Reception and Administration Assistant

Blue Cross; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

38 days holiday

Wellbeing support

GP access

Health cash plan

Pension scheme

CPD support

Life assurance

Pet insurance discount

Volunteer days

Job summary

Blue Cross in Sheffield is seeking a Reception & Administration Assistant to be the welcoming face of our Rehoming & Fostering Team. You will handle front-of-house tasks, greet clients, answer enquiries and support admin processes to ensure smooth operations.

The role is permanent and part-time at 30 hours per week, with a two-week rotating schedule including weekends. You will support volunteers and staff while maintaining a positive customer experience.

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering high level reception service in a fast paced and often emotional environment.
• Good standard of verbal and written communication.
• Experience of dealing with the public, managing enquiries by phone, email enquiries and face-to-face.
• Strong administration skills, including the use of computerised systems.
• Experience of handling and managing cash and spreadsheets.
• Current full driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Welcoming face and organisational backbone of the Rehoming, advice & behaviour unit.
• Greeting clients with a warm smile and ensuring administrative processes run smoothly.
• Engage with clients in person, over the phone, and through digital channels, providing non-judgemental support.
• Manage administrative tasks including stock management, pet movement coordination, and cash handling.
• Collaborate with colleagues across departments to deliver client service and optimise processes.

Skills

Reception service

Verbal communication

Written communication

Public enquiries

Administration

Cash handling

Education

NVQ Level 2/3 in Customer Care

Tools

Computerised systems

Job description

Reception and Administration Assistant

Application Deadline: 26 November 2026

Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Sheffield

Compensation: £19,980 / year

Description

Contract: Permanent, part time – 30 hours per week

Salary: £19,980 per annum (£24,976 FTE)

Location: Sheffield, S7 2PY

Closing date: Thursday 26th November 2026

Interview date: 2nd and 4th December 2026

We’re recruiting a Reception & Administration Assistant to join our Rehoming & Fostering Team in Sheffield!

Are you passionate about delivering outstanding customer service and administrative support that truly makes a difference? This is your opportunity to become a valued part of the Blue Cross team, where you'll play a key role in advancing our mission to support more pets in need.

Our Sheffield rehoming, advice & behaviour unit is in South Yorkshire which is just a short drive from the beautiful peak district. Our team proactively help the local community in many ways such as helping people and pets in need with our food bank as well as offering rehoming services for a wide range of pets. We don’t have cattery or kennel facilities so we need to be innovative as a team to ensure we can help with the most urgent of cases.

As our Reception and Administration Assistant, you'll be the welcoming face and organisational backbone of our Rehoming, advice & behaviour unit. From greeting clients with a warm smile to ensuring our administrative processes run smoothly, you'll be at the heart of everything we do.

In this role, you'll engage with clients in person, over the phone, and through digital channels, providing them with non-judgemental support and assistance. You'll maintain a clean and inviting front of house environment, ensuring all materials are up-to-date and in line with Blue Cross branding. You'll manage administrative tasks efficiently, including stock management, pet movement coordination, and cash handling.

Your collaboration with colleagues across departments will be essential as you work together to deliver outstanding client service and optimise administrative processes. Collecting and analysing visitor feedback, you'll continuously strive for excellence and contribute to the training and development of team members and volunteers, sharing your expertise and fostering growth.

This is a permanent, part-time role working 30 hours per week over a two-week rota to include public holidays and weekends.

Week 1: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Week 2: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

This position can be combined with our current Volunteer Coordinator vacancy, which is 7.5 hours per week, to create a 37.5 hour per week schedule. Please apply for both roles if you are interested in this.

If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you. Interested? Then apply and let’s work together to see if this is the role for you.

About you

We're looking for someone who demonstrates empathy, resilience, and a positive mindset, even in emotionally charged environments. Thriving in a diverse, fast-paced environment, you enjoy taking on new challenges and excel in problem-solving, organisation, and attention to detail.

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• Experience in delivering high level reception service in a fast paced and often emotional environment.
• Good standard of verbal and written communication.
• Experience of dealing with the public, managing enquiries by phone, email enquiries and face-to-face.
• Strong administration skills, including the use of computerised systems.
• Experience of handling and managing cash and spreadsheets.
• Current full driving licence.

It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:

• NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Customer Care
• Experience of working in a similar role or working in a pet welfare role/environment.
• Experience working with volunteers.
• Experience of working with the public
• Experience of public speaking
• An understanding for the voluntary sector
• Experience of working in a team and mentoring others
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.

For more information about this rewarding role, please take a look at the attached job description.

Using AI in your application

We’re happy for you to use AI tools to help you prepare your application, for example to organise your thoughts, improve clarity or check spelling and grammar. However, your application must be an honest reflection of your own skills, experience and achievements, and AI should not be used to write your application for you or create examples that aren’t your own.

Please read our guidance on using AI when applying to Blue Cross before submitting your application.

Blue Cross benefits

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.

Our generous benefits package includes:

• Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via MetLife- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
• Health cash plan
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
• Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development and personal development support.
• Life assurance
• 20% discount on Pet Plan pet insurance
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Recognition scheme
• Annual volunteer days
• Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers

To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'why work for us' page on our website.