Administration Officer

Animal & Plant Health Agency; York and North Yorkshire; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in York is seeking an Administration Officer to support their busy customer contact teams. The role requires excellent customer service skills and the flexibility to adapt to various tasks. Candidates should possess good IT and organizational skills, as well as the confidence to communicate effectively with a diverse range of customers. Opportunities for career development are available in this supportive, fast-paced environment. The position follows a hybrid working policy requiring attendance three days a week.

Qualifications

• Confidence in speaking to customers over the phone and via email.
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse groups.
• Flexibility to adapt to dynamic work situations.
• Experience in administrative procedures, relevant to the role.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with remote teams to meet performance targets.
• Input and maintain accurate data records.
• Adapt to changing situations in a fast-paced environment.
• Provide excellent customer service to stakeholders.

Skills

Excellent customer service skills

Good IT skills

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Job description

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is committed to fostering a workplace culture where all individuals are valued, heard, and encouraged to be their authentic selves. We recognise the importance of diversity, not only as a moral imperative but also as a driver of innovation and sound decision‑making. By embracing and celebrating differences, we create an environment where everyone can thrive, leading to greater creativity and effectiveness in our work. We have Administration Officer roles available in our busy customer contact teams. These are demanding roles requiring excellent customer service skills, confidence on the telephone and the ability to multi‑skill and change tasks throughout the day. These roles will provide significant opportunities to develop your own skills and future career. Refer to Candidate Pack attached for further details. Training will be carried out face‑to‑face, as will any local inductions.

Candidates are therefore expected to attend in person for these as and when required. For any additional queries please raise enquiries via [e-mail]. APHA operates a hybrid working policy and attendance is 60% of contracted hours over a 4 week period. I.E. full time staff would be expected to attend their office location for 3 days per week. You will be working in a friendly and supportive team in a fast‑paced, reactive and varied role. You will need to have good IT and organisation skills and the flexibility to turn your hand to different tasks as the situation demands.

The position is customer facing and will suit those who have an ability to communicate well to a diverse group of customers. You will be engaging with a broad range of partners and forming relationships with colleagues across the wider Defra team. These roles are primarily administrative. You need to be able to work well with data and be good at developing relationships with stakeholders. Confidence with speaking to customers on the telephone and via written/email correspondence is an essential requirement for these roles.

Responsibilities

Delivery

• Working collaboratively with remote teams across Great Britain to support the delivery of the core function of the Business Unit in accordance with established time scales and performance targets
• Ensuring accurate records are kept and updated accordingly
• Data inputting using various IT systems in accordance with APHA Data
• Identifying efficiencies that could be utilised within your own team or wider business unit
• Understanding and identifying issues that may affect delivery that require escalation to your Line Manager
• Being flexible to adapt to changing situations within the office and respond with energy and commitment to take on additional tasks that may be outside the normal day‑to‑day duties

Administration Procedures

• Taking responsibility for a set of administrative procedures; ensuring actions are carried out in accordance with the procedures and within the necessary timescales
• Providing various office administrative and business support duties to the immediate and, when required, wider team including meeting organisation, note taking, updating of distribution lists, training course organisation and mailbox monitoring
• Answering telephone queries, following up enquiries which cannot be immediately resolved. There is some processing and procedural work associated with the calls generated, including accurately noting the details of the call on a customer’s record, updating databases, producing paperwork, and following general administration processes and procedures
• Providing support and guidance to others (internally and externally) on procedures
• Continuously reviewing procedures in your work area and identifying any efficiencies that could be utilised in your work area

Customer Service

• Liaising with, and providing excellent customer service to Stakeholders, Delivery Partners and Customers, both internal and external, to understand and appreciate their needs and requirements
• Responding to requests from the public for information and guidance and providing accurate and timely information to our customers
• Updating information held on our information systems by liaising with the public to ensure the data we capture about (or for) our customers is accurate
• Managing customer expectations

Are you seeking a role that allows you to apply your strong communication and problem‑solving skills? A role that offers both variety and flexibility? If you possess excellent communication abilities and thrive in dynamic, fast‑paced environments, relishing the challenge of working within tight deadlines, we invite you to reach out to us! Your unique skills and enthusiasm are exactly what we’re looking for!

Disability Confident. A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high‑volume, seasonal and high‑peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non‑disabled people. For more details please go to .