Administrative Officer – Customer Contact

Animal and Plant Health Agency; Stafford; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service pension support

Flexible working options

Learning & development

Job summary

APHA in Stafford invites applications for an Administration Officer in our busy customer contact team. The role requires excellent customer service, confidence on the phone and the ability to multi‑skill and adapt to changing tasks in a fast‑paced environment.

You will take inbound calls, update customer records on our systems, make outbound calls when needed, and work with partners across the Defra family.

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service and clear communication.
• Confidence speaking to customers on the phone and via email.
• Ability to multi-task and adapt to changing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Handle inbound calls from customers, farmers, local authorities and stakeholders.
• Process queries using IT systems and update customer records.
• Make outbound calls to clarify information.
• Support the management team and other colleagues.
• Maintain accurate documentation and records.

Skills

Customer service

Telephone communication

Organisation skills

IT literacy

Tools

CRM systems

Databases

Job description

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!

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are 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 an Administration Officer role in our busy customer contact team. This is a demanding role requiring excellent customer service skills, confidence on the telephone and the ability to multi skill and change tasks throughout the day.

This role will provide significant opportunities to develop your own skills and future career.

We maintain an expectation of 60% office attendance in your base location, Stafford, over a rolling 4 week period.

Job Description

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.

You will be taking inbound calls from customers and assisting them with their many and varied queries. You will use systems to process the calls, deal with the query and update customer information. In addition you will make outbound calls to customers in order to seek or clarify information. Your role is to resolve queries wherever possible with a "once and done" approach.

Confidence in speaking to customers on the telephone and via email is an essential requirement for the role as you will be responsible for answering emails within agreed timeframes and resolving stakeholder queries and questions.

Job holders will be expected to provide support to our customers in a wide variety of ways as well as to support the management team.

As a Customer Contact Telephony agent, your main responsibilities will include;

• handling inbound telephone calls from members of the public, farmers, local authorities and other stakeholders
• 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 responds 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; including mailbox monitoring; ensuring actions are carried out in accordance with the procedures and within the necessary timescales
• 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
• continually 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, for example, liaising with farmers and local veterinary practices to arrange tests
• 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

Person specification

We are looking for colleagues with a broad range of skills and experience and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. No previous experience of working in a Customer Service Centre is necessary. You will be fully trained with ongoing support.

Skills

Whether you have skills gained from professional settings or real life and academic experiences, we would really like to hear from you if you are:

• Dedicated to providing an excellent customer service
• Able to provide information both quickly and clearly
• Comfortable talking to different people on the phone in a confident and friendly way
• Excellent at organising your own time and workloadl>Able to use a computer and main software packages competently

Why work for APHA?

Alongside your salary of £27,001, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £7,822 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Learning and Development

At APHA, we are committed to supporting you to develop your skills, knowledge, and professional capability throughout your career.

From day one, you will be welcomed through a structured induction programme, helping you understand the Civil Service, our work, and how we operate. You'll work closely with your line manager to set clear priorities and develop a performance, learning, and development plan tailored to your role.

Alongside formal training, you will have opportunities to apply and develop your knowledge in a practical environment, contributing to continuous improvement and innovation.

Inclusion, support, and the wellbeing of our people are central to what we do, ensuring everyone at APHA can thrive both professionally and personally.

• Civil Service Pension - Defra contributes an average of 28.97% of your salary towards your pension
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts from retailers such as high street coffee shops, cinema's, supermarkets, high street retailers and many, many more
• Staff bonuses and recognition including appreciate vouchers of up to £200 and larger in year awards of up to £1000
• Salary sacrifice benefit options and an employee discount scheme such as bike to work, Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme, every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 a year for each child
• Discounted gym membership with Fitness First or Pure Gym
• Special Leave with pay, per year, for volunteering
• Making it work for you - With so many flexible working options, most people can find a work schedule to suit their circumstances

Closing date 11:55 pm on Monday 12th October 2026