ESCA Development Assistant in Chelmsford

Fixed Term, Full Time £25,959 to £27,613 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 12th August 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

This is a fixed term contract / secondment opportunity for a period of up to 12 months.

Essex County Council (ECC) is achieving transformational change across Adult Social Care and Children and Families Services, underpinned by delivery of high-quality practice and a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion. Development of a professional, knowledgeable, and skilled workforce is central to achieving practice improvement and driving change; delivered by a joint Essex Social Care Academy (ESCA) service which meets the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs of both professional areas.

ESCA Development Assistants will work at the heart of the team to deliver administrative tasks in support of all programmes and projects across Children & Families and Adults and financial monitoring. This role will offer a development focus by encouraging involvement in project/programme support, developing autonomy and building knowledge and learning of wider aspects of the team’s work, to promote opportunities for career development. It is a requirement of the role to gain an understanding of adult learning theories and how this supports the development of the workforce. Good communication skills will be key to success.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for providing administrative support to the full range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and support programmes/projects.
• Coordinate the ESCA CPD programme including provision of course materials, ensuring adherence to criteria in relation to training attended and non-attendance and quality of training delivery and provision.
• Prepare and present reports at relevant meetings to illustrate required take up training and quarterly returns.
• Responsible for arranging training dates for Course Leaders, ensuring appropriate resources are available including information and tutor packs and evaluation forms.
• Responsible for collating Quality Assurance and Training Transfer evaluation and impact information, to produce summary and progress reports which inform identification of need for targeted support.
• Support the ESCA Workforce Development Leads in Quadrant engagement and to deliver the ESCA library locally.
• Responsible for arranging events, to ensure professional delivery of lectures, workshops and conferences in support of the development of the Social Care workforce.
• Provides general administration support, including file management, meeting room bookings, diary management, minute various meetings and maintain shared drives.
• Responsible for providing financial monitoring and budgetary updates of projects and programmes of work, ensuring compliance with ECC policies and procedures, to maintain financial controls.
• Process payments, vouchers, recharge documents, purchase and marketplace orders and journal transfers.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Educated to RQF level 2 (GCSE) in administration or business practice, or by equivalent experience.
• Ability to develop skills and knowledge within role.
• Experience and evidence of working in a project/programme coordination role in a large, complex organisation.
• Evidence of building good working relationships across the team and externally.
• Experience of using MS Office and other IT systems.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills and able to work on own initiative.
• Ability to work in an agile environment where you can learn and develop, be flexible and adapt to changing demands.

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone’s Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email ami.fosker@essex.gov.uk