Tyneside House, Newcastle.
The Yorkshire and North East Area Team operates from offices in both Newcastle and York. Whilst this post is based in Newcastle, the successful candidate will be required to support staff and activities across the wider Area Team and will be expected to travel to Foss House, York, and other locations throughout the Area as required.
Job Summary
Forest Services are part of the Forestry Commission and are recognised as the Government's forestry experts. We advise nationally and locally on how to unlock the full potential of woodlands and support the forestry sector to protect, improve and expand England's valuable woodland assets, ensuring they continue to provide benefits to people, the environment and the economy.
We are seeking an experienced, highly organised and proactive individual to provide administrative and operational support to the Yorkshire and North East Area Team.
The Area Team consists of over 50 staff working across Yorkshire and the North East. The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring the smooth running of the team through effective administrative, financial, operational, health and safety, learning and development and local infrastructure support.
This is a highly collaborative role requiring an individual who enjoys working closely with people, building relationships and supporting others to succeed.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities
Administration Support
- Monitor incoming communications including email, telephone and post.
- Support the administration and effective use of Forestry Commission business systems, including CRM systems.
- Organise, coordinate and minute meetings.
- Act as Secretary to Forestry and Woodland Advisory Committee (FWAC) meetings.
- Arrange venues, distribute papers, coordinate attendance and maintain records.
- Support stakeholder engagement activities and events.
- Coordinate face-to-face and virtual meetings and events.
- Manage attendee lists and online event booking systems.
- Maintain paper and electronic records in accordance with Forestry Commission policies and procedures.
- Undertake office management activities across Area Team locations.
- Liaise with facilities management providers and building management teams as required.
Finance
- Ensure Forestry Commission financial policies and procedures are followed.
- Raise purchase orders and process invoices.
- Support procurement activities and ensure compliance with corporate contracts.
- Maintain the local asset register.
- Audit financial records and transactions.
- Maintain electronic financial filing systems.
- Liaise with central finance teams as required.
Local Infrastructure Manager (LIM)
- Promote and support the effective use of Microsoft 365 products.
- Provide guidance and support to colleagues on digital tools and systems.
- Liaise with national project teams regarding local IT initiatives.
- Support local infrastructure and associated equipment.
- Work with IT support teams to resolve issues affecting colleagues.
Health and Safety
- Act as Health and Safety representative for the Area Team.
- Promote a positive health and safety culture.
- Support implementation of local Health, Safety and Welfare arrangements.
- Manage local H&S action trackers and associated records.
- Act as administrator for incident reporting systems and lone-working systems.
- Liaise with specialist H&S colleagues to ensure compliance with policies and procedures.
Learning and Development
- Coordinate training activities across the Area Team.
- Maintain training records.
- Arrange local and national training events.
- Liaise with Learning and Development, Human Resources and Health and Safety colleagues.
- Train and act as local Manual Handling Trainer where required.
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Travel Requirements
The Yorkshire and North East Area covers a large geographical area and regular travel forms an essential part of this role.
The successful candidate will be required to travel regularly to:
- Foss House, York.
- Forestry and Woodland Advisory Committee (FWAC) meetings.
- Educational events and engagement activities.
- Learning and Development events.
- Area Team meetings.
- Health and Safety activities.
- Stakeholder events.
- Forestry Commission sites and partner organisations.
Candidates must be comfortable travelling independently, driving regularly and working across multiple locations.
Travel undertaken as part of official business will be reimbursed in line with Forestry Commission travel and expenses policies.
Candidates should note that travel between home and the permanent duty station at Tyneside House, Newcastle is considered normal commuting and is not reimbursed.
Blended Working
Due to the nature of this role, regular office attendance is an essential requirement.
The successful candidate will normally be required to attend the Newcastle office for a minimum of three days per week (60% attendance), with additional attendance required where necessary to meet operational business needs.
This role has been designed to provide visible, responsive and accessible support to colleagues, visitors and stakeholders. The postholder will be expected to maintain a regular presence within the office environment to support the delivery of business activities.
This role is not intended to be a predominantly home-based position.
Additional Information
Success in this role depends upon developing strong working relationships across the Yorkshire and North East Area Team.
The postholder will be expected to be a visible, approachable and trusted source of support for colleagues across Newcastle, York and the wider Area. A commitment to collaborative working and providing excellent support to others is essential.
Before applying, candidates should carefully consider the requirements of this role, including:
- A permanent duty station of Tyneside House, Newcastle.
- Minimum office attendance of three days per week.
- Additional office attendance where required by business need.
- Regular travel to Foss House, York.
- Regular travel throughout Yorkshire and the North East.
- Driving as part of normal business activities.
- Attendance at meetings, events and training activities across the Area.
- Providing visible, practical and face-to-face support to colleagues and stakeholders.
These responsibilities form a significant and regular part of the role and are fundamental to the successful delivery of the post.
Candidates seeking a role with minimal office attendance, limited travel requirements or predominantly remote working arrangements should carefully consider whether this position is suitable for their circumstances before applying.
Person specification
Essential Skills, Knowledge And Experience
- Significant experience working within a busy administrative, office management or business support environment.
- Experience supporting a large team within a complex organisational environment.
- Experience organising meetings, events and stakeholder engagement activities.
- Experience producing accurate meeting notes and minutes.
- Experience maintaining records, filing systems and confidential information.
- Experience acting as a first point of contact for customers, visitors or stakeholders.
- Experience providing high-quality customer service to a range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience managing multiple priorities and meeting deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
- Experience working independently and using initiative to resolve problems.
- Experience providing proactive support to colleagues and wider team activities.
- Significant experience using Microsoft 365 applications including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint and OneDrive.
- Experience supporting colleagues in the effective use of digital systems and technology.
- Experience supporting office operations and administrative systems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong organisational and prioritisation skills.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, customers and partner organisations.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout Yorkshire and the North East.
- Confidence in driving and travelling independently as part of normal business activities.
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Desirable
- Experience supporting Health and Safety administration and compliance systems.
- Experience coordinating Learning and Development activities.
- Experience using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
- Experience supporting IT, infrastructure or digital systems locally.
- Understanding of forestry, woodland management or environmental land-based sectors.
- Evidence of maintaining Continuous Professional Development.
- Experience supporting a geographically dispersed team.
- Experience producing accurate meeting notes and minutes.
- Experience using procurement and financial processes including purchase orders, invoices and financial record management.
Who This Role Would Suit
This role is particularly suited to individuals who:
- Enjoy working closely with colleagues and being part of a supportive team.
- Gain satisfaction from helping others and solving problems.
- Take pride in delivering high-quality support and customer service.
- Prefer a varied workload where no two days are the same.
- Enjoy balancing administrative, operational and people-focused responsibilities.
- Are comfortable being a visible, approachable and trusted point of contact.
- Enjoy building relationships with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders.
- Thrive in a busy office environment and value face-to-face collaboration.
Licences
- Full current UK Driving Licence.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
- Managing a Quality Service
- Making Effective Decisions
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
You will be asked to prepare a short presentation. Instructions will be given to the successful applicants at sift stage.
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £30,105, Forestry Commission contributes £8,721 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- A Civil Service pension.
- A range of family friendly benefits.
- An environment with flexible working options.
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment.
- A range of wellbeing benefits including discounted Civil Service Healthcare, access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme, plus many more.
- 25 days annual leave, with 1 additional day for each years’ service up to 5 years (pro rata), plus 10.5 bank holidays/privilege days (pro rata).
- Ability to buy or sell 5 days annual leave.
- 3 days volunteering per year (pro rata).
We aim to provide a great place to work, whichever location you work from. Blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. It is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home, and some of the week from our
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