Service Support Officer (Reception)

Overview

The Service Support Officer is responsible for providing effective and efficient administrative support across the division, providing advice and system support across the children's services department. Their main responsibility is to provide reception desk services, ensuring excellent and quality customer care for all visitors and callers dealing appropriately with their query.

The Service Support Officer must have the ability to deal with children, young people and families, who are facing difficulties and can sometimes present challenging behaviour, in a sensitive and professional manner adhering to health and safety and strict confidentiality procedures. They will undertake a variety of administrative activities to ensure that service targets are met, and continuous improvement is achieved, enabling frontline staff to concentrate on delivering the core business function.

Principal accountabilities

• Carry out administrative functions (as determined by the nature of the service), taking into account Departmental policies and procedures, and requirements of Government Departments.
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the legal framework, including Government guidelines and statistical returns, within which the service operates.
• Provide information and guidance on processes and procedures to Social Work Practitioners and Managers.
• Update complex information systems, ensuring that individual records are up to date with information required for statutory returns and local datasets, ensuring the data is up to date, accurate and reliable.
• To undertake the collation, preparation and provision of information reports for practitioners and managers using Business Objects and Excel.
• Scanning and uploading of documents to the information system, ensuring accuracy and appropriate disposal of paper documents.
• Provide basic specific financial support to the service, including issuing of travel warrants.
• Distribution of information e.g. Assessments, LAC reviews, panel papers to Families, young people, Practitioners and Independent Panel Members, ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act.
• Providing reception services, ensuring quality customer care for all visitors and directing callers to appropriate services.
• Preparing papers for Youth Court and attending Court with Practitioners taking notes during Court proceedings.
• To undertake the administrative process for DBSs, notifying Practitioners when Carers DBSs are due, and recording details on the Information system.
• Organise the collection and delivery of archives from storage.
• Organise meetings and taking/distributing/uploading notes.
• Dealing professionally with incoming phone calls, emails and correspondence.
• To respond to enquiries sensitively and efficiently, from professionals and service users on the role and function of the service, either orally or in writing, taking into account individual circumstances.
• To maintain strict confidentiality of all records produced and received and be aware of requirements of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
• To participate in the induction, coaching and mentoring of new members of staff, those on secondment or placement, to include administrative, financial and professional personnel.
• To be first point of contact for Visitors (Family, Children and Practitioners in the building) and referring on to specialist teams.
• To carry out the duties and responsibilities of the job in accordance with the Councils Health and Safety Policy and relevant Health and Safety legislation and to actively promote equalities through the application of the Councils employment practices and procedures in accordance with relevant legislation.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the post that may reasonably be required from time to time.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

QUALIFICATIONS/KNOWLEDGE:

• Knowledge of the nature and operation of Children's services department.
• Interpersonal skills, so as to deal appropriately with a wide range of people in a variety of settings e.g. reception cover and on the telephone.
• An understanding of the principles of a quality customer care service.
• Understanding of how to organise and prioritise own workload.
• A general understanding of the principles and applications of Diversity in the workplace.
• An awareness of health and safety issues within an office environment.
• Understanding and appreciating the importance of and need for confidentiality.

EXPERIENCE:

• To have extensive administrative experience, including data input and retrieval.
• Experience of compiling and maintaining records and administrative systems.
• Experience of data cleansing, producing statistical information.

COMPETENCIES/APTITUDES & SKILLS

• Literacy skills to enable the post holder to produce high quality non-standard correspondence, take, and produce Minutes.
• Numerical skills to enable the post holder to produce statistical information and contribute to statistical reports.
• Ability to resolve problems creatively, and disseminate information clearly.
• Ability to review and maintain administrative systems.
• Interpersonal skills in order to deal appropriately with a wide range of people in a variety of settings (e.g. reception service, meetings).
• Ability to organise and prioritise own and others work responding to changing priorities and deadlines.

Candidates may be required to take a test to assess word processing, literacy and numeracy skills. Those candidates who do not attain the pass mark may not be selected for interview.