Main Purpose Of The Job:
To provide customer-focused, efficient and effective administrative and clerical support to the Children’s Social Care workforce, including project support where required.
To deliver a wide range of both routine and more complex administrative tasks in order to support the effective and efficient delivery of services within Children’s Social Care.
To support the accuracy, maintenance, and development of data and information systems in response to changing needs and to ensure effective implementation and review.
To provide on-going support and guidance to Business Support Officers.
Summary Of Responsibilities And Personal Duties:
The knowledge required to undertake these tasks will reflect the specific legislative, policy and operational requirements of Children’s Services and the individual services the postholder is designated to support.
General Administrative Support
Support, guide and mentor Business Support Officers on all aspects of the work, including providing input into the PES process as required.
Receive, sort and distribute incoming and outgoing post (including via electronic systems) for the division.
File records in an accurate and timely fashion and maintain electronic or paper filing systems using key systems such as EHM, LCS, ContrOCC.
Photocopy, scan and index documents to ensure information can be distributed to intended recipients.
Collate, print and distribute documents or materials as required by the team.
Organise and support the delivery of events and training courses (including booking venues or catering and arranging travel/accommodation).
Organise or support the organisation of staff/ statutory visits, meetings and case conferences (including preparing papers, inviting attendees, booking travel).
Take accurate minutes or notes at meetings, panels or other events (including more complex or sensitive situations), ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.
Support the maintenance of records and monitoring for service budgets and contract registers.
Manage all internal queries and information requests (only referring more complex queries to Team Managers or Team Leaders).
Undertake a range of ICT and mobile phone requests, including training new staff, setting up user accounts, maintaining telephone and email lists, ordering hardware, updating web information and ensure up-to-date awareness and skills to perform these tasks.
Perform basic troubleshooting for Microsoft Office, line-of-business systems (and manage requests to external contractors e.g. IT services) and MFDs
Raise Purchase Orders (PO’s) and process invoices and be responsible for authenticating invoices and payments in accordance with the Council’s financial procedures and regulations.
Undertake general office management tasks, including supporting Business Continuity and Health & Safety processes, completing Display Screen Equipment (DSE) or other risk assessments and maintaining corporate registers or contract lists.
Research and collate information for complaints and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, in support of Team and Service Managers, liaising with staff and managers to ensure that deadlines are met.
Undertake data collection for employee performance as required by Team Leaders or the Hub Manager.
Coordinate recruitment activity for temporary and permanent staff (in conjunction with individual services and HR)
Coordinate induction and training sessions for new staff within the department.
Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection (reporting all concerns to an appropriate person)
Work flexibly across the Children’s Social Care Business Support Hub to provide cover for other officers as required.
Buildings & Premises Support
Order and issue stationery, supplies and other equipment (including service-specific items) when requested, following standard approval processes and ensuring the safe and secure storage of items.
Receive deliveries and check goods received against purchase order forms.
Maintain storage spaces and public areas (including printers and scanners) ensuring that all equipment and office areas comply with Health & Safety requirements.
Service Specific Support
Manage both routine and more complex enquiries from customers via telephone, face-to-face, web or email in a sensitive, courteous and professional manner, resolving the majority of issues and only referring on to a Team Leader when necessary.
Provide basic information on individual services, processes or legislation/procedures and signpost to other sources of information (including relevant officer or service).
Receive, log and process applications, referrals or contacts, ensuring that the correct information is obtained and recorded in relevant systems.
Create, maintain and update customer information on systems and databases using key systems such as EHM, LCS, ContrOCC.
Arrange payments to customers via prepaid cards, BACS transfer or other mechanisms ensuring proper accounting processes are adhered to and in accordance with Council financial regulations.
Obtain necessary customer documents and verify as required.
Prepare cases, files and related documents for approval and review.
Book appointments for customers using the Council’s electronic room booking system and other systems.
Produce and distribute public information materials.
Book interpretation and translation services as requested (including liaising with provider).
Extract information from systems or databases and provide reports to managers as part of service, departmental, organisational or national reporting requirements.
Undertake both basic and more complex information searches when required (using the internet, intranet or other sources).
Provide project management support as requested.
Other Duties
Ensure that highly sensitive information is dealt with appropriately and that business support is delivered in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.
Work flexibly across the Children’s Social Care Business Support Hub to provide cover for other officers as required.
Carry out the duties of the post with due regard to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and core values
All employees are required to participate in the Performance Evaluation Scheme (PES) and to undertake appropriate training and development identified to enhance their work
All employees are required to comply with the Council's Health & Safety policies and procedures at all times, taking due care for themselves, colleagues and members of the public
Assist in carrying out the Council's Environmental Policy within the day to day activities of the post
Undertake other duties, commensurate with the grade, as may reasonably be required
Consideration will be given to restructuring the duties of this post for a disabled postholder
Internal Contacts: Officers and managers from all services supported by the Children’s Social Care Business Support Hub, plus Information Management & Technology Service, Transformation and Development Team, Human Resources etc.
External Contacts: A range of suppliers for core council contracts, IT systems, police, public sector, voluntary sector etc.
Other Duties
THIS JOB DESCRIPTION MAY NEED TO BE AMENDED BY THE DIRECTORATE TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE SERVICE.
Equal Opportunities
Commitment to implement the Council’s Equal Opportunities policies
Awareness of Equal Opportunities issues
Knowledge
Excellent understanding of the organisation, management and control of administrative, business support and customer contact processes
Working knowledge of one or more of the core services supported by the business support hub
Good working knowledge of the requirements relating to handling sensitive data and information, particularly in relation to the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018
Knowledge of financial procedures and regulations
Working knowledge of Health & Safety in the workplace
Good knowledge of customer service provision
Aptitude
Ability to effectively develop and implement a wide range of administrative, business support and customer contact processes
Ability to research information and produce accurate management information in a range of formats.
Ability to work with minimal supervision, planning and organising a varied workload within a changing environment to meet tight deadlines on a day-to-day basis
Able to maintain discretion with dealing with confidential information
Skills
Excellent ICT skills including spreadsheets, databases and word processing
Confident user of core business ICT systems (including but not limited to LCS, EHM and Microsoft packages)
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a high level of numeracy
Highly developed customer care skills, including an ability to deal sensitively with a wide range of customers and maintain good relationships with internal or external partners (within the public, private and voluntary sectors)
Highly developed organisational and time management skills
Experience
Good demonstrable experience of providing a high-quality and
comprehensive administrative service, delivering core business processes to agreed performance standards
Good demonstrable experience of dealing with the public face to face, by telephone and via web enquiries
Experience of working within a busy team
Experience of mentoring, guiding and training other staff on a daily basis.
Good demonstrable experience in handling contentious and confidential issues in an effective manner
Experience in working within a pressurised environment, prioritising and organising conflicting workloads
Experience of liaising effectively with both statutory and non-statutory agencies
Experience of working on own initiative, but identifying when it is necessary to seek advice or refer on to a senior officer any highly complex or contentious issues
General Education
Good standard of general education
Personal Qualities
Responsive and customer-focused attitude to work
Flexible approach to meeting the needs of the service and a willingness to learn new skills
Circumstances
Able to attend meetings in the evenings, to work outside normal office hours and to work beyond minimum hours as and when required to achieve deadlines
DBS Disclosure Required? No Basic Enhanced
(Tick as appropriate – guidance available from your HR Advisor)
Physical
Generally candidates must meet the standard Lewisham requirements for the post
If you are a disabled person, but are unable to meet some of the job requirements specifically because of your disability, please address this in your application. If you meet all the other criteria you will be shortlisted and we will explore jointly with you if there are ways in which the job can be changed to enable you to meet requirements.
Welcome to Lewisham – a vibrant and culturally diverse borough that is bursting with fantastic things to see and do. As a truly international borough with over 170 languages spoken in our homes and businesses, a thriving cultural scene, and a treasure trove of indie shops, bustling markets and more, it’s a great place to start and build a career.
Social work in Lewisham is changing and we have set out our vision and values for how we practice. In Lewisham Children’s Social Care (CSC), we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.
Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our ‘Signs of Safety’ practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship-based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.
Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated PSW and workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;
be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscriptions to ‘Research in Practice’ and ‘Making Research Count’.
receive regular supervision and appraisal.
have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holding practitioner, and professional development coaching as a manager.
have access to regular ‘Signs of Safety’ training and the opportunity to become a practice leader through attending our bespoke practice leader course.
have access to external leadership development opportunities such as Pathways and the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.
We have a strong working relationship with Goldsmiths, University of London as part of the South East London Teaching Partnership so our practitioners have the opportunity to teach on social work courses as teaching consultants. We host ‘Step Up’, ‘Frontline’ and traditional route students and social workers have the opportunity to become practice educators.
Core CSC Staff Benefits include:
We have been awarded the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard – a benchmark for high employment standards. We are also one of the first London Councils to be accredited a London Living Wage employer and are a Disability Confident employer as well as a Timewise accredited Flex positive employer. We offer a 35-hour working week, and:
The opportunity to work in a thriving, diverse and developing inner London borough with a stable management team, manageable caseloads and a workforce group committed to promoting your development and emotional wellbeing
Generous salary for social workers at all levels
Generous holiday entitlement - starting at 27 days a year (plus public holidays) rising to 32 and 35 days after 5- and 10-years’ continued service.
Oyster card access for travelling in and around London for work and we are exploring initiatives, including Zip cars
Flexible working policies and a variety of hybrid, and flexible working options – we know how important this is to you
Smarter Working with new modern technology and training to support this
Career average pension scheme
Family friendly policies including maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and special leave for emergencies.
Variety of support schemes including key worker housing, tax-free childcare scheme, access to Civil Service Sports Club which offers financial discounts and savings on days out and entertainment. KAARP activities and entertainment discounts. We offer a shop local discount scheme, volunteering leave, long service awards, membership of the Crownsavers Credit Union and access to Payroll Giving.
Health and Wellbeing support includes a staff support hub and 24/7 employee assistance programme which incorporates mental health support, counselling services and access to the PAM Assist health and wellbeing app.
We have signed the Menopause Pledge and offer gender specific and gender-neutral health and wellbeing support with access to financial advice. We offer discounted gym and leisure centre membership including free lunch time swimming; interest free loans for season tickets, nursery childcare, and bikes, a “try before you buy” bike scheme and cycle training, smoking cessation, free eye tests and money towards glasses.
Active Employee Groups including the Black and Multicultural Forum, Anti-racist Network Group, LGBTQ+ Forum, Disabled Staff Forum, Climate Emergency Staff Forum, Trade Union Memberships, and a staff-led Change Network
Staff tell us they feel valued and enjoy working in Lewisham and are well supported by their managers with regular reflective supervision and good access to training.
“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way”
Lewisham Social Worker
If you have any questions about applying for this role, or if you are interested in having an informal discussion about working with us, please contact our Recruitment and Retention Manager, Angela Main at angela.main@lewisham.gov.uk or Sara Taylor, our Principal Social Worker: sara.taylor@lewisham.gov.uk