About the job

Job summary

Are you seeking a role that allows you to apply your strong communication and problem-solving skills?

A role that offers both variety and flexibility?

If you possess excellent communication abilities and thrive in dynamic, fast-paced environments, relishing the challenge of working within tight deadlines, we invite you to reach out to us!

Your unique skills and enthusiasm are exactly what we're looking for!

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are committed to fostering a workplace culture where all individuals are valued, heard, and encouraged to be their authentic selves.

We recognise the importance of diversity, not only as a moral imperative but also as a driver of innovation and sound decision-making.

By embracing and celebrating differences, we create an environment where everyone can thrive, leading to greater creativity and effectiveness in our work.

We have a number of Administration Officer roles in our busy customer contact teams. These are demanding roles requiring excellent customer service skills, confidence on the telephone and the ability to multi skill and change tasks throughout the day.

These roles will provide significant opportunities to develop your own skills and future career.

Roles: (Refer to Candidate Pack attached for role details)

Exeter - 14 posts (Some roles may include arranging the removal of diseased animals to a slaughterhouse)

Carlisle/Preston - 8 posts

Bristol - 6 posts

Stafford - 1 post

Worcester - 1 post

Cardiff - 2 posts

(All locations) - 11 Central Services posts

(Applicants who select York as a location will be considered for a Central Services post)

Candidates should be aware that you may be offered a role as your contractual base, at your preferred location, however be part of a satellite team linked to a team based at any of the other locations. Please select from your preferred contractual location as there will be a requirement to attend this office 60% of your working week.

In some instances, training will be carried out face-to-face, as will any local inductions. Candidates are therefore expected to attend in person for these as and when required.

For any additional queries please raise enquiries via HRResourcingSupport@defra.gov.uk

Job description

You will be working in a friendly and supportive team in a fast paced, reactive and varied role. You will need to have good IT and organisation skills and the flexibility to turn your hand to different tasks as the situation demands. The position is customer facing and will suit those who have an ability to communicate well to a diverse group of customers. You will be engaging with a broad range of partners and forming relationships with colleagues across the wider Defra team.

Some of these roles are primarily telephony roles where you will be taking inbound calls from customers and assisting them with their many and varied queries. You will use systems to process the calls, deal with the query and update customer information. In addition you will make outbound calls to customers in order to seek or clarify information. Your role is to resolve queries wherever possible with a “once and done” approach.

Confidence in speaking to customers on the telephone and via email is an essential requirement for these roles as you will be responsible for answering emails within agreed timeframes and resolving stakeholder queries and questions.

Job holders will be expected to provide support to our customers in a wide variety of ways as well as to support the management team.

As an Administration Officer, your main responsibilities will include;

Delivery

• working collaboratively with remote teams across Great Britain to support the delivery of the core function of the Business Unit in accordance with established time scales and performance targets
• ensuring accurate records are kept and updated accordingly
• data inputting using various IT systems in accordance with APHA Data
• identifying efficiencies that could be utilised within your own team or wider business unit
• understanding and identifying issues that may affect delivery that require escalation to your Line Manager
• being flexible to adapt to changing situations within the office and responds with energy and commitment to take on additional tasks that may be outside the normal day to day duties

Administration Procedures

• taking responsibility for a set of administrative procedures; ensuring actions are carried out in accordance with the procedures and within the necessary timescales
• providing 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 and mailbox monitoring
• answering telephone queries, following up enquiries which cannot be immediately resolved. There is some processing and procedural work associated with the 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
• providing support and guidance to others (internally and externally) on procedures
• continually reviewing procedures in your work area and identifying any efficiencies that could be utilised in your work area

Customer Service

• liaising with, and providing excellent customer service to Stakeholders, Delivery Partners and Customers, both internal and external, to understand 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 (Bovine Tuberculosis) (Operational Delivery roles only)
• liaising with laboratories over test results (TB Operational Delivery role only)
• responding 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
• managing customer expectation.

Person specification

We are looking for colleagues with a broad range of skills and experience and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. No previous experience of working in a Customer Service Centre is necessary. You will be fully trained with ongoing support.

Whether you have skills gained from professional settings or real life and academic experiences, we would really like to hear from you if you are: 

•    Dedicated to providing an excellent customer service

•    Able to provide information both quickly and clearly

•    Comfortable talking to different people on the phone in a confident and friendly way

•    Excellent at organising your own time and workload

•    Able to use a computer and main software packages competently

Learning and Development

Everyone in APHA is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role.  
   
In return for your dedication, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training. Inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £23,811, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £6,429 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement (no more than 500 words).

The Personal Statement should demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience requirements.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

The sift is due to be completed once the advert closes and sift results released shortly after.

Sift and interview dates as well as the interview location to be confirmed. 

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviour and Strength questions.

Interview slots will be split by location, so candidates will need to ensure they are booked onto the correct slot. Interviews will be conducted via MS Teams.

Interview dates to be determined. Results will be released shortly after completion of all interviews.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

- Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
- Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Preference selection 

We have a number of vacancies across various teams within APHA. We have provided information about each team in the candidate pack.

Loan and Fixed Term Appointments

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return. 

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as an Administration Officer. The fixed term will end (if the post has been approved as permanent) when the permanent recruitment completes or will end on the fixed term end date if the post has not been approved as permanent. Your responsibilities will include; providing customer contact support within the various APHA Teams, operational delivery, administration procedures and the use of information systems. This post will therefore begin from the agreed start date and end on 31/03/2025.

Hours 

If working part-time hours, candidates will be expected to be able to work at least 3 days per week (22.12 hours).

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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.

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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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.