Business Support Officer

Pickering, Yorkshire and the Humber, YO18 7EL

Job Summary

Based at our District office in Pickering, you will be part of a team of six Business Support staff who support the varied aspects of our daily work.

We are looking to recruit a Business Support Officer to help manage our compliance in areas such as Health & Safety, training, building management and fleet administration. The role will also support our harvesting function and elements of finance support.

Job Description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Maintain accurate records to support our fleet vehicles and be the main point of contact for the purchase, recording and distribution of both PPE and corporate clothing.
• Act as Training Coordinator, maintaining training records and supporting compliance with organisational and statutory requirements.
• Coordinate harvesting operations through contract administration, issuing weight tickets and stock records, and providing cover for the sustainable forestry function during periods of absence.
• Support financial administration activities, including raising purchase orders processing invoices, and maintaining accurate financial records in line with procedures.
• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the Office Manager for People.
• Communicate and engage effectively with a range of people, including internal and external staff and stakeholders. This will include dealing with stakeholder enquiries promptly and courteously by email, telephone, letter or in person, referring to the relevant lead where appropriate.
• Support the development of systems and procedures where necessary to ensure efficiency, quality and cost effectiveness across the business support and administration function.
• Answering telephone calls, booking meeting rooms, assisting visitors to the office, dealing with mail (physical and electronic) and other administrative tasks requested by the Office Managers
• Responsible for organising and controlling own workload ensuring deadlines are observed and duties performed efficiently.
  
  

You will also be an integral part of the Business Support Team, providing a back-up service for your colleagues in times of absence and peak workloads and any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Maintain accurate records to support our fleet vehicles and be the main point of contact for the purchase, recording and distribution of both PPE and corporate clothing.
• Act as Training Coordinator, maintaining training records and supporting compliance with organisational and statutory requirements.
• Coordinate harvesting operations through contract administration, issuing weight tickets and stock records, and providing cover for the sustainable forestry function during periods of absence.
• Support financial administration activities, including raising purchase orders processing invoices, and maintaining accurate financial records in line with procedures.
• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the Office Manager for People.
• Communicate and engage effectively with a range of people, including internal and external staff and stakeholders. This will include dealing with stakeholder enquiries promptly and courteously by email, telephone, letter or in person, referring to the relevant lead where appropriate.
• Support the development of systems and procedures where necessary to ensure efficiency, quality and cost effectiveness across the business support and administration function.
• Answering telephone calls, booking meeting rooms, assisting visitors to the office, dealing with mail (physical and electronic) and other administrative tasks requested by the Office Managers
• Responsible for organising and controlling own workload ensuring deadlines are observed and duties performed efficiently.
  
  

You will also be an integral part of the Business Support Team, providing a back-up service for your colleagues in times of absence and peak workloads and any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• Very competent IT user with practical experience of Microsoft Office
• Experience of working in an office environment, ideally providing administrative support
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team
• Strong organisational skills, good attention to detail with a problem-solving approach
• Experienced at working under pressure handling multiple tasks and prioritising own workload
  
  

Desirable professional and technical experience

• Proven working experience in either a health & safety or training environment
• Financial administration experience
  
  

Qualifications

Essential

• Maths and English GCSE/O’Level at Grade 4/C or equivalent
  
  

Alongside your salary of £26,959, Forestry Commission contributes £7,810 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
  
  

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on experience and behaviour-based questions during your interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Managing a quality service
• Working together
• Delivering at pace
  
  

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

• Name : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
  
  

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.