Payment Officer

About the role

Are you looking to be part of a dynamic but friendly team that provides excellent support to the children and families in Dorset? The Children's Business and Finance Services Team is seeking a passionate and motivated Payment Officer to join our Finance team in Dorchester.

These posts will be required to work from County Hall as well as some remote working from home. This is to enable peer support, team working, attending training, cover and collaborative working with colleagues. We maintain an effective team ethic by communicating with regular team meetings as well as using Microsoft Teams to communicate throughout the day providing a network of support within the team.

We are a team that supports a variety of functions across the Children’s Services Directorate. We openly support and develop each other, going out of our way to offer knowledge, time, and practical help. That means working collaboratively, sharing our expertise, and celebrating individuality and diversity through our employee networks. We are invested in the continuous improvement and development of our staff, providing full training for the position. Working for Dorset Council also offers opportunities for career progression as you will be collaborating with several areas across Children’s Services and our wider stakeholders.

What you will be doing

The post holder will be part of the Children's Business and Finance Services Team, responsible for delivering high-quality business support to a wide range of teams within Children’s Services.

Tasks undertaken may include:

• Invoice processing
• Procurement
• Instant payments via a third-party system
• Account Reconciliations
• Auditing and review of financial packages
• Processing payments for diverse areas of Children's Services
• Working with Locality teams for specific finance packages
• Payment in respect of commissioned services and packages
• Providing high-quality business support e.g. general administration task, including data entry and dealing with correspondence
• Working closely with other business support colleagues to ensure a consistent approach and service delivery model is maintained across the business support teams
• Answering the phone and referring calls to the relevant officer/team and the monitoring of e-mail in-boxes
• Work in compliance with statutory obligations e.g. Data Protection
• Maintain data, gather information and ensure data quality including collection and reporting processes
• Develop and maintain working relationships with colleagues, partners and professionals
• Managing the collection of statistical data and information as required
• Digital working and provision of 'virtual' support - the service has adopted a 'digital by default' approach as the way forward

An Induction programme is in place, and training is provided along with opportunities to shadow colleagues to learn new tasks/processes. Staff are supported by their manager and other colleagues and have regular catch-up meetings with their manager.

About You:

The experience, knowledge and skills required for this post are specified in detail in the Person Specification. In summary we are seeking individuals who are organised, able to meet the demands of a busy work schedule and ensure deadlines are met. Along with proven typing skills you will have an eye for detail and ability to work on your own initiative as well as being an effective team member with a 'can do' attitude.

IT systems used include Microsoft packages, Teams and service specific systems such as Mosaic, Synergy and Dorset’s Procurement Hub. Training for service-based systems will be provided however a good working knowledge of IT including the use of Microsoft Office 365 is desirable, and Outlook, Word and Excel are essential. The role involves keyboard/computer work, but the variety of tasks supported will ensure regular opportunities for breaks away from the computer screen. Our services are customer focused and the post holder will be communicating with a wide range of stakeholders including partner agencies, families and professionals and we are looking for individuals with excellent customer service skills.

The working environment is busy and dynamic subject to interruptions to deal with queries from operational managers and staff and will involve taking telephone calls and dealing with visitors. There will occasionally be work content of a sensitive/distressing nature, particularly in teams involving direct contact with children and families. This will require resilience and confidentiality.

Further Information

This is a full time role at 37 hours per week, fixed term until 31 December 2027.

We are currently working in a hybrid manner with some days in the office and some working from home. Full support and training will be provided to adjust to this change in circumstances, and some tasks have been subject to change as a result. Current arrangements can be discussed at interview.

This post requires you to have access to sensitive information. It will be subject to a Basic Criminal Records Check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.

This post will be required to work from County Hall as well as some remote working from home working from home.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.

About Us

At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.

Find out more about how to apply.