Neighbourhood Services Support Officer

About the job

Salary: £27,254– £29,540 a year pro rata
Hours per week: 16
Contract type: Permanent

We are looking for a highly organised and proactive Neighbourhood Services Support Officer to provide a wide range of administrative support across the Neighbourhood Services division at Luton Council.In this varied role, you will support several teams including Pest Control and Dog Wardens, Waste and Street Cleansing Services, and the Commercial Regulatory Team (Food Safety, Health & Safety, Primary Authority and Trading Standards). You will play a key part in ensuring services run smoothly by acting as a central point of contact and delivering efficient administrative support.You will monitor and respond to shared inboxes, handling enquiries and complaints from residents, businesses, partner organisations and internal council departments via telephone, email and written correspondence. This will include updating and maintaining records, organising special collections across the borough such as clinical waste, producing bulk mailings and documentation packs, raising purchase orders, processing invoices and managing deliveries.The role requires accurate data entry and the effective use of council systems and IT packages, including maintaining spreadsheets and recording information on databases such as I-Trent and Bartec. You will also support operational processes by creating service requests, scanning and indexing documents, processing holiday requests and maintaining service records.As the first point of contact for the commercial section, you will assist with preparing waste agreements, producing monthly reports, responding to payroll-related queries, submitting staff timesheets and monitoring staff sickness on behalf of the Waste and Street Cleansing teams.You will also attend a variety of meetings, both formal and informal, where you will take accurate notes and ensure key actions are recorded. In addition, you will arrange and book training courses for teams across Neighbourhood Services and provide administrative support for projects, priority work and service reviews as required.This is a busy and rewarding role that requires excellent organisational skills, strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks while providing a high standard of customer service.Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

We are looking for someone with proven experience in a busy administrative environment who can provide efficient and professional support across a range of services.You will have demonstrable experience of general office administration and be confident dealing with enquiries from customers and colleagues in person, by telephone and in writing. You will be able to handle enquiries sensitively, politely and effectively while delivering a high standard of customer service.You will have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and be comfortable communicating with a wide range of people. This includes preparing clear and accurate reports, written responses and documentation in line with council procedures.Strong organisational skills are essential. You will be able to plan, prioritise and manage your workload effectively to meet deadlines, even during busy periods with competing demands. You will be adaptable and able to respond positively to changing priorities and peaks in workload.You will also have good numeracy skills and be confident carrying out tasks such as processing and reconciling invoices, calculating percentages and VAT, balancing and recording cash, and calculating staff working hours for payroll purposes.You will be comfortable using a variety of IT systems and computer packages to manage data, records and administrative processes, with strong attention to detail when entering and maintaining information. Experience of systems used for case management, research or administrative purposes will be beneficial.The role also requires the ability to take accurate notes during meetings and hearings and produce clear written records where required.You will have an understanding of data protection requirements and demonstrate awareness of equality and inclusion, including the ability to recognise and appropriately respond to discrimination in service delivery or the workplace.A basic knowledge of one or more of the following service areas would be advantageous: pest control, food hygiene, trading standards, waste management or street cleansing.You will hold an NVQ Level 2 qualification (or equivalent) in administration or have relevant experience or training. You will also be able to attend alternative office locations or sites within the borough when required.Due to the nature of the role, you must be able to communicate confidently with members of the public and provide clear help or advice in fluent spoken English.

About us

Our ambitiousLuton 2040 Vision– that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application Process

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How to apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Neighbourhood Support Officer JD L4 Final.docx
• download: Luton_Values_Flyer.pdf