Job Description
Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities! We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.
It's an exciting time to join us - Lewisham is a wave 2 Pathfinder authority and is leading the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme.
INTRODUCTION
Exciting opportunities are available for Business Support Officers to support the development of Children's Social Care services.
We are seeking an administrator to provide an effective business function and support to social work teams. We are looking for someone who can work flexibly with others, contribute to project improvement work, manage and maintain systems and processes.
Lewisham is recruiting to
3 permanent positions and 1 Temporary Contract up to 1 Year in Children's Social Care.
What’s the role?
We are looking for people who are willing to work flexibly and in collaboration with others to fulfil service needs. The main areas of support include:
Customer Contact
Dealing professionally and sensitively with enquiries from members of the public and other professionals. Maintaining a high standard of customer care with colleagues and other partner agencies. Receiving & accurately logging data and information on our databases, ensuring that the appropriate action is taken in accordance with given timescales, processes and procedures.
General administrative support
High volume admin tasks, taking notes at meetings or other events, processing applications, organising staff visits and meetings, organisation and administrative support to highly sensitive and confidential meetings, support the collation of data for Freedom of Information requests and basic project management support. General office duties include filing, photocopying, scanning, sending & receiving post, maintain accuracy of databases and retrieving information from electronic and archive storage. Undertaking reception duties and supporting business continuity processes.
Finance
Ordering goods and services, processing invoices, taking payments from customers, processing cash/cheques/BACS payments and managing prepaid cards and travel requests all in line with financial regulations.
ICT
Troubleshooting for Microsoft Office Word, Excel and Outlook & line-of-business systems or specialist applications, managing requests for a range of ICT and mobile phone requests, such as setting up user accounts, maintaining telephone and email lists.
Property & equipment
Receiving deliveries, maintaining storage spaces, keeping office supplies and ICT equipment up to date, undertaking health & safety duties
HR
Supporting data collection, recruitment activities, organisation of induction and training for all new staff
About You
You will have experience in:
- Children’s Social Care or an office / administrative environment
- Working in a sensitive and highly confidential environment with some exposure to distressing information
- Managing conflicting priorities in a fast-paced changing environment
- Communicating effectively at all levels
- Confident in navigating and learning the use of a range of IT applications including LCS, ContrOCC and core packages such as MS Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Adhering to financial processes including payments and liaising with external suppliers and providers
- Supporting projects and improvement work
What’s in it for you?
Our Vision - What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham
In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like, and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.
- Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
- Families will tell us they understand why we are involved.
- Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
- Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
- Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.
We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using Signs of Safety as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:
- Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
- Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
- Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.
In January 2024, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high-quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.
- The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.
- Noteworthy practices include creative life-story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
- The Council's anti-racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
- Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.
Why choose Lewisham?
Our business support staff benefit from working in small, supportive teams that work in collaboration with a variety of service areas within Children's Social Care. The social work Signs of Safety family-led 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.
Our vision and values in business support include a commitment to working in a relationship-based way with others and across the workforce. We are approachable, friendly and supportive, priding ourselves in providing excellent customer service, that contributes positively to service improvement and our working environment. We have a positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for learning and reflection. We are committed to developing our service using regular one to one supervisions, team meetings and service meetings as well as thinking spaces and group supervision.
Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;
- be supported through our learning and development offer, which includes subscription to ‘Research in Practice’
- receive regular supervision and appraisal.
- have access to regular Signs of Safety training
- have access to development opportunities such as the Corporate Learning & development courses for example, Excel, Note taking
- have opportunities for professional development for example, Personal Resilience workshops
- On the job training and development
What We’re Looking For
If you want to work in a thriving borough, and our vision based on the social work vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you. We are looking for people to join our team who:
- value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
- can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
- are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
- are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
- work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
- take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
- are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.
In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community plus a range of benefits including:
- Generous leave entitlement
- Local Government Pension scheme
- Flexible working and family friendly policies
- Season ticket and bicycle loans
- A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
- Supportive staff networks
Location
The job is primarily based in Laurence House in Catford SE6. There are 2 local train stations 3-5 minutes’ walk from the office, and the train journey from London Bridge is approximately 15 minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that stop right by the office.
We operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.
Creating an Inclusive Lewisham
A core value of Lewisham Council is to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham'. We believe that freedom from discrimination and equality of opportunity are fundamental rights, and that each person should be valued regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Social inclusion lies at the heart of everything we do as a Council in our roles as an employer, a provider of services and a community leader.
Your Application
The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CV’s.
Applicant handbook- please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.
Special conditions
- The job is subject to a DBS check (Basic)
For an informal discussion about this job, please contact Rhea Willoughby, Business Support Operational Lead
E:
[email protected] T: 07767561761
Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification
Salary
£31,434 - £32,346 per annum (SC4)
All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.
Diversity
Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply
The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works , which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email
[email protected] and an advisor will be in touch with you.
The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.
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