Business Support Officer

One of the highest priorities for the Civil Service is improving commercial capability across Government, a priority being driven by the Government Commercial Function (GCF).

As part of the work of the GCF, the Commercial Capability Team has established a Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) that will recruit, retain, develop and grow senior commercial talent, helping to drive commercial best practice and improved commercial outcomes. The GCO employs senior commercial staff across all Government Departments. It currently employs over 1500 commercial professionals and is growing.

In addition to managing the GCO, the Capability team delivers a range of services to departments and individuals including recruitment, commercial capability assessment, talent management, learning & development, community engagement, contract management and procurement legislation training. Many of our services are also being rolled out to the wider public sector.

This post is a Business Support Officer to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and in the absence of the Business Manager to provide support to the Director. As a Business Support Officer you will be responsible for providing high level administrative support to the leadership team to support the delivery of their business plan and key deliverables. You will be required to interface with the wider Government Commercial Function, other Government Departments and key stakeholders and will be responsible for maintaining a comprehensive understanding of the GCO’s Operations, with particular focus on corporate issues.

The post-holder will support the Business Manager in ensuring the smooth operation of business within Commercial Capability. They will be required to support the Business Manager in running the Director’s office and to ensure his diary and time is efficiently managed. This role also has an emphasis on assisting the collective leadership team with their business activities and the organisation of complex/multi-stakeholder meetings. This will require effective diary and time management and a strong awareness of upcoming priorities in order to ensure corporate and business objectives are achieved.

This role will also entail providing general administrative support to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of Commercial Capability to enable the smooth and effective running of the organisation’s leadership. The post-holder will require advanced administrative skills and the ability to work independently on balancing important and conflicting priorities. The post-holder will also undertake projects and pieces of work on behalf of the Senior Leadership Team when required, with minimal supervision.

In this role, the post-holder will be a key liaison for information from staff both within and outside the Government Commercial Organisation. The post-holder must be able to collaborate effectively whilst speaking authoritatively about the work being undertaken and be able to make decisions that reflect the needs and priorities across the directorate. It is therefore necessary that the post-holder can demonstrate strong influencing and relationship management skills in this role.

The post-holder will also have corporate responsibilities and have access to sensitive information, often being involved in assisting the SLT to address complex, high ‘profile’ issues within the Department.

Key responsibilities
● Diary Management: the post-holder will manage the Director’s diary to ensure Business objectives are met. This will include scheduling regular meetings with direct reports and key stakeholders. The post-holder will also provide support to the Collective Leadership Team with complex engagements. The post-holder will be required to ensure best use of their time and rectify clashes and consider the business priorities when scheduling meetings.

● Preparing Documentation: the post-holder will be required to work with GCO/CO colleagues to ensure briefing materials are received on time and are of high quality. The post-holder will also be able to draft submissions for clearing by the Business Manager.

● Meeting and travel preparations: the post-holder will also need to arrange travel, accommodation, hospitality for engagements. This will include booking meeting rooms, booking visitors in, and resolving any technical issues where these arise. This will also involve working within budgets.

● Stakeholder Engagement: the post-holder will be expected to effectively build and maintain relationships with multiple CO/GCO colleagues, including Commercial Director’s, their Private Offices and other stakeholders as needed.

● Communication: The post-holder will be a key point of contact for pressing advice and requests and ensuring that the leadership team are apprised of any urgent or emerging issues; providing sufficient information to help them operate effectively.

● Corporate Activities: The post-holder will work with the Business Manager to complete regular reporting returns. This will entail collating information from multiple sources and checking for accuracy.

● Identify priorities and correct escalation routes to ensure deadlines are met and actions are followed up.

● Event Management: The post-holder will contribute towards the organisation of large scale events such as away days and training events.

● Data Management - You will be required to support the Business Manager and Director in ensuring that data is effectively captured and stored. This will include ensuring that data assets are maintained by data asset owners.

● Budget Management – The post-holder will support the Business Manager in managing a budget designated for training needs.

● The post holder will be required to stand in for the Business Manager as and when necessary . This will entail triaging emails, meetings, commissions for the Director and SLT.

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. In the role, you will be expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the Job Holder.