About the job

Job summary

Do you have excellent communication skills? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment? Do you enjoy working to tight deadlines? If so, we would love to hear from you! 

Under the lead of the department, Admin Team Lead (ATL), you will provide administrative support to the Head of Department, Business Manager, ATL and departmental staff in the day to day running of the science department.

You will provide administrative support and operational expertise to science colleagues, Admin Team Lead, Business Manager and Head of Department. Proactively handle procurement, financial and administrative queries, and requests. Your work may include using Oracle SOP i-procurement systems to raise purchase requisitions, processing invoices and credit notes; using Excel for data entry and manipulation; registering files and logbooks; acting as Departmental Local Records Officer; compiling reports; booking meetings and rooms; minute taking; scanning, photocopying and other general administrative duties. The postholder will be expected to comply with relevant quality standards as well as support and contribute to overall departmental compliance.

Job description

Duties may include all or some of the below and are not limited to:

Procurement & Finance

• Monitoring the SLSD Procurement Mailbox
• Create purchase requisitions, receipt orders, process invoices for payment, troubleshooting using Oracle SOP i-procurement system.
• Carrying out regular stock checks to maintain appropriate stock levels of stationery and consumables.
• Use bespoke forms to processing foreign payments, set up new suppliers, make CHAPS payments.
• Use Excel and Oracle systems to process industrial gas and courier invoices.
• Filing order paperwork and delivery notes correctly, and acting as a problem solver for any delivery issues
• Assist Line Manager (ATL) with financial tasks eg monthly housekeeping, fixed assets process, equipment register.

Records and Files

• Acting as Local Records Officer
• Registering files and logbooks on the electronic records file system (CRMS)
• Closing and archiving files in accordance with quality standards and agency procedures
• Managing departmental (SOPs) publishing process and sending out review reminders
• Database entry using Excel and bespoke s/w e.g., scientific equipment/asset database, recruitment tracker, staff lists.

Department Support

• Admin Support to the Test Validation Team; monitoring the test validation mailbox, preparing and filing of validation data, maintaining the test validation data index and archive.
• Monitor the ADTS mailbox and set up new user requests, quality checks on reports to ensure compliance with procedures.
• Administration support for the Master Test Schedule.
• Assist with Debtor queries.
• Compiling departmental reports, e.g., Gifts & Hospitality return, stock lists, consumable logs
• General point of contact for queries from the Senior Management Team
• Organise meetings, book rooms and send out calendar invitations.  Minute-taking
• Using travel booking system to book flights, hire cars, trains, and hotels.
• Filing, scanning, photocopying, incoming post distribution, and other ad-hoc duties
• Provide data entry support on the recruitment system.
• Updating departmental organograms (Visio) and contact lists (Excel)
• Any other work to assist the department as and when called upon.
• Use transferable skills to support other SD departments in admin work.

Person specification

• Good MS Excel and Word skills
• Knowledge and experience of using One Drive, MS Teams and SharePoint Online
• Understanding purchasing processes
• Familiarity with Oracle business accounting software or similar purchasing systems
• Highly organised with excellent record keeping.
• Ability to balance and prioritise multiple tasks with competing deadlines.
• Good written English with ability to take minutes and prepare action logs capturing salient points.
• Ability to communicate and interact effectively with senior leaders.
• Previous experience in office environment.

Out of hours work may be required in the event of an incident or as part of on-call rotas. 

Travel may be required to attend training courses. Travel may be required to various different locations around the country for example for training courses and meetings.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,245, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £7,356 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV-style template, detailing your employment history and qualifications, a 500-word personal statement, and a Behaviour example of 250 words, using the Situation, Task, Action and Result (STAR) technique.

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

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour: Working Together.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

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

Interview

If invited to interview you will be required to complete a short Excel test which will become part of your overall interview score. At interview you will be assessed on Behaviours, Strengths, and your skills and experience.

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.

The role is based at our Weybridge site where the team is located.

Full-Time Only

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. The post is full-time, we may consider two part-time staff on a job-share basis if continuity can be arranged. Part-time hours will only be considered as part of a job share.

Reserve list 

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

Salary 

New entrants to the Civil Service 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.

NSV

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Higher Security Clearance

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all post holders based on the APHA Weybridge site must hold a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance or above. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the residency criteria. Applicants must be currently resident in the UK and have at least three years continuous UK residency as this is a requirement to work at the Weybridge site where the team and work is situated. Residency qualification may be reduced for certain roles and will be considered on a case by case basis.

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 may be 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 circumstances 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-EmploymentChecks.grs@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.

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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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. 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.