Administration and Projects Officer

Office of the Children's Commissioner

Westminster, London, UK

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 2 weeks

Administration

Full time

£35,438 per year

Job summary

Do you want to make a tangible different to the lives of children across England? Can you use your skills to be a catalyst for creating meaningful change? Are you ready to join a committed team, dedicated to giving children and young people a voice on the issues affecting them?

Now is the perfect time to join the Children’s Commissioner’s Office (CCo). Based on five years of listening to children, the Children’s Commissioner is taking children’s thoughts, opinions and ideas to decision makers, to ensure that the Government reflects children’s voices in the decisions that will affect them in years to come.

Joining the team is a chance to be involved in shaping children’s policy, making sure children’s voices are heard and being part of an exciting environment which puts children’s needs at the heart of everything we do.

The Children’s Commissioner is looking to fill a role in the Corporate Services team. The role will be based in Central London at 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP.

The role is suitable for hybrid working, with up to 2 days a week working from home. This is a voluntary non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work from home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to taking up your post.

Selection for appointment to the Office of the Children’s Commissioner is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition.

We are looking for a wide variety of people to take on our roles, however we would particularly welcome applications from care leavers or individuals with experience of being ‘looked after’ by the state. We also actively encourage applicants from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds. We welcome applications from both inside and outside the Civil Service.

Job description

Purpose of the Job

As Administration and Projects Officer, you will work within the Commissioner’s Corporate Services team, working to provide flexible support across the wider office. The role is central to the smooth running of the organisation, assisting multiple teams, including Participation, Private Office, and Help at Hand.

This is a varied role with a key focus on delivering general administrative support across the organisation, including meeting coordination, assisting with travel arrangements, and general business functions. You will report directly to the Director of Finance and Resources.

This is a varied, hands-on role, well suited to someone at the start of their career who is keen to gain a broad experience across teams and develop a strong foundation in organisational support.

Key responsibilities

Corporate Services

Provide comprehensive administrative support across the office.
Work closely with the Director of Finance and Resources, including by providing diary management.
Support and manage the office’s recruitment processes.
Support the Director of Finance and Resources to maintain and update key policies and to deliver projects.

Participation

Deliver administrative and logistical support to the participation team, including arranging travel and coordinating in-person engagement activities such as participation boards.
Attend participation engagements with young people when required and take accurate notes.

Private Office

Support the Commissioner’s governance arrangements, including preparing and collating papers and ensuring timely distribution.

Help at Hand

Support the advocacy and advice service when needed, including answering calls, taking messages and providing admin support to the Child Rights advisors.

Person specification

Successful applicants will:

Have experience of efficiently prioritising, planning and monitoring of workflows and loads.
Be comfortable taking tasks and projects through from start to finish and able to use initiative.
Have strong administrative and organisational skills and be highly competent in the use of IT with proficiency in Microsoft Office.
Have excellent written and oral communication skills.
Be inquisitive and willing to learn about a wide range of functions.
Be able to thrive in a small, friendly, hard working and very supportive team.

Key Criteria

Essential

Ability to prioritise and work on own initiative.(LEAD CRITERIA)
Excellent administrative skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office.
An understanding of governance and how it supports organisations.
Highly developed oral and written communication skills.
A willingness to learn and undertake training in relevant areas.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,438, Office of the Children's Commissioner contributes £10,266 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Some of our benefits include:

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 27.97%. Benefits of the pension scheme - Civil Service Pension Scheme
An Employee Assistance Programme.
A comprehensive reward scheme.
Generous holiday allowance starting at 25 days plus bank holidays and one privilege day.
Flexible working options including full-time or part-time and hybrid working (amend as per role).
A range of family friendly policies.
Excellent learning and development opportunities.
A culture encouraging inclusivity and diversity.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

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Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£35,438 per year