Job info |
Job info details |
Job title |
Learning Academy Support Officer |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Learning Academy |
Service |
Children’s Services |
Business unit |
Children’s Social Care |
Responsible to (day to day issues) |
Recruitment Lead |
Accountable to (line manager) |
Recruitment Lead |
Salary grade |
E |
JE ref |
JCT55 |
1. Key purpose of job
- To provide Business Support to the Learning Academy, enabling them to provide high quality and effective recruitment and retention through professional and service development. This will support the delivery of social work intervention that is of a consistently high standard and meets the needs of children and families in Torbay.
- To act as the first point of contact for enquiries from staff, potential applicants and partner agencies.
- To support the team in all activities related to the recruitment, professional development of staff and service improvement including working with the Principal Social Worker.
- To support Learning Academy quality assurance processes including data and reporting.
2. Anticipated outcomes of post
- The Learning Academy team will have support in place to aid recruitment and retention activities and the ability to provide data to evidence outcomes.
- Best value in delivery of services will be achieved and work towards improved outcomes for children and young people through effective professional and service development and recruitment arrangements.
- Colleagues (internal and external) will be able to access learning and development opportunities efficiently and effectively.
- Service improvements will be implemented and measured through effective quality assurance and learning needs analysis processes.
- Retention will be supported through the design and development of career pathways.
3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post
- Responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children at all times.
- To act as the first point of contact for enquiries from staff, potential applicants and partner agencies, including the appropriate taking of messages.
- To support the team in the development and support of recruitment opportunities.
- To support the team with quality assurance activity.
- To assist the service with the production of resources, including training materials for the Learning Academy.
- To ensure an effective customer-focussed approach.
- To be responsible for the maintenance of effective and efficient business support procedures for use across the service.
- To enable a streamlined recruitment process, including the setting up of interviews, induction processes and setting up of new starter IT accounts, etc.
- To be responsible for the effective organisation of meetings (including attendance for minute taking purposes when appropriate), conferences, including booking of venues, dealing with attendance requests and responses.
- To work with colleagues within the team, to ensure online systems are used to their full potential.
- To contribute to the design and content of the Children’s Services Social Care Website for development and recruitment activities.
- To provide consistent and accurate Learning Academy information to the management team as and when required by utilising the systems available.
- To play a key role in developing marketing materials for the Learning Academy; ensuring the web site is up to date and information is of a high quality.
- To support the team with gathering and analysing information and data to inform management decision making and contributions to management reports.
- To be responsible for the creation and maintenance of user guides to support new starters.
- To achieve a high standard of presentation and layout in the production of letters, reports, documents and online materials.
- To be responsible for the liaison with suppliers, including external agencies, organisations and venues to ensure goods and services are supplied on time and appropriately meet the needs of the service.
- Ensuring appropriate compliance documents are supplied for agency and permanent staff in accordance with HR policy and Safer Recruitment practices. Following procurement guidelines, the Council’s Financial regulations and within allocated budgets.
- To be responsible for the collation and theming of recruitment data for management reports and contract management purposes.
- To be responsible for the issue of IT equipment to new starters, ensuring it is in good working order and manage recording process for equipment to be used by internal staff.
- To promote and support the use of resources, ensuring they are accurate and up to date, e.g. adverts, job descriptions, application forms, reference forms, etc.
- To deliver a high standard of customer service both with internal and external 'customers' when using any communication media including telephone, email and face to face.
- To follow the practice standards for the team complying with timescales as far as possible.
- The above outlines the duties required for the time being but this is not a comprehensive or exclusive list and duties may be varied from time to time which does not change the general character of the job or the level of responsibility entailed.
4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post
5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post
6. Working environment and conditions of the post
- Normal working environment and conditions.
7. Physical demands of the post
- Normal physical demands. Transporting training equipment and materials.
8. Specific resources used by the post
9. Key contacts and relationships
- External: Recruitment agencies, social care partners, advertising agencies. Applicants and candidates.
- Internal: The Learning Academy, Human Resources, Payroll, internal staff within Children’s Social Care, Communication & Design team, printing, IT services.
10. Other duties
- To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.
Other Information
- All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.
- The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement.
- The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
- The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
- This post is based at Tor Hill House but the post holder may be required to move their base to any other location within the Council at a future date.
- The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees - “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
- If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.
- As this post meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check (Disclosure) from the Disclosure & Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of ALL cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions, whether “spent” or “unspent”. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.
- Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
- The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures.
- As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2017 (part 7) the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
Person Specification
Note for Candidate
All Candidates
The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement.
In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.
Candidates who consider that they have a disability
Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.
If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.
Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.
If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.
Job info |
Job info details |
Job Title |
Learning Academy Support Officer |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Learning Academy |
Service |
Children’s Services |
Business unit |
Children’s Social Care |
Skills and effectiveness
Essential skills and effectiveness
- Effective interpersonal and communication skills including telephone manner with a customer focussed approach to work.
- Able to convey technical information and data clearly and accurately.
- Ability to be flexible and diplomatic, with good interpersonal skills when dealing with people at all levels.
- Ability to cope with a wide range of tasks within a short time scale and work to deadlines.
- Ability to manage own workload and future plan.
- High degree of accuracy and attention to detail within written, oral and numeric work.
- Ability to take accurate minutes.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as a team member – ability to take initiative.
- Methodical and accurate approach to work.
- Ability to take initiative and be a self-starter with a logical and methodical approach to problems.
- Effective organisational skills.
- Proven effective ICT skills.
Desirable skills and effectiveness
- Ability to create marketing materials to engage prospective applicants.
- Ability to edit online recruitment sites.
- Ability to design user-friendly recruitment resources.
Knowledge
Essential knowledge
- Experience of working with a range of IT software, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and Edge.
- Excellent Excel skills.
Desirable knowledge
- Knowledge of Council financial systems, such as FIMS.
- Knowledge of Local Government policies and procedures.
- Knowledge of local safeguarding children boards or equivalent multi-agency partnerships.
- Working knowledge/understanding of current Children’s Services issues and initiatives.
- Knowledge of application of online recruitment systems.
- Knowledge of recruitment and retention.
- Knowledge of Safer Recruitment Practices.
Experience and achievements
Essential experience and achievements
- Experience of working within a team and on own.
- Experience of working in a busy office using a range of administration procedures.
- Experience of dealing with a range of enquiries via telephone, email and face to face.
- Demonstrable experience of providing administrative support.
Desirable experience and achievements
- Experience of working within a recruitment environment.
- Experience in applying set criteria to establish entitlement recruitment opportunities.
- Experience in producing timely reports as prescribed.
Qualifications/professional memberships
Essential qualifications/professional memberships
- O Level/GCSE (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics at Grade C and above or equivalent.
Desirable qualifications/professional memberships
- Educated to A Level standard or equivalent such as NVQ 2/3 in Business and Administration.
- European Computer Driving Licence or equivalent.
- RSA Stage II or equivalent.
- Customer Care Qualification.
- Website management.
Other requirements
Other requirements of the job role
- Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
- Ability to carry out the physical requirements of the role (i.e., manual handling).
- Ability to travel efficiently around the Bay/South West/UK in order to carry out duties.
- Ability to accommodate unsociable hours.
- Ability to accommodate occasional home-working.