Project Officer in Hove

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS).

This role will provide dedicated project and administrative support to the Experts at Hand programme and related initiatives that support children, young people, families and educational settings across Brighton & Hove. Working collaboratively with colleagues, schools, partner agencies and commissioned services, you will help coordinate projects, monitor performance, support service improvements and ensure effective delivery of programme objectives.

We are looking for an organised and motivated individual with excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail and experience of supporting projects or programmes in a busy working environment

Contract type: This role is fixed term.

Fixed term: 3 Years

There is full information about the role below and attached but, if you would like an informal discussion, please contact Michael Funnell by email michael,funnell@brighton-hove.gov.uk

About the role

As Project Officer, you will:

• Provide project support across the Experts at Hand programme and associated service developments.

• Coordinate project activities, maintain action plans and monitor progress against deadlines and milestones.

• Organise and support meetings, workshops and events, including preparing agendas, distributing papers and producing accurate minutes and action logs.

• Act as a key point of contact for schools, partner organisations, families, commissioned services and council colleagues.

• Support the collection, validation and analysis of performance information and prepare reports to demonstrate outcomes and inform service development.

• Maintain accurate records and databases, ensuring compliance with data protection and information governance requirements.

• Support financial administration, including processing invoices, purchase orders and grant payments, alongside budget monitoring activities.

• Contribute to the development of effective processes, systems and ways of working that improve service efficiency and effectiveness.

About You

We are looking for someone who has:

Essential

• Experience working in an administrative, project support or similar role.

• Experience providing customer-focused services and communicating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience working collaboratively within a team environment.

• Good attention to detail and the ability to work accurately with data and records.

• Competence in Microsoft Office applications and database systems.

• Knowledge of project administration, performance monitoring and information governance requirements.

Desirable

• Experience supporting projects within local government, education, health or children's services.

• Knowledge of services that support children, young people, families and educational settings.

• Experience of financial administration and budget monitoring processes.

What We Offer

• Local Government Pension Scheme.

• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities where service needs allow.

• A comprehensive programme of learning and development.

• Employee wellbeing support and staff benefits scheme.

• The opportunity to contribute to projects that improve outcomes for children, young people and families across Brighton & Hove.

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 the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
• be connected
• be confident
• be innovative and creative
• be diverse and inclusive
• be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council 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 provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/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 Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.

We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.

All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

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

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.