Business Support Assistant

Portsmouth City Council; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 16,000 - 18,000; Part time

Job summary

Portsmouth City Council is seeking an organised and reliable Business Support Assistant to provide high-quality administrative support across the Education Service. The role is term-time only, working 30 hours per week, with duties including attending Early Years Panel meetings, taking notes, booking appointments, and supporting training events.

You will handle word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentations, enter data into Synergy, respond to enquiries, and maintain confidential

Qualifications

• Previous experience in an administrative role and ability to manage a varied workload with accuracy.
• Good literacy, numeracy and communication skills.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive).
• Awareness of Data Protection and safeguarding and handling confidential information appropriately.

Responsibilities

• Attend Early Years Panel meetings to take notes and update actions.
• Book appointments and meetings and support administration of training courses, events and conferences.
• Enter information onto systems (e.g., Synergy) and process reports and correspondence.
• Respond to telephone and email enquiries and cover Duty Day calls line.
• Maintain files and documentation and liaise with schools and partners.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Literacy and numeracy

Time management

Tools

Microsoft Office

SharePoint

Outlook

Synergy

Job description

We are looking for an organised and reliable Business Support Assistant to provide high-quality administrative support across the Education Service.

This role is Term Time only working 30 hours per week.

The Role

Reporting to the Business Support Team Leader for Education, you will work as part of a pooled business support resource, with a particular focus on providing administrative support to the Early Years Panel Support team.

This is a varied role where you will attend Early Years Panel meetings to take notes and update actions, book appointments and meetings, and support the administration of training courses, events and conferences. You will also undertake word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation work, process reports and correspondence, enter information onto systems such as Synergy, and collect and process a range of information and data.

You will respond to telephone and email enquiries, including covering a Duty Day calls line, and handle confidential information appropriately. You may also support the wider Inclusion service by maintaining files and documentation, processing applications and referrals, updating council web and Intralink content, and liaising with schools and other partners

The ideal candidate

You will have previous experience of working in an administrative role and be comfortable managing a varied workload while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

You will have good literacy, numeracy and communication skills, together with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint and OneDrive. You'll be confident gathering and collating information, prioritising your workload and adapting flexibly to meet the needs of the team and wider service.

A strong customer focus is important, as you will communicate with both internal and external contacts. You will also need an awareness of Data Protection and Safeguarding issues and understand the importance of handling sensitive and confidential information appropriately

Please ensure that you read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention the section 'Who is the person' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement

Working Arrangements:

You will be required to work 1 day a week in the Civic office predominantly a Monday.

About Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.

We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under our corporate commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it. We are not able to offer sponsorship for this position.

Safeguarding

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please read the relevant DBS privacy notice before submitting any information.