Business Operations Assistant in Taunton

Salary: Grade 15, ranging from £24,796 – 25,185 per annum. You don’t have to be a Social Worker to make a difference. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes to support our Family Time Team working in Children’s Social Care. That’s why we are looking for an experienced administrator who is passionate about improving the lives of vulnerable children!

Role summary

As a Business Operations Assistant, you will have a warm, friendly and non-judgemental manner to help families feel welcome and supported, while also maintaining clear professional boundaries. The team are part of Somerset Council’s Children’s Social Care, working with vulnerable children and young people in care, their parents and carers in Somerset. Family Time is provided for children who are in the care of the local authority and enables them to spend safe supervised time with their parents and family members in a secure environment.

What you’ll do - key responsibilities

• Provide effective administrative support, including post handling, document production, scanning, email correspondence, and diary/meeting coordination.
• Prepare routine correspondence, reports and specialist documents in line with procedures, always ensuring accuracy and confidentiality.
• Maintain and update computerised record systems, identifying and correcting errors or escalating issues where appropriate.
• Act as a first point of contact for staff, service users and visitors, handling enquiries professionally, sensitively and efficiently.
• Process orders, invoices, petty cash and other routine financial transactions using approved systems.
• Support colleagues with day-to-day business needs, including basic IT administration, health and safety tasks, premises support and monitoring office equipment.

What we’re looking for – knowledge, experience & skills

• Minimum NVQ Level 2 standard/ 5 GCSEs, English and Maths, at grade 4 or above, with good standards of literacy, numeracy and accuracy.
• Sound working knowledge of IT systems, including Microsoft 365.
• Experience of working in an administrative role within a team.
• Experience of communicating with members of the public face-to-face and via telephone, letter and email.
• Experience of handling sensitive and confidential information.
• Experience of minute taking.
• Experience of using client management systems and spreadsheets.
• Good organisational skills.
• Ability to prioritise conflicting work demands and adopt a flexible approach.
• Ability to follow agreed processes to ensure consistency.
• Ability to produce accurate work and meet deadlines.
• Ability to speak fluent English, in line with statutory requirements.

Additional Information

Permanent, 30 or 37 hours a week available. The hours of work are 8.30am – 5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am – 4.30pm on a Friday. This role is based at Hillside Family Centre, 60 Eastwick Road, Taunton. 25 days annual leave (additional to bank holidays). There are lots of opportunities for development and career progression within our Children’s Services Business Operations teams. All our current Children’s Social Care Business Operations Officers and our Business Operations Managers joined us as Administrators. We have many former Business Operations colleagues who have been inspired to take an operational career path in social care, and they have been supported by us to do this. Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for visa sponsorship. The nature of the work is sensitive and highly confidential. You will receive full training and ongoing support to undertake the role safely and effectively. Interviews will take place at the Hillside Family Centre, dates and times to be arranged with shortlisted candidates.