AO Human Resources Administrative Officers – East Kilbride

Contents

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

East Kilbride – You will be required to work from this location in line with FCDO policies on Hybrid Working (minimum 60% in the office). Please note that there are plans to move our East Kilbride office to a central Glasgow location in the future.

About the job

Job summary

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office pursues our national interests and projects the UK’s role in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners. We employ more than 17,000 staff in 179 countries and territories, across our diplomatic and development offices worldwide, which consists of 282 officially designated Posts. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street, London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.

We are looking to recruit talented and enthusiastic individuals to join the FCDO in our Human Resource (HR) Services department at AO level. Successful candidates will have good organisational skills, take responsibility for their own work and be committed to high standards of customer service. You will have strong literacy and numeracy skills, experience and confidence in the use of Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Teams and Word) and Windows 10, although not essential, experience with Power BI or similar would be useful. You should have a passion for service delivery and be keen for a career in operational delivery and/or HR roles.

The positions are Home Civil Service roles, initially based in East Kilbride, providing administrative support and corporate services to the FCDO in the UK and overseas. We are not recruiting for a specific position and you will be placed into a role in the HR Services department based on business need. 

Job description

Roles and Responsibilities

HR Services Administrative Officers provide professional office administration and support on a variety of customer service functions including payroll, pensions, recruitment, payroll data management and internal and external communications. All roles are customer-oriented. These tasks, essential to the ability of the FCDO to deliver its objectives, form the core of all AO job specifications.

The HR Services department will configure the roles to meet specific business needs but they will typically include:

• Professional Office Administration/Support: Creating and maintaining electronic filing systems; databases and distribution lists; dealing with telephone and email enquiries; organising meetings/events and taking notes in meetings; maintaining stationery supplies; corporate roles such as first aider, for which training will be provided.
• Knowledge and information Management: maintaining excel spreadsheets, databases, records and desk notes.
• Customer Services: Providing guidance for staff on HR regulations, dealing with customers professionally and resolving queries within agreed timeframes.
• Project Management Support: Monitoring progress against objectives; ensuring project remains on schedule; anticipating and managing risks; maintaining accurate records.

Working in HR Services

Previous new entrants to HR Services have said the following:

• As a new entrant into HR coming from a different field, I have been supported and encouraged by the team, which has made me grow both professionally and personally. They have provided guidance, shared their knowledge and are always open to answering my questions. I have also been able to expand my knowledge by undertaking a certification. I have learned a lot in a short time and I am excited about the journey ahead.
• I joined the FCDO as an HR Administrative Officer. I have learned so much about the Onboarding process for both New Entrants and Existing Civil Servants and have now crossed over into Appointments and Interchange which has given me the opportunity to broaden my knowledge and gain valuable experience. The best thing about the role is the level of support you receive within a genuinely friendly team.
• I joined the FCDO as an HR Administrative Assistant and have learnt so much from my colleagues, who are experts in their areas and always willing to share knowledge, help and support. I enjoy working with candidates as they make their way through the onboarding process until they join the FCDO team … I look forward to taking you on that journey!

Person specification

You must be a British Citizen at the time of application and, if invited to interview, you will need to bring proof of identity (British Passport/Driving Licence etc.) with you.

As these roles require you to attain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance, you will need to be at least 18 years of age at the time of your interview. Please note that obtaining DV clearance can take approximately three months depending on your individual circumstances.

For more information about this process, click here. Attaining DV will require you to have been resident in the UK for five of the last ten years. At least one year of this must have been a consecutive twelve-month period. Serving overseas with HM Forces, in some other official capacity as a representative of His Majesty’s Government, or having lived overseas as a result of your parents’ or partner’s Government employment counts as UK residency for the purposes of security clearances.

It is essential in your application that you provide evidence and proven examples in each of the following Minimum Criteria and Behaviours as far as you are able to do so. These responses will be further developed and discussed with those candidates invited for interview.

Minimum Criteria

• Strong literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
• Competent using IT packages including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Teams), Windows 10 and experience of mailbox management.
• Strong interpersonal, team-working and communication skills (oral and written).
• Good organisational, analytical and planning skills with the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Ability to make effective decisions, identify problems and propose solutions to maintain a quality service.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

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

• Motivation Question at Interview

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,000, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office contributes £8,111 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• A Civil Service Pension.
• 25 days Annual Leave per annum.
• 9 days Public and Privilege holidays per annum.
• Learning and Development tailored to your role.

See the attached candidate pack.

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 : FCDO Recruitment Team
• Email : fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

The FCDO’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should, in the first instance, contact External.Recruitment@fcdo.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the FCDO, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners.

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