Business Support Officer – Social Work Academy

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: Grade C. Scale 5 - £26,427 to Scale 6 - £26,847

Hours Per Week: 36

Base Location: Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6BH

Interview date: 20th October 2026

The Role

Are you highly organised, proactive, and passionate about supporting services that make a difference to children and families? Join our Social Work Academy as a Business Support Officer and play a vital role in helping us deliver highquality learning, development, and practice improvement across Children’s Services.

At Tameside, our Heart of Support Practice Approach, Compassion, Curiosity, Collaboration, Conversation and Courage guides everything we do. As part of our team, you’ll help ensure the smooth running of Academy activity, including training coordination, student and ASYE support, and key elements of our quality assurance work.

What you’ll do

• Provide efficient administrative and organisational support across the Social Work Academy.
• Coordinate training, events, and development opportunities for the workforce.
• Support Practice & Impact Reviews (PIRs) through accurate data, tracking and reporting.
• Maintain records, systems and communications to a high standard.
• Act as a first point of contact for enquiries, building strong relationships with staff and partners.

About you

We’re looking for someone with strong administrative experience, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage a busy and varied workload. You’ll be confident using IT systems, highly organised, and committed to inclusive, childfocused services. Experience in Children’s Services or quality assurance is an advantage but not essential.

Why join us?

We offer a supportive workplace, opportunities for development, and a culture where your ideas and contributions are valued. Together, we’re proud to support Tameside’s children, families, and workforce.

About Us

Message from Jill Colbert, Director of Children’s Services

“I joined the council at the beginning of 2025 and was instantly charmed by the warmth, openness, and energy of colleagues.

“I came to Tameside for one reason; because I know we can do fantastic things for our families here.

“We’re a children’s service on a significant improvement journey. We know what needs to be different for our children and families and we’re ambitious to deliver that change.

“We have a growing range of specialist services for children, where you can test and grow your skills and practice. We have a Social Work Academy that is led by people who bring passion to learning and who know that the DCS’ of the future are right in front of them. We are working on our progression pathways so that staying in Tameside is rewarded and recognised. We have investment in innovation and improvement from the council so that we can grow services and support for families that we can sustain, from family hubs through to complex safeguarding.

“I am so certain that we can build a proud, inclusive and safe climate for great practice to flourish in Tameside. I’d love you to join me on the journey here at Team Tameside.”

Our Heart of Support Practice Approach

At Tameside, we believe in:

• Compassion understanding the lived experiences of children and families.
• Curiosity asking questions that lead to deeper insight and better outcomes for children.
• Collaboration working together across services to deliver joined-up support.
• Conversation listening and engaging meaningfully with children, families and professionals.
• Courage leading with courage, making bold and compassionate decisions that put children first.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English in the person specification.

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

We are committed to developing a culture which respects individuals, appreciates difference and allows everyone regardless of background to reach their full potential. We are proud to be an accredited disability confident employer. Reasonable Adjustments will be considered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the Job Role Criteria.

Our rewards and benefits package can be viewed here

We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please click here for more information on our guaranteed assessment scheme.

For further information about this role please contact Kayleigh Treanor, Head of Quality Practice Assurance and Principal Social Worker via kayleigh.treanor@tameside.gov.uk or 0161 342 3398.

Supporting Documents