Business Support Officer

Job introduction

Are you interested in working with families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities?

Would like to be part of an established, friendly team of people passionate about achieving the best outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?

We are looking for an enthusiastic and energetic SEN Business Support Officer.

The Special Educational Needs Team has a vacancy for a part time (18.5 hours per week) Business Support Officer. This is a permanent position.

You will work proactively across the SEN Statutory Service, providing dedicated business and administrative support whilst promoting joint working with parents/carers, schools and other agencies.

You will need to have demonstratable administrative/office experience in a front-line Customer Service role or education environment with the ability to prioritise your workload around the demands of the service whilst still managing to meet deadlines. We are looking for someone confident in their ICT skills with a keen interest in learning more about Special Educational Needs.

About the role

The SEN Statutory Service is responsible for the administration of the assessment of children and young people with SEND in line with the requirements of the SEN Code of Practice 2014. Working in a busy environment, the Business Support Officer is an integral part of the team supporting the service to ensure statutory requirements are met and supporting the Head of SEN Statutory Service, Senior Casework Managers and Senior Casework Officers with Mediations and Tribunals and a wide range of business and administrative functions.

Key skills you can offer:

• A flexible, adaptable approach to work with ability to multitask effectively according to business priorities.

• A calm approach and ability to work well under pressure, whilst still following required processes.

• Ability to use your own initiative.

• Ability to deal with confidential information tactfully and with discretion.

• Strong Microsoft Office skills, accuracy, and attention to detail.

• Experience in business support duties including arranging meetings, diary management, agenda setting and minuting meetings.

• Accurate inputting and retrieval of data on service-based IT systems and spreadsheets.

• Excellent communication skills and a real passion for delivering excellent customer service as you will often be the first point of contact for service users and other professionals.

What the SEN Team can offer you as a Business Support Officer:

• Flexible working hours with the ability to take additional flexi-time leave

• Generous Annual Leave

• Become an active and valued part of the SEN Statutory Service Team, attending team meetings to collaborate and plan work.

• Commitment to professional development: We are committed to developing our team

• Benefits such as: bus ticket and cycle loans; reduced cost gym membership with Freedom Leisure

This is a varied and demanding role which offers excellent opportunities to expand on existing knowledge and skills by working across the team and taking advantage of the training opportunities available within the Council.

Please read our Apply for a job at the council (brighton-hove.gov.uk) pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to complete your education and work history and provide answers to some shortlisting questions. Your answers to the shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and How we create a fair and inclusive workplace.

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.