Triage Officer, Chelmsford

Triage OfficerPermanent, Full Time£25,081 to £26,962 per annumLocation: ChelmsfordClosing Date: Tuesday 9th September at 11.59pmInterview Date: Friday 19th September 2025.The Opportunity Essex has a number of key employment and skills challenges including low productivity, low wages and lower than average workforce skills levels. Whilst the unemployment claimant count is low, Essex suffers from high levels of economic inactivity and significant pockets of deprivation in communities and cohorts. To resolve these challenges, Essex County Council delivers the Connect to Work Programme which supports residents facing barriers or challenges to get into and maintain meaningful employment.

The Triage Officer will play key part in each resident's story by processing referrals to the programme, providing effective signposting, administration, and project support. The role requires a self-starter who can effectively manage their workload, take the initiative, and use personal judgement to resolve internal and external issues, ultimately having a strong working knowledge of the Connect to Work Programme. Accountabilities Contribute to the successful delivery of the Connect to Work programme by providing high-quality administrative support and being a first point of contact for external enquiries to the programme.Maintain a strong understanding of eligibility and suitability requirements of the Connect to Work Programme, applying these to delivery of role activities.Undertake processing of Expressions of Interest received for the programme in the form of direct and third-party referrals from professionals, coordinating with providers and clients to ensure an efficient process is operated and expressions of interest are processed within specified timescales.Provide an initial assessment of Expression of Interest forms including checking all information has been provided, participants eligibility and suitability against the programme criteria is verified and using this to provide recommendations for participant engagement in the programme for review.Maintain effective working relationships with commissioned providers, facilitating support assessments for participants, ensuring referrals are implemented and escalating any issues in line with service standards.Engage with commissioned providers, participants and professional third parties throughout the triage and onboarding process, proactively communicating the progress and outcomes of Expressions of Interest, resolving internal and customer queries and escalating urgent or complex issues.Maintain a database of employment support and skills programmes, using this to provide signposting for support to those not eligible for the Connect to Work programme.Responsible for regularly updating the programme Management information System, PRaP and other data management systems as required by the role, ensuring accurate records are kept and confidentiality is maintained.Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring Educated to RQF Level 3 in Business Administration (or similar) or equivalent relevant experience in a business administration role.Significant experience of MS Office suite of programmes and their practical application, as well as the ability to use computerised systems with a high level of speed and accuracy.Experience of use of CRM / MIS system and/or other financial and data management systems.Ability to build good working relationships across a large, complex organisation with colleagues and customers.Experience of delivering customer-focused communication processes with an ability to tailor communication to meet the needs of the audience is essential with experience of working with clients / service users with additional support needs desirable.Ability to manage time effectively and demonstrate a wide understanding of customer needs and being able to manage their expectations as well as solve simple problems and identify alternative solutions.Ability to demonstrate a high level of attention to detail and a willingness to learn about the implications of compliance of Connect to Work is essential. Experience of working with Government programmes, particularly in employment and skills is desirable but not essential.