Dorset Council
Business Support Officer
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Are you looking to be part of a dynamic but friendly team that provides excellent support to the children and families in Dorset?
If you are, then a fantastic opportunity has arisen to join the Children’s Specialist spoke team under the Business Support Hub. The post offers the flexibility of working in a hybrid way, providing support based in both County Hall as well as ‘virtual’ support working from home. We maintain an effective team ethic by communicating with regular team meetings as well as using Microsoft Teams to communicate throughout the day.
We support a variety of functions within Fostering, Penalty Notices, and the wider Children’s Services Directorate. We openly support and develop each other, going out of our way to offer knowledge, time, and practical help. That means working collaboratively, sharing our expertise, and celebrating individuality and diversity through our employee networks.
We are invested in the continuous improvement and development of our staff, providing full training for the position. Working for Dorset Council also offers opportunities for career progression with working in the Business Support Hub providing an excellent start as you will be collaborating with several areas across Children’s Services and our wider stakeholders.
What You Will Be Doing
The post holder will be part of the Children's Specialist Spoke Team, responsible for delivering high quality business support around fostering primarily but also may be required to support specialist areas around attendance and penalties, digital and residential services. Tasks undertaken may include:
- Providing high quality business support e.g. general administration task, including data entry and dealing with correspondence
- Working closely with other business support colleagues to ensure a consistent approach and service delivery model is maintained across the business support teams
- Answering the phone and referring calls to the relevant officer/team and the monitoring of e-mail in-boxes
- Work in compliance with statutory obligations e.g. Data Protection
- Maintain data, gather information and ensure data quality including collection and reporting processes
- Develop and maintain working relationships with colleagues, partners and professionals
- Managing the collection of statistical data and information as required
- Supporting Strategy Tracking processes
- Preparing agendas, minutes and issuing actions from panels
- Digital working and provision of 'virtual' support - the service has adopted a 'digital by default' approach as the way forward
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An Induction programme is in place and training is provided along with opportunities to shadow colleagues to learn new tasks/processes. Staff are supported by their manager and other colleagues and have regular catch up meetings with their manager.
About You
The experience, knowledge and skills required for this post are specified in detail in the Person Specification. In summary we are seeking individuals who are organised, able to meet the demands of a busy work schedule and ensure deadlines are met. Along with proven typing skills you will have an eye for detail and ability to work on your own initiative as well as being an effective team member with a 'can do' attitude.
IT systems used include Microsoft packages, Teams and service specific systems such as Mosaic and Synergy. Training for service-based systems will be provided however a good working knowledge of IT including the use of Teams, Planner, Outlook, Word and Excel is essential. The role involves keyboard/computer work, but the variety of tasks supported will ensure regular opportunities for breaks away from the computer screen. Our services are customer focused and the post holder will be communicating with a wide range of stakeholders including partner agencies, families and professionals and we are looking for individuals with excellent customer service skills.
The working environment is busy and dynamic subject to interruptions to deal with queries from operational managers and staff and will involve taking telephone calls and dealing with visitors. There will occasionally be work content of a sensitive/distressing nature, particularly in teams involving direct contact with children and families. This will require resilience and confidentiality.
Further Information
We are currently working in a hybrid manner with some days in the office and some working from home. Full support and training will be provided and some tasks have been subject to change as a result. Current arrangements can be discussed at interview.
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This is a job share working Wednesday to Friday, this position offers 18.5 hours per week based in Dorchester.
This Post Requires You To Have Access To Sensitive Information. It Will Be Subject To a Basic Criminal Records Check. See Our Policy On The Employment Of Ex-offenders Contact Details
If you would like an informal conversation, please contact Sarah Middleton, by calling 01305 224340 or Jemma Knowles on 01305 225498.
About Us
At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:
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At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.
We
- Provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
- Work in partnership to make a real difference
- Value every role and the impact it has on our communities
- Support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive
You Will
- Be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
- Have access to a range of benefits and support
- Receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress
We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.
This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.
If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.
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