Administration Officer

North Northamptonshire Council; Chester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Chester is looking for an enthusiastic Administration Officer. The role involves handling visitor enquiries, managing bookings, and providing administrative support. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and customer service skills, as well as proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel. This is a full-time position with a competitive salary and a range of employee benefits, including hybrid working where applicable.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

Generous leave entitlement

Hybrid working arrangements

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Enthusiastic and reliable individual with strong organizational skills.
• Capable of working to strict deadlines and prioritizing workload.
• Experience in direct customer service is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Handle visitor enquiries via phone, email, and in person.
• Manage booking systems and maintain internal diaries.
• Support management with administrative tasks as needed.
• Ensure smooth operation of the visitor reception area.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Customer service skills

Time-management skills

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel)

EPOS systems

Job description

About The Role

This vacancy is open to internal applicants at North Northamptonshire Council only. We are looking for an enthusiastic, reliable and hardworking individual to support our administration. You will be involved in dealing with a varied range of administrative duties which will require working to strict deadlines and prioritising your workload. The ideal candidate will have a very good knowledge of all Microsoft Office programs, particularly Excel, along with meticulous attention to detail and exceptional organisational skills. In return, you can expect full training in a friendly and supportive environment. There is no requirement to have any previous experience as an Administrator although this may be beneficial based on the duties of the role. This is a front of house role with frequent and demanding direct customer service requirements.

The Administration Officer reports into the Business Operations team and will be a key member of the Team, the role will also oversee casual Visitor Experience Team to support with the delivery of learning and engagement programmes. The Business Operations team includes the following areas:

• Building Management
• Finance
• Marketing and PR
• Administration
• Volunteering
• Education and Engagement

What will you be doing?

Deal with visitor enquiries including phone calls, emails and in person (reception) in a timely and efficient manner.

• Oversee the smooth delivery of the booking systems for all aspects of the service. Managing the internal booking diary for all teams to have visibility off.
• Support the Head of Service and Department Managers with administration tasks as and when required.
• Oversee the running of the visitor’s reception area at The Chester House Estate.
• Support Managers with ordering repeat supplies. As part of the wider Business Operations Team team, you’ll also influence how we provide great experiences for our visitors and how we deliver the commercial success required to pay for the upkeep and ongoing investment in our buildings and on-site facilities. Occasionally situations may arise that require the post holder to perform other duties or tasks as may be reasonably requested by the estate.
• In addition, all employees are expected to adhere to the organisations commitment to providing a safe and positive working environment for all.
• This role includes work on a 5/7-day roster, which will include weekends and bank holiday.

About You

Excellent communications and interpersonal skills to be able to effectively engage with a range of audiences and stakeholders at strategic, operational levels, including elected members and members of the public. Excellent influencing and advocacy skills. The ability to positively influence and instill confidence in team members, senior officers and stakeholder.

Excellent customer service skills and high service standards. Strong relationship management and influencing skills. Excellent planning and report writing skills. Excellent time-management skills. Confident, flexible and relaxed style, able to communicate effectively with everyone. IT skills to manage a large EPOS and online book system.

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We Offer a Vibrant Working Environment With

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About Us

Our Values Define Who We Are And How We Operate, By Forming The Foundation For How We Interact With Our Customers, Colleagues And Provide Our Services. They Are Also At The Forefront Of Our Decision Making And Delivery And Are

• Customer-focused
• Respectful
• Efficient
• Supportive
• Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council’s pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council.

Attached documents

• (RP) Administration Officer.pdf