Business Support Officer

Job title:

Business Support Officer

Company

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Job description

Business Support OfficerEmployerKingston CouncilLocation(s)KingstonContract TypePermanentWorking HoursFull Time, Part TimeGradeD/EHours Per Week36, 21.6Salary Range£27,030 – £31,440Salary BasisPer annumLeave Entitlement25 daysApplication Deadline04/08/2024, 23:55Anticipated Interview Date(s)TBC – W/c 12 August 2024About the BoroughThis special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else – it is where the first kings of England were crowned.Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston’s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.About the RoleWe currently have both full and part time vacancies for Business Support Officers across the Support and Connect Hub, and Residential and Business Hub in our new Customer Fulfilment Service.Support and Connect HubThe Support and Connect Hub focuses on our people related services and supports the areas of Adult Social Care, Housing, Concessionary Travel and Free School Meals. Tasks in the Support and Connect Hub can include;

• Providing telephone support as first point of contact for Mental Health and supporting the Mental Health duty team
• Providing administrative support to the Learning Disability team
• Data input and inbox management
• Financial tasks such as raising purchase orders and invoices
• Minute taking support for Safeguarding and Best Interest adult social care related meetings
• Managing stock and distribution of communal entrance keys for council tenant homes
• Processing elements of the voids property process

Residential and Business HubThe Residential and Business Hub provides support to service areas such as Planning, Building Control, Regulatory Services and Waste. Tasks in this hub can include:

• Data inputting and inbox management
• Administering Planning Appeals
• Compiling and organising documentation for Planning Committees
• Processing applications for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) and making payments to contractors which will require close coordination with Home Improvement Agency (HIA) case workers
• Addressing residential queries and complaints including noise and bonfire complaints, stray dogs and landlord complaints amongst others
• Processing HMO License applications (Houses in Multiple Occupation) and taking payments
• Adherence to legislative guidance and instructions and meeting service level agreement targets.

All our roles involve the use of different systems so we are looking for people who are confident and at ease in using new systems, with excellent ICT skills and are quick to learn. All our roles require you to work as part of a team and enjoy working in a busy environment. We have a hybrid working policy which may require 2-3 days per week working on site at times.About UsThe Customer Fulfilment Service is a new service which was formed in April 2024. The service brings together the contact, processing and care elements of a customer’s journey into one centralised service.The Council is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for its communities. To do this the Council needs employees who thrive in an agile and networked organisation and who can support continuous improvement within a constructive organisational culture.As a council, we are high performing and ambitious, and on top of that we are top rated across some of our services such as Social Care. We have also won a number of awards and accolades that acknowledge our improvements in the following areas: senior leadership, workforce transformation and our work on Cambridge Road Estate with our residents.About YouFor all our roles we are looking for individuals with:

• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to embrace and demonstrate a digital mindset
• Ability to multitask
• A can do attitude
• Take responsibility for your performance and meeting deadlines
• An eye for detail
• Can work in a collaborative way
• Demonstrate flexibility and reliability
• A customer centred work ethic
• An eagerness to drive continual improvement
• An ability to follow our hybrid working policy which may require 2-3 days per week working on site at times
• An awareness of the opportunities and challenges currently facing local authorities

Our Offer To YouAs an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application ProcessPlease apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.Additional InformationWe are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the

Expected salary

£27030 – 31440 per year

Location

Kingston upon Thames

Job date

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:33:23 GMT

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