The Service

In Portsmouth we are passionate about all our children and young people enjoying a healthy, happy, and safe childhood that gives them the opportunity to get the best out of life and a good transition into adulthood.

The Children and Families Services supports and protects Portsmouth’s most vulnerable children and young people enabling them to lead safer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. It also acts as the corporate parent for the city’s Looked After Children.

The Role

You will provide a high level of Personal Assistant support to the Heads of Children and Families and the Deputy Director of Children's Service.As part of a small team of Personal Assistants to the Senior Management Team, you will work together to ensure the smooth running of the day-to-day administration for the Senior Managers of Children and Families Services.

You will also provide Personal Assistant support to the Director of Children, Families and Education (DCS), to keep business continuity during the Personal Assistant's annual leave of absence.

The ideal candidate

You will need to have/be

• Experience of working for a Head of Service Senior Manager (or equivalent) providing a high-quality Secretarial/Personal Assistant service.
• Excellent IT skills in Microsoft Office applications (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and experience of using databases. Good literacy and numeracy skills. GCSE level or equivalent in English and Maths is required due to the administrative work involved in the role.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal and excellent interpersonal skills as you will be dealing with people from all walks of life, including elected Council Members, other local authorities, partner agencies and members of the public.
• An ability to take concise minutes and capture actions accurately at complex meetings often of a sensitive and/or confidential nature ensuring minutes, actions and papers are circulated within agreed timescales. Experience of managing diaries and meetings, withthe ability to prioritise effectively.The ability to maintain strict confidentiality, as you will be dealing with confidential and sensitive information.
• A customer focus (internal and external) and be able to demonstrate consistently high standards of customer care and customer service. Good attention to detail and accuracy when completing work.A high standard of presentation is required as reports and letters will be sent to Council Members and important stakeholders.
• An understanding and empathetic approach to the work of Children's Social Care. A good awareness of Data Protection and Safeguarding Issues.
• A flexible attitude to work as the office needs to be covered by the team from 8.30am – 5pm.You will also occasionally be called upon to take minutes of meetings that are outside of core office hours, so you may be required to start early, or finish late (desirable).

Please read the Job profile for the full responsibilities and expectations of this role

We offer hybrid working with the expectation to attend the office a minimum of 2 days a week, additional days may be requested depending on the need of the business.

Application process

We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

As part of your application we ask that you complete apersonal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person'points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills.This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

About Portsmouth City Council

What we can offer you:

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.

Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council

Should you require anysupportin completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616800