Administrative Officer

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Caernarfon, Carmarthen

About the job

Job summary

APHA is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups. 

Do you want to apply your communication and problem-solving skills in a role that provides variety and flexibility?

Are you highly organised? 

Can you work on your own initiative as well as working within a team? 

Do you have experience with Microsoft Office? 

If so, we would love to hear from you. We currently have the following 8 vacancies for Administration Officer positions available: 

• 1 permanent post on the Finance and Business Support Team.
• 3 permanent posts within Wales Field Operations.
• 1 FTA/Loan/Secondment post within Wales Field Operations until 31/03/26.

All posts will be offered in merit order by role. You will be asked to state your preferred role at the application stage.  

Job description

The primary responsibilities associated with this role will include the following: 

Administrative support 

• Providing various office administrative and business support duties to the immediate and when required wider team.
• Raising and monitoring requisitions through the purchasing system and ensuring accurate records are kept and updated accordingly.
• Verifying invoices.
• Liaising with suppliers and internal customers.
• Your role will be to provide support and guidance to others (internally and externally) on procedures, answering queries and following up enquires that cannot be immediately solved. There is some processing and procedural work associated with customer calls generated, including accurately noting the details of the call on a customer’s record, updating databases, producing paperwork, and following general administration processes and procedures.
• Continually reviewing procedures in your work area and identifying any efficiencies that could be utilised in your work area
• Ensure actions are carried out in accordance with the procedures and within the necessary timescales.
• Provide support to managers and frontline staff by undertaking transactional work in a particular area.
• You will provide various office administrative and business support duties to the immediate and when required wider team including meeting organisation, note taking, updating of distribution lists, training course organisation, mailbox monitoring.
• This may include travel to other locations within Wales.

Responding to emergencies 

• Demonstrate flexibility in adapting to changing situations within the office, and respond with energy and commitment when taking on additional tasks that may be outside the normal day to day duties.

Delivery

• You will be expected to work collaboratively with remote teams across GB to support the delivery of the core function of the Business Unit in accordance with established time scales and performance targets.
• You will be responsible for ensuring accurate records are kept and updated accordingly, data input using various IT systems in accordance with APHA Data.
• You will be required to Identify efficiencies that could be utilised within your own team or wider business unit.
• You will need to understand and identify issues that may affect delivery that require escalation to your Line Manager.

Customer Service

• Liaise with, and provide excellent customer service to Stakeholders, Delivery Partners and Customers, both internal and external, understanding and appreciate their needs and requirements, for example, liaising with farmers and local veterinary practices to arrange tests. Some roles will involve arranging removal of diseased animals to an abattoir, liaising with farmers and their agents over compensation valuations and payments (TB operational Delivery roles only)
• You will liaise with laboratories over test results (TB Operational Delivery role only)
• You will be required to respond to requests from the public for information and guidance and providing accurate and timely information to our customers.
• Updating information held on our information systems by liaising with the public to ensure the data we capture about (or for) our customers is accurate.
• You will ensure customer expectations are met.

A list of role specific duties can be found at the bottom of this advert in the Attachments section. 

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,070, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £7,262 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Further benefits offered also include: 

• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• Staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme.
• Making it work for you – With so many flexible options, most people can find a work schedule to suit their circumstances.

These are just a few of our benefits we offer. To find out the full range of what we offer refer to the Information Pack attached for more detail. 

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 : Recruitment Hub Team – Kay Edwards
• Email : recruitment.sdd@apha.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here

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