Business Administration Apprentice - Trading Standards

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council; Northam; Hybrid; GBP 9,600 - 12,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Hybrid Working

Flexible working hours

Local Government Pension Scheme

Salary sacrifice schemes

Health & wellbeing platform

Staff Network groups

Job summary

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council invites applications for a Business Administration Apprentice in the Trading Standards Service, based at Seafield House, Redcar. The role focuses on administrative support, training, and using Microsoft Office and specialist databases within a busy team.

You will gain hands-on experience across disciplines such as Animal Health & Welfare, Weights & Measures, Product Safety, and Consumer protection, while working toward a Level 3 qualification in a supportive

Qualifications

• Demonstrated communication skills and professionalism.
• Ability to work as part of a team in a busy service.
• Willingness to learn and progress through an apprenticeship.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and clerical support in line with internal processes.
• Develop communication skills when interacting with colleagues across the Council.
• Assist Officers and Consumers in Trading Standards disciplines.

Skills

Self-motivated

Team player

Enthusiastic

Hard-working

Education

GCSE English and Maths (Grade 4/C or above)

Functional skills English & Maths Level 2

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has an exciting new opportunity as a Business Administration Apprentice in the Trading Standards Service based at Seafield House, Redcar. Redcar and Cleveland Trading Standards Service is bold and ambitious. We are a small, friendly, hardworking team of people, fully utilising agile/hybrid working opportunities. Knowledge and skill development is championed, alongside innovation and a genuine drive to protect the public, especially those that are most vulnerable and ensure a safe, legal and fair-trading environment for all. A can do, flexible and supportive attitude are at the forefront of what we do, every day. Redcar and Cleveland Trading Standards Service implements initiatives and participates in a number of areas of work including:

• Coordinating the Cleveland Multi-Agency Approach to Fraud forum (MAAF), a National Trading Standards (NTS) scheme, which brings together Trading Standards professionals, victim care and support personnel, Adult Social Care, Specialist Police Fraud & Serious Organised Crime Officers and Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Office, all working together to reduce the numbers of scam victims and increase support to those in need of assistance. We take robust enforcement action against criminals associated with such unscrupulous activities.
• An established boroughwide No Cold Calling Homes Scheme, enabling residents to stop scammers on their doorstep. We also have an extremely well established and valuable working partnership with our local Victim Care and Advice Service (VCAS).
• Tackling age restricted sales and the availability of illicit tobacco and vapes in our local communities we are members of the local Smoke Free Alliance, securing excellent results through HMRC initiatives (Operation CeCe and Operation Joseph). Deploying robust civil and criminal enforcement techniques to reduce the impacts of the criminality on our local communities and hold the perpetrators to account.
• An active role at Teesport, conducting checks on goods imported into the country, ensuring appropriate documentation is present, checking safety test certificates and declarations of performance. In just over two years, we have intercepted over 1,002,319 unsafe/non-compliant products and have stopped them from reaching the UK markets, shops and homes putting people's safety at risk.
• We are the North East Trading Standards Associations representatives on the Citizens Advice Consumer Service (CACS) Trading Standards Working Group, a national panel, as well as the National Animal Health & Welfare Panel. We fully participate in the Food Standards Agency Feed Hygiene delivery program.

You will gain valuable work experience supporting this busy Service. The main duties of the post will be to provide administrative and clerical support in line with our internal processes and procedures. This work will help develop your communication skills when interacting with other colleagues across the Council and undertaking tasks using Microsoft Office software, the use of specialist recording databases. You will be given training on how to deal with enquiries made to the Service as well as the use of emails and telephone. Joining the Team will provide you with the opportunity to administratively support Officers and Consumers undertaking a vast array of Trading Standards disciplines including:

• Animal Health & Welfare,
• Weights & Measures,
• Product Safety,
• Age Restricted Sales,
• Tobacco and Vape control,
• Scams,
• Fair Trading,
• Intellectual Property and Animal Feed.

A supportive learning environment enables colleagues to achieve their best and expand their knowledge and skills.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, hard-working, positive individual who is self-motivated and able to work using their own initiative as well as being a team player. The successful candidate will be committed to providing an excellent service and be willing to learn and develop their knowledge.

• Apprenticeship opportunities are open to anyone over the age of 16 years old with no upper age limit.
• You will need to have a minimum of Grade 4 (equivalent to Grade C or above) at GCSE English and Maths or functional skills level 2 qualification in English and Maths, or if you do not, you will be enrolled onto English and Maths courses alongside your apprenticeship qualification.
• If you have any prior qualifications or work experience, please list this in your application form, because the college will require these for your eligibility onto the apprenticeship.
• An apprenticeship is designed to deliver a new qualification and new work experience opportunity to the successful candidate.
• You will need to be committed/willing to work towards the level 3 qualification. Applicants who have already achieved Business Administration Level 3 will not be eligible to apply.

This is a fixed-term contract for 18 months. National Minimum Wage for your age will apply after the first year.

Join us for invaluable hands‑on work experience, a qualification all whilst earning a highly competitive salary and receiving excellent terms and conditions of employment.

We offer a range very attractive Employee Benefits and Rewards including

• Generous annual leave of up to 34 days per year
• Hybrid Working (where appropriate)
• Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Access to numerous other salary sacrifice schemes
• Access to our employee health and wellbeing platform, which includes an exciting range of staff benefits, including, spreading the cost of home and electronics, bike shop, car scheme, gym membership, lifestyle savings
• A range of Staff Network groups

For more details: https://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/benefits-and-rewards